Proposals come in all kinds of sizes and shapes. This presentation is built on what I have learned about proposal writing as an administrator, from working with both the well-thought-out and tightly organized to the unrealistic or incomplete. As a result of the information that follows, you should be able to develop a convincing program proposal for your business, church, or school.Clark is a floor supervisor at a company that manufactures fabric materials for the automobile industry. It is called “Eagle Wings Group,” or EWG for short. Crew members are highly competent at running industrial-level, heavy-duty sewing machines. Many are immigrants from Asian countries. They are hard-working employees but are new to West Michigan culture and often in need of support for navigating through basic life and employment responsibilities.
Clark’s company is led by individuals with a strong work ethic and commitment to moral and religious values. They care about their workers, even to the extent that the company’s mission statement includes the desire to “make a difference in one another’s lives.”
Clark has come up with the idea of starting a “coaching” program for his crew, and maybe even throughout the company. Clark, himself, has had coaches and mentors and would love to see others benefiting as he has.
However, Clark has never developed a proposal and is wondering what to include before bringing the idea of coaching to his boss. So, he shares the idea with his friend and mentor, Kent. Approaching Kent with the idea, Clark says, “I’ve been thinking about suggesting that we develop a coaching program for my crew. They are great at their jobs, but I think that their lives could be so much better if they could get some coaching in areas like communication and life skil
ls.” Kent offers to help.
Kent says, “Thanks for bringing up this topic. As you know, I have had a lot of experience with proposals. Let me share with you the things that I look for in a proposal.” At their next meeting, Kent brings a list of questions that he has used when writing or helping others to write program proposals.
Kent says, “I suggest that the following questions be answered about any proposed program. Some proposals may not include all of these, but at some point in the planning, they should all be addressed.
Need, Purpose, and Description
1. Why do we need to do it? (statement of need and purpose)
2. What are we going to do? (description of the program)
3. Who is it for? (target audience)
4. Does it fit? (ways in which the program contributes to the character or values of our organization)
Personnel
5. Who is responsible for doing it? (leadership roles and functions)
6. Who else is on the team? (number and roles of other personnel)
7. To whom will the leader report? (organizational accountability)
Operations
8. When do we plan to begin and end? (start and stop dates)
9. Can it be approved? (potential for authorization)
10. How much will it cost? (budget: income and expenses)
11. How many people will it affect? (number of actual participants and those impacted indirectly)
Effectiveness
12. What kind of results should we expect? (outcomes)
13. How will we know if we are doing it correctly? (evaluation)
14. What is it that we will not be doing (or doing as well) because we are doing this? (priorities)
Sample Proposal
Following is an example of a “starter proposal” that could be presented to selected individuals whose advice is respected. The text of this starter proposal is also in the description section of this video.
The phrase, “starter proposal” is used here because, in many cases, a first submission opens the door to the need for proposal revisions. Think of this first draft of the proposal as an introduction of the project idea to one or more of the gatekeepers of your organization.
Using the above 14 questions, Clark got to work and with the help of Kent developed the following proposal.
Sample Proposal
Coaching and Eagle Wings Group (EWG)
A Proposal for a Pilot Program
Submitted by Clark Kalel after review by Human Resources Director Lois Cane
Need and Purpose
This proposal introduces a strategy for coaching that will enhance the mission and productivity of Eagle Wings Group (EWG). The approach to coaching that is described here may also empower individuals to better define their own goals within their work, home, faith, relationships, health, and financial settings.
Coaching has the potential to increase job satisfaction, work quality, and retention. In addition, coaching can improve how individuals understand and participate in the values and mission of Eagle Wings Group (EWG); in particular, the mission statement characteristics of “live with faith… do things right… make a difference in one another’s lives.” These characteristics are of particular importance to EWG because of its multi-cultural and multi-lingual workforce, where miscommunication is a frequent issue.
Coaching Defined
The term coaching (as used in this proposal) is a participatory process of supportive communication that has mutual benefits for employees and employer. While focused on the individual employee (person being coached), it will be facilitated by in-house trained coaches and conducted in consultation with each employee’s supervisor.
Coaches come alongside individuals to help them correctly interpret their work and life environments and determine what is needed for productivity and growth. A coach is a listener, sounding board, awareness-raiser, and resource person who, by asking the right questions and providing helpful information; helps participants identify and accomplish their growth goals.
The EWG Coaching Process
A coach meets weekly with a selected employee. The meeting is voluntary and takes place before or after work or during a lunch break. The coach’s meeting with the employee includes topics such as company mission, work relationships, performance strengths and limitations, job satisfaction, and current work and life challenges.
Coaching meetings include three phases over three months. These are:
1. Discovery - emphasis on identifying employee strengths, challenges, and goals;
2. Exploration and information giving - attention to available resources for the exploration of a preferred future;
3. Recommendation – coach provides written notes to a participant that give suggestions for growth.
Training, worksheets, and other resource materials are provided to guide coaches. Recommendations may include programs for training and certification, such as MTech, MichiganWorks, community college or vocational courses; personal or family counseling; and other steps.
Number of Participants
Based on an approximate number of 200 available employees, a pilot program is proposed that includes five assembly line level volunteer employees and five coaches who are mid-level or executive-level volunteers meeting once a week for three months. The writer of this proposal will be one of these coaches and coordinator of the program in conjunction with the Human Resources Department.
Accountability and Training
The coaching program would come under the Human Resources Department. The first five coaches will be trained by the consulting firm Growth Group Associates at one of their regional seminars. Additional information can be provided about this company.
Terms and Conditions
The proposed program is for three months, with an option for renewal with a larger group if judged to be successful. The requested budget is $5,000 for attending a Growth Group Resources training seminar. Participants and coaches are volunteers. The HR Department is asked for a time commitment of three hours per week to assist with this three-month pilot program.
Proposal Summary
Presentation Overview and Summary
This presentation has provided an overview of proposal writing. It has focused on identifying needs, program purpose and description, personnel, operations, effectiveness, and results. A sample proposal was provided as an example. Those writing proposals are encouraged to communicate in ways that are relevant to their context and begin with brief documents that are shared with organizational leaders whose feedback they respect.
Resources
Devereaux-Nelson, Robin. How to Write a Non-profit Grant Proposal. https://amzn.to/3vI0ymI
Jamal, Margaret. Faith Legacies: Program And Development Guide For Faith-Based Nonprofits. https://amzn.to/47Gy7mu
Sample Proposals. https://www.communityservices.org/resources/acs-grants-program/acs-grant-applications/samples-of-proposals/
YouTube link to narrated PowerPoint video: https://youtu.be/nnYlolcdNpk
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Supplementary online resources may be included from ChatGPT, Google Search, Google Bard, Bing, Claude, and Wikipedia
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