15 working files that carry a small nonprofit from first decision to submitted application. Every file downloads directly from this page: no account, no email, and no cut-down excerpt. Each one links to a full guide on using it well.
01
The facts come before the writing. These files establish whether the organization is ready, what it can truthfully claim, and where a first-time writer starts.
grant-writing-beginner-learning-path.md
Markdown
Seven sequenced phases, from free orientation to submission.
A sequenced checklist for a first-time grant writer at a small nonprofit. Each phase produces the facts the next phase consumes, starting with about two hours of free orientation and ending at a submitted application.
first-grant-proposal-readiness-checklist.csv
CSV
25 checks across six areas.
Confirms the organization basics, program facts, numbers, funder fit, draft materials and submission logistics are in place before anyone spends weeks writing. Every check names evidence you either have or do not.
core-grant-narrative-outline.md
Markdown
Seven maintained fact modules with owners and review dates.
The approved fact base that feeds every application: identity, capacity, need evidence, program models, results, financial profile and framing standards, each with an owner, a source, and a note on what must be re-decided per funder.
02
Eligibility is a gate, not a hope. Screen a funder against its own guidelines and public filings before the writing starts, and track every open opportunity in one place.
grant-eligibility-matrix.csv
CSV
Six pass or fail gates plus eight weighted fit factors.
Screens a funder before you invest the hours: legal status, geography, program area, open applications, request size and timing as hard gates, then a weighted fit score built from the funder’s own filings.
grant-tracking-spreadsheet.csv
CSV
18 columns from first research to final report.
One row per opportunity: stage, owner, ask, deadlines, decision dates, award terms and report due dates, with a clearly labeled example row showing the level of detail that keeps a pipeline honest.
03
The one-page letter a funder reads before inviting anything longer. It is a screening document, and it is written to be screened.
letter-of-inquiry-template.md
Markdown
Five paragraphs, one page, with a pre-send checklist.
The one-page structure funders screen from: request and fit, need, program, organization and numbers, close. Each paragraph carries sentence-level prompts and length targets, and the funder’s own instructions override everything.
04
The narrative, built as evidence first and prose second, with a complete worked sample to measure a draft against.
grant-proposal-skeleton.md
Markdown
Nine narrative sections with prompts and failure checks.
The full proposal narrative as a working structure, executive summary through sustainability, with length shares for a ten-page narrative, a prompt for every section, and the failure mode that most often sinks it.
needs-statement-worksheet.md
Markdown
A four-link evidence chain with a framing review.
Builds the needs statement as evidence before prose: population, condition, consequence and program relevance, each with source and data year, plus data limitations, a framing review and common public data sources.
logic-model-worksheet.csv
CSV
18 prompts, including four arrow tests.
Walks inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes with an evidence column for every row, then tests the four arrows between them: capacity, delivery, evidence and timeline. A model that fails an arrow test is not ready for a proposal.
sample-grant-proposal-cedar-bend.md
Markdown
A complete fictional proposal, $48,500 over 12 months.
A full worked proposal for a fictional after-school reading program, written to the standard the templates ask for. Every organization and figure is invented and labeled as such; the structure and the specificity are the teaching.
05
The two sections reviewers cross-check against the narrative. Both files force every number to trace to an activity and every promise to a measure.
grant-budget-template.csv
CSV
Input rows carry unit, rate and calculation fields.
A program budget whose input rows provide fields for unit, quantity, rate, calculation, linked activity and the funder rule to check, through total direct costs, indirect costs and the total request.
grant-evaluation-plan-template.md
Markdown
Seven sections, three evaluation questions maximum.
A proportionate evaluation plan: program summary, up to three questions a board member would actually ask, indicators that pass four tests, a data collection plan with owners and privacy handling, analysis, use of results and limitations.
06
The last pass, run as ordered gates, so the proposal is judged on its content instead of rejected on mechanics.
grant-submission-checklist.md
Markdown
32 checks in four ordered gates.
The final pass before submission: compliance, coherence, evidence and copy, run in order, with no later gate opened while an earlier one has an open item. Passing every check cannot guarantee an award; it removes the mechanical reasons to lose.
07
What to agree in writing before hiring a grant writer, and how to judge a course before paying for one.
grant-writing-scope-of-work-checklist.csv
CSV
28 agreement items across seven sections.
What belongs in writing before a grant writer starts: deliverables, client inputs, timeline and reviews, fees, exclusions, confidentiality and handoff, including the rule that payment never ties to award outcomes.
grant-course-evaluation-scorecard.csv
CSV
Ten criteria scored 0 to 2, each with where to verify.
Scores any grant writing course before you pay: a real final project, full artifact coverage, nonprofit-specific mechanics, materials currency, time honesty and clean outcome claims, each with the place to look for evidence.
These worksheets help you work out what to say: the evidence, the numbers, and the decisions. If they are enough, you have what you need. Each paid product below sells something this page deliberately does not carry.
Document kit, $49
Ten editable Word documents formatted to attach to a foundation application, in one shared field vocabulary. The worksheets here help you decide what to say; the pack is the documents you say it in.
See the packCourse, from $119
The method behind every file on this page: how funders read, what makes a needs statement hold, how a budget survives review, taught end to end with worked demonstrations.
See the courseYes. Every file on this page downloads directly, with no account, no email address and no excerpt version. You get the complete working file, the same one linked from our guides, and you can use it for every application you write.
The files are Markdown and CSV. CSV files open in Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers or any spreadsheet tool. Markdown files open in any text editor and paste cleanly into Word or Google Docs. Nothing requires a paid plan or a special program.
These worksheets help you work out what to say: the evidence, the numbers and the decisions. The Grant Template Pack is ten editable Word documents formatted to attach to an application. The thinking stays free; the pack sells the finished form.
Yes, please do. This page is a durable address for the whole set, every file downloads without a gate, and each template links to a full guide explaining how to use it. It is written to be the one link that covers the working documents.
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