Grant Boilerplate Language

The most commonly asked questions, and how to answer them

Whether you're new to grant writing or refining your process, having key information prepared in advance gives you a head start when timelines are tight. That’s why I recommend developing strong boilerplate language early. These are reusable, plug-and-play responses to common grant questions that you can adapt to fit each funder’s priorities. Funders will rarely ask all of these questions exactly as they are listed here. More often, they’ll ask for variations or combine a few. But if you have thoughtful responses prepared for each of these areas, you’ll be ready for almost anything.

These are the narrative questions most grant applications include:

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Partnerships and collaborations
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Timeline
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Fundraising and sustainability plan
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DEI approach
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Team qualifications and organizational track record

Plans for sharing learnings and replicating success

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Organization history
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Mission, vision, and purpose
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Program descriptions and key activities
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Statement of need
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Population served
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Goals, objectives, outputs, and how you measure impact

So, what should you actually write? Here's what belongs in each section, and what doesn't:

Organization History

Share how, when, and why your organization was founded. Include a few key milestones that demonstrate growth or impact over time. Then close by reinforcing your core purpose and why your organization matters today.

Mission, Vision, and Purpose

Your mission is an official, board-approved statement that should concisely describe your focus and impact. Don’t edit this, since it’s an official statement. Vision usually refers to the broad, long-term change you’re working toward. When drafting it, try finishing the sentence: "We will not rest until…" Purpose is a little more tangible: what you do, who you serve, and why. 

If your organization has an official vision and/or purpose statement, include those verbatim as well. If not, I recommend aligning with your organization’s leadership on how to answer these questions.

Program Descriptions and Key Activities

You might want to open this section with your philosophy or intended impact, but this section is the place to get into specifics. A common pitfall is spending too much time on why you do the work without explaining what you do. For example, if you run a preschool, include concrete details such as:

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A day-in-the-life schedule
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The types of projects students complete
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Student-to-teacher ratio
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Operating hours
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How your values show up in daily practice

This is also a great place to include a short story or quote from someone who benefited from your work.

Statement of Need

This section should explain why your organization or program is meeting a need in your community. I recommend using credible, external data whenever possible, such as peer-reviewed research or well-known sources. You don’t always need formal citations: phrasing like “According to (source),...” is usually fine.

This is also a great place to include a relevant story or quote, to balance the statistics and make the need tangible.

Note: One common mistake is to focus this section primarily on your organization’s need for funding. That can be compelling to include, but I’d always lead with the community's needs.

Population Served

Describe who you serve, including geographic location, ethnicity, age, gender, and any other relevant demographics you track. It is a good idea to briefly reiterate your statement of need here: explain why this population matters and what their strengths and challenges are.

Metrics

Goals, Objectives, Outputs, and Impact Measurement (AKA “How do you measure success?”)

This section is asking you to describe what you hope to achieve and how you will know if you are achieving it. Words like goals and objectives are sometimes used interchangeably, but here’s a helpful breakdown:

Goal: The broad, long-term change you hope to achieve

Objectives: Specific, measurable steps toward that goal

Objectives can come in two forms:

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Outputs: What you deliver
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Outcomes: The change that results
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Example:

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Goal: Improve teen mental health
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Output: Provide 10 counseling sessions to 100 teens

Outcome: Participants report a 25% decrease in anxiety

Some funders tend to prioritize outcomes over outputs. It’s okay to use both, but if you have the ability to measure outcomes, make sure they are reflected in your proposals.

When describing how you measure impact, explain both your tools and how you analyze them. Tools might include pre/post surveys, interviews, data shared by partner organizations, and more. Analysis might happen through a client services database, or maybe with the help of an external evaluator. This is a great place to describe how you use your findings to refine and improve your programs.

As with other sections, I recommend balancing data with qualitative insights. Stories matter here, too.

Partnerships, Timeline, Sustainability Plan, and DEI Approach

Partnerships and Collaborations

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Community members or clients
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Other nonprofits and public agencies
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Referral partners
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Volunteers, funders, and in-kind supporters

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Collaborative networks
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Funders love to see collaboration. Partnerships can mean many different things, and can include:

I’d generally avoid listing vendors that you pay for services here.

This is a great place to highlight how you collaborate with and complement other nonprofits. Rather than focusing on competition or positioning yourself against peers, emphasize partnership: we're all in this together.

Including a quick quote from a partner can strengthen this section.

Timeline

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Program start and end dates
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Community events or other public-facing activities

Volunteer or staff milestones such as hiring or trainings

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Major program components
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Evaluation milestones
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Provide a clear sense of when key activities happen. This might include:

Skip fundraising activities, staff or board meetings, and other operational activities, as these fall outside the typical grant's scope.

Fundraising and Sustainability Plan

A lot of funders will ask how you will sustain your work after their grant runs out. 
In this section, describe your current and planned fundraising strategies, emphasizing diverse revenue streams such as other grants, individual donors, events, and fee-for-service if you have them. 

As Vu Le of NonprofitAF says, most answers to this question are “basically a euphemism for ‘We will leave you alone and bother other people.’”

DEI Approach

If you have an official DEI statement, you can definitely include it (or an excerpt of it) here. Make sure to address both internal practices such as staff and board policies, and external work such as your programs and community engagement.

If DEI is central to your work, you can speak to how you prioritize and support diverse and/or marginalized communities. Name what you actually do to advance equity across race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and more, as appropriate. And if you have a commitment to ongoing learning and improvement, include that too.

Qualifications and Replicating Success

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Key achievements or milestones
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Awards or recognition
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Organizational stability and infrastructure

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Community partnerships and trust
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Brief bios for executive leadership and program leads: name, title, education, and relevant experience

Demonstrate why your organization is well-positioned to do this work. This may include:

Team Qualifications and Organizational Track Record

Here, you should explain how you share knowledge and extend your organization’s reach. This can take many forms: conferences, presentations, reports and publications, social media, emails, and more. Some funders are especially interested in scalability, so if it’s relevant, share how your model can be expanded or replicated beyond the current project.

Plans for Sharing Learnings and Replicating Success

Need help getting started?

Developing boilerplate takes time, but you don't have to figure it out alone. If your organization is ready to strengthen its grant strategy, or if you just want a second set of eyes on what you have, reach out.

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