What is the most important aspect of a grant application? The budget. Since grant funding is all about money, it should come as no surprise that the single most important aspect of any grant application is the budget. The budget drives nearly every other section of the application. A thoughtful and well-crafted budget is essential to your proposal’s ultimate success and should be the starting point of any grant application.
Reviewers will look at the budget before anything else. A reviewer should be able to understand your entire project just from reading your budget. An incomplete, confusing or overinflated budget can ruin an otherwise quality application.
Taking the time to think through and calculate all of your projected expenses will help to clarify your project’s scope. Determining detailed and accurate cost projections will demonstrate to a potential funder that you have a realistic understanding of your project’s cost.
Budgeting is often seen as a daunting task, but there is no reason to put it off. If you start with the budget, it allows you to craft a better narrative that justifies your request.
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