Deborah's Proposal Writing Blog

I have a new project that I'm starting on for a new client. This is a state bid -- actually, it's three separate state bids for related behavioral services. Each of the three proposals will be the same with the exception of the specific services to be provided. My client doesn't want writing assistance, except perhaps for minor editing. Instead, he wants me to organize and format each proposal, ensure that all requirements are addressed, help fill in about a zillion forms, and possibly assemble and submit all three proposals. He doesn't want to have to deal with these types of administrative details so that he can concentrate on his writing. Fine with me. Except of course, these solicitations were released back in October. It is now the end of December and he's just getting started. All three bids are due in mid-January.

The next unanticipated expense will exactly equal the extra money in the checking account after you finish paying the bills."

So I get up early this Christmas morning and stumble downstairs to fix my coffee, feed the cat, and take out the dog. Something smells funny. And it's really cold. I go check the thermostat -- it's 57 degrees down here. The heater is on but nothing is coming out of the vents. Well, that's just great. It's only 18 degrees outside, so I take the flashlight and the dog and go out and look at the heat pump unit. It's spinning around and making the noise it usually does, so it must be working, right? No, it's not working -- there isn't any heat. Who is going to come out here on Chistmas Day to fix this thing? Probably no one -- I don't think there are any Jewish repair people. But wait, the Indian guy we sometimes call to fix these things might be Hindu, but then again, he might not be.

Fortunately, we have a dual system -- one heat pump for upstairs and one for downstairs. I'm sort of afraid to go back upstairs because what if that one isn't working? But it is. I'm pretty sure that the funny smell is something that is burning up in the downstairs heat pump, so I'm turning it off. My husband isn't up yet, but when he does get up he won't be happy. He hates the cold.

As I've mentioned before, it is critical that you factor in these evaluation criteria when planning, outlining, and writing your proposal because the reviewers are going to be evaluating your proposal against these criteria. So you must make sure that each item is addressed. And wherever possible, you should use the wording in the criteria as headings or subheadings so that the reviewers can easily find your response to each item.

There is another important thing about evaluation criteria that many people don't realize, and when I tell them about it, the little light bulb goes off in their heads. It seems so obvious, but it's not. So what is this light bulb-producing thought? In one word, it is emphasis. The evaluation criteria tells you where to put your emphasis in your proposal, and therefore how much time and effort you should spend on each element or section.

Let's say your solicitation lists 5 criteria by which your proposal will be evaluated. Each item is assigned the following number of points for a grand total of 100 points.

• Criteria #1 is worth 30 points.
• Criteria #2 is worth 30 points.
• Criteria #3 is worth 25 points.
• Criteria #4 is worth 10 points.
• Criteria #5 is worth 5 points.

Where are your going to put the bulk of your time and effort? What items are the most important and therefore deserve the most emphasis? If criteria #6 is only worth 5 points, you're certainly not going to spend the same amount of time on it as you would for criteria 1-3. Same goes for #4. And this little analysis can also tell you something else that will be important as you work on your outline and proposal -- the number of pages that you allocate to each item.

• Some guy wrote to complain that I didn't have my address and phone number on my website. I wrote him back a nice e-mail explaining why. In return, he sent an e-mail in which he said that IF he wants to contact me again, he will do it through his lawyer. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be impressed that he HAS a lawyer, or if he was threatening to sue me.
• An e-mail from Rabbi Bob Alper. I hope that Rabbi Bob doesn't mind if I use his name or promote his website. He's a Jewish (obviously) comedian who performs with an Arab comedian. In addition to being good-looking, Rabbi Bob sounds like a pretty funny guy. He was writing to me about corporate sponsorships for his show.
• Someone from India who wants me to post his organization's equipment tenders on my website.
• A couple who wants me to help them find a 3 or 4 bedroom house (with at least 1.5 baths) to rent in Kansas.
• A man who wants information about how to get his business loan forgiven. He apparently heard about this from the National Grants Conference and can't figure out why he's not getting anywhere with this wonderful idea.
• At least 10 e-mails over the past week from people asking where they can get grants to start or expand their businesses. This does not include the 2-3 inquiries I received from women who want to get into the daycare business. If they had bothered to read my FAQ Page, they could have saved themselves some time.

Take a look.

This is my page.

This is theirs.

I sent a Cease and Desist e-mail to them this morning. They have until midnight next Tuesday to take down the page.

Well, finally, someone is doing something about Matthew Lesko. That someone is the New York State Consumer Protection Board, which yesterday issued a press release about Lesko's "Free Money to Pay Your Bills" book. I'm happy to say that MSNBC also reported on this press release, which is reproduced below in its entirety.

Behind advertising for 'billions in hidden money' Lesko book reveals that most government grants come from Food Stamps, Medicaid, other entitlement programs

CPB report also sees a new & growing wave of government-grant scams hurting consumers.

Multi-million-dollar advertising and a new book by author Matthew Lesko are peppered with exaggerations and half-truths about government grants, according to a report released today by the New York State Consumer Protection Board ("CPB").

The CPB's reportSecrets Revealed! How Misleading Advertising Is Feeding a Nationwide Boom in Government Grant Scams shows that misleading information by Lesko and others is feeding a growing number of government-grant scams now hurting consumers across the country.

"Lesko is now promoting a new book, 'Free Money to Pay Your Bills,' by claiming that the federal government has more than $350 billion in 'hidden money' that ordinary people can use to pay their credit-card bills and 'get out of debt.' That claim is simply not true," said CPB Chairperson and Executive Director Teresa A. Santiago.

Chairperson Santiago said, "Privately, this company admits there is no 'free money to pay your bills' despite advertising contrary information on radio, late-night TV and Internet advertising. This myth has helped to create a growing industry of books, tapes, web sites and, unfortunately, many, many scam artists who say they can help consumers find 'hidden money' from the government.

"The CPB is now helping New York consumers victimized in several ongoing government-grant scams. These include at least four telemarketing networks that falsely "guarantee" government grants to consumers in exchange for an upfront fee of roughly $250. Many of these scam victims said they were aware of Lesko's advertising claims.

The Federal Trade Commission and other agencies recently reached a half-million-dollar settlement with a telemarketer accused of deceptive practices in its telemarketing. Lesko's book offers useful information about scholarships and other programs and his company offers refunds to dissatisfied customers, Chairperson Santiago noted.

"Many other government-grant offers are outright scams, offering no benefit whatsoever to consumers," the Chairperson said. These scams and other grant offers have benefited -- in some cases, directly -- from the business practices of Mr. Lesko's Maryland-based company, Information USA Inc.

For example, Information USA compiles and sells direct-marketing lists with the names, addresses and other information of Lesko's customers. These lists have been used by other companies to sell services such as debt repair, and, in at least two cases, Lesko customer lists were sold to outright scams involving government-grant offers.

Two companies -- Grant PAC and Grant Search Inc. -- were charged with deceptive practices in a $2.6 million complaint by the Federal Trade Commission. The firms both purchased customer lists from Lesko and other government-grant publishers. Another buyer of Lesko customer lists is a Rochester, N.Y. company called National Grants Conferences. The seminars and high-priced products sold by National Grants Conferences has been the source of numerous consumer complaints for several years.

The report also cites a New York City publisher, FPH Communications, for misinformation in at least one of its grant guides. Consumer who bought this paperback guide are now being targeted by grant-scheme telemarketers. FPH says it sell its customer lists to other direct marketers.

In releasing a report on the activities of Lesko and other government-grant companies, Chairperson Santiago said the CPB hopes to dispel the myths that the government is handing out -- or "hiding" -- billions of dollars that can be used to pay personal expenses. Lesko even advertises that these grants can help someone "stay out of debt forever."

"The government-grant myth is misleading consumers and helping telemarketing scams," Chairperson Santiago said.

In a statement for the CPB's report, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget agreed with the CPB's findings:"Generally speaking, federal government grants are not made to individuals. Instead, the vast majority of grants are awarded to non-profit organizations (e.g., homeless shelter) and State, cities, or counties who distribute the grant money to charities and other social service providers.

For individual benefit programs, the Federal Government provides a comprehensive list at http://www.govbenefits.gov." The federal government has two websites designed to bring grants information together from many different agencies and sources: www.GovBenefits.gov and www.FirstGov.gov. Both websites contain information on hundreds of grant programs, both federal and state.

"The number of companies and outright scams — all selling “government grants” or guides to government grants — is growing," the report reads. "All of these offers are built on the false idea that individuals are eligible to receive thousands of “unclaimed” dollars from the government — money they can use to pay for almost anything."

A different story is told in statements from a Lesko company spokesman -- and even in the pages of his new book," Free Money to Pay Your Bills." They reveal that there are no government grants available to pay someone's credit-card bills and similar personal expenses."

Instead the 'hidden' billions that Lesko promotes in a $3 million advertising campaign mostly come from Food Stamps, Medicaid and other well-known government programs. These programs are not mentioned in his advertising on television, radio and on numerous websites by independent Lesko "distributors."

In a statement to the CPB, Lesko's co-author, Mary Ann Martello, wrote, "Matthew would say that money the government gives you to pay other bills frees up money to pay your credit bills. There is no maoney (sp) the government will give you to directly to (sp) pay down your credit bills, but the $800 in food stamps frees up that money for other bills."

Chairperson Santiago said, "There are no billions of dollars in 'Free Money to Pay Your Bills' as Mr. Lesko claims on radio, late-night TV and Internet advertising. But this myth has helped to create a growing industry of books, tapes, web sites and, unfortunately, many, many scam artists who say they can help consumers find 'hidden money' from the government. "

Many even 'guarantee' a government grant, but privately admit that they are only guaranteeing a refund -- a refund that many consumers have trouble collecting because customer service numbers are constantly busy. We are pleased, however, that the CPB has been able to help consumers receive refunds from at least one telemarketer and its 'guaranteed' offer."

In addition to misleading claims in Lesko's advertising, the CPB also found more exaggerated claims about government grants on websites operated by a network of independent Lesko distributors. These distributors use Lesko advertising material and receive 40 percent of the sales of Lesko books and other products.

There are some grants out there but the vast majority of these dollars are for low-income consumers or senior citizens, Chairperson Santiago said. In other cases, government dollars are offered through contracts, loans, direct services or financial assistance for businesses and other organizations. In Lesko's book, however, all of these dollars are described as 'grants.'"

In advertising for his book, "Free Money to Pay Your Bills," Lesko also:

The CPB is referring its findings to the Attorney General's office and other investigative agencies.

Then I remembered that my website hosting service had changed hands on December 1. And lo and behold, the last subscription notification I had received was dated November 30. So I contacted support services at the new hosting company and asked them if they had changed some settings. After many back and forth e-mails, they told me that my subscription program was not working because I was on a blacklist. They directed me to this site, which they offered up as proof that I was blacklisted, and told me that I needed to contact my ISP.

Needless to say, I was pretty upset. I contacted my ISP, which was no help at all because their "Abuse Department" has no real people answering the phone -- only a recording. I left a message and also sent them an e-mail. No response. Then I went to the site where I was supposedly blacklisted. It is called SORBS, and is some kind of anti-spam site. The information on the SORBS site is written in some language that only a techie can understand. So I e-mailed them, and someone by the name of Oleg was kind enough to respond. Over the course of several e-mails, Oleg explained what SORBS is all about and, more importantly, told me that I was not on any blacklist. Based on what I had told him, it was his impression that the problem lay with my website hosting company and not with my ISP or with any blacklist.

Strangely enough, about the time I received my last e-mail from Oleg, subscription notifications began appearing in my inbox. I went back to my subscription program, did some testing, and sure enough, found that the program was working again. I suspect that the hosting company found the problem and corrected it. So now I am trying to decide if I should contact the hosting company to find out what the problem was and to tell them that I did not appreciate their blaming me for the problem because they couldn't find it themselves. I'm also trying to decide if I should change hosts because of this incident.

The upshot is that I now have 45+ people who have subscribed to the blog over the past 10 or so days and who never received a confirmation e-mail asking them to activate their subscriptions. I can't add these subscribers manually because of CAN-SPAM. I either have to send them individual e-mails asking them to re-subscribe, or just let the program delete them automatically.