Deborah's Proposal Writing Blog

Throughout our conversation, I kept referring to the company's "Capability Statement," while the VP would talk about sending me the company's "KSA." That was a new one for me: I had never heard of a KSA -- what the heck is that? So while we were talking, I did some quick googling and found the answer.

Are you also wondering what KSA stands for? Go here and scroll down the page to the "K's" to find out.

I expect that this will go on for at least a couple more weeks, so things may also be a little slow with the blog.

Speaking of the blog, I had my first real blog sp*m attack about a week ago. I didn't know what to do to stop it. But after searching around for solutions, I downloaded and installed a plugin called MT Blacklist. So far, it's been working wonderfully.

Yesterday I finally also got around to downloading the Google Desktop Search. I've been hearing about it, but never really looked at it. But now that I have it, I can see that I'm going to be using it daily.

The first of these is a Bid/No-Bid Evaluation Guide for use in making bid decisions. This 12-page "how to" Guide takes you step-by-step through the decision-making process, advising you of the critical information that you need to assess, and the key issues you should consider when making a decision to bid on an RFP or RFA.

The Guide is accompanied by a 2-page Bid / No-Bid Evaluation Form, which is a template you can use to summarize, review and present your findings and bid decisions.

Through the end of the month, I'm offering the Guide and Bid/No-Bid Evaluation Form to my blog subscribers and readers at a discounted price. On May 1, the price will increase, and I will advertise the materials on my proposalwriter.com site.

To take advantage of this special offer, please Click Here. When you've completed your purchase, you'll receive an e-mail with a link that will allow you to download an MS Word file containing both the Guide and Evaluation Form.

Proposal Writing for Government Contracts

• Washington Post Job Search. Since there are so many government contractors in the Washington, DC area, the Post is a great place to start. There are a bunch of things that you can check off on this page, but the most important thing is to put "proposal writer" or "proposal writing" in the keyword search box.
• Craig's List. Click on your city, and on the next screen, under "jobs," click on "writing/editing."
• Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP). APMP has an online job bank. Click on the "job bank listing" on the left of the page.

Grant Proposal Writing

• Idealist. This site lists a lot of jobs in the non-profit sector. There are a number of different ways to search the job bank -- by region/city, by type of job, etc. You can also use the search box at the top of the page.
• Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). You don't need to be a member to search for jobs here, and there are always quite a few grant writing jobs.

• You may also find jobs for grant writers on Craig's List (see above).
• If you're a wannabe grant writer with little or no experience under your belt, you might want to volunteer to write or help write grants for a non-profit organization in your local area. Many smaller organizations would welcome your help, and in return, you'll be able to show that experience on your resume.

At any rate, Professor Mendell, who also maintains several grant-related websites, mentioned my blog in his online course notes. He asked his students to compare my blog to my main site at proposalwriter.com. I was curious as to what prompted this assignment, so I e-mailed him and asked about it. He replied, and then posted both our e-mails on his site as an example of how blogs can promote communication among strangers.

So now my blog is a teaching tool -- although I'm not sure if it's a good one or a bad one!

And because I'm getting many e-mails and google searches on (as usual) free money and grant scams, I want to reproduce the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Consumer Alert on this subject. So here it is. If you want to go to the source, Click Here.

'Free Grants': Don't Take Them For Grant-ed

FREE GRANTS Never Repay — acceptance guaranteed. Government and private sources $500 - $5,000. Education, home repairs, home purchase, business, non-profits. Phone live operators 9am-9pm. Monday-Saturday 1-800-123-4567, ext. [xxx]

The ads claim that you will qualify to receive a "free grant" for your education, your home repairs, your home business, or your unpaid bills. They say your application is guaranteed to be accepted, and you never have to repay the money. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation's consumer protection agency, warns that "money for nothing" grant offers often are a scam: the grant isn't free, it isn't guaranteed, and often, it isn't even available to you.

Some scam artists market "free grants" in classified ads, inviting consumers to call a toll-free number. If you call, a representative of the company will ask you some basic questions to determine if you qualify to receive a grant: "What's your address?" "How long have you lived at this address?" "Do you have a bank account?" or "Do you have at least $150 in your account at this time?" The representative may ask you to hold while your "eligibility" is determined. After she congratulates you on your eligibility, she will ask you to pay a one-time "processing fee" that can range from $95 to $200. If you question this fee, she will reassure you that the grant is guaranteed, and that if you're not satisfied, you'll get a refund. However, she won't offer to tell you all the conditions for a refund.

The processing fee supposedly covers finding a grant source and sending you the appropriate application package in the mail. But, you won't receive an application or a source. Rather, you will get a list of agencies and foundations to which you must write and request an application. This information is available at no cost at any public library or on the Internet.

Most sources of grant money don't give grants to individuals for personal need. Grants usually are given to serve a social good, such as bringing jobs to an area, training under-employed youth, preserving a bit of history, funding soup kitchens or art museums, or researching medical issues. If you ask an agency or foundation for money for personal use, you probably won't get it, even if you are financially needy. And you're not likely to get a refund from the grant "broker" because the conditions for a refund are nearly impossible to meet: you usually have to apply and be denied by each source on the list within 90 days.

If you're thinking about applying for a grant, remember that the applications are available to you for free and that anyone who guarantees you a grant is likely to be interested in their own financial gain, not yours. If you think you may have been a victim of a grant scam, file a complaint with the FTC.

I've got an RFP from the government and I need someone to prepare a proposal. Can you help? How long will it take?

I can usually answer the first question pretty easily. The answer is either yes, no or maybe, depending on my schedule and perhaps some other factors. It's the second question that usually throws me for a loop because there is no "one fits all" answer.

Every government RFP/RFA is different. The government agencies that issue the RFPs are different, and they have different needs and requirements. Scopes-of-work in most RFPs are different. The proposal requirements for each RFP are different. Additionally, each company/organization desiring to prepare a proposal in response to an RFP/RFA is different. They have few or many staff available to help with writing a proposal. They have or have not done proposals before. They do or do not have a clear understanding of the RFP and proposal requirements. In short, the "how long will it take" question is nearly impossible to answer without more specific information about both the RFP and the company/organization.

So in addition to wanting to take a look at the RFP/RFA, here are a few of the questions that I ask these prospective clients:

• Are you currently a Government contractor?


• Do you have experience in doing the type of work called for in the RFP/RFA?


• Have you prepared and submitted Government proposals in the past?
  If so, were they successful? If not, why not?


• Has the RFP been released yet? If not, when is it expected?


• Is the RFP available on the web?


• What is the due date for the proposal?


• Have you read the entire RFP, including the scope-of-work, instructions, and evaluation criteria?


• Do you think you have a good understanding of the RFP and what is or will be required?


• Do you have any written materials available about your organization and/or your products or services?


• Do you have copies of your previous proposals, if any?


• If needed, do you have complete resumes for the key staff that you plan to propose for this project?


• Do you have anyone on staff who would be available to assist in the preparation of the technical proposal?


• Do you have anyone on staff who would be available to assist with the business/cost proposal?

My work this week has involved a B2B proposal for a new client who got my name from someone I don't know. I received e-mails from two different people in this company, and when I called them back, they sounded so desperate that I agreed to help them even though I had planned to take a few days off between projects. I always seem to get hooked by these desperate-sounded people because I know first-hand what they are going through, and I end up feeling sorry for them. In fact, they were desperate for good reason. They had a deadline of last night and what they had done so far was a mess -- full of poorly written, vague and non-specific answers to a whole lot of questions that their potential client wanted answers to. Lots of waffles and flowers, but no substance. So I helped them work through it, and by yesterday evening it was looking pretty good.

This week I was also contacted by a firm that wanted to know if I would be interested in participating in an evaluation of an international project. I've done quite a few of these evaluations, but I'm not sure I really want to do this one. It requires a two-week overseas trip in June, plus some up-front and follow-up work. I said I might be interested and promised to send them an updated resume, but haven't gotten around to doing that yet. Maybe today.

Oh, and it's spring. This is good and bad. Good because it's getting warm and pretty; bad because it's the start of the spring/summer proposal season. I've got more requests in my inbox than I can fill. But I'm not going to think about that today because I'm finally getting around to getting my hair done and working in my yard. Yes, I'm actually going to relax.