A proposal is a crucial element of any project since it’s the document that determines its destiny. No matter how amazing your project idea is, if you are not capable of presenting it thoroughly, clearly and concisely, chances are high that potential donors won’t be able to realize its importance.



What you should do is reduce the probability of negative responses by not making the mistakes that will make potential donors give up on you. In this article, we are showing you five common, yet neglected reasons why project proposals get rejected and what you can do about them. Read on.

What Can Make Potential Donors Turn Down Your Proposal?

#1 Poor Understanding

Stop for a second and start asking these questions to yourself:

  • What results do you want to achieve by implementing it?
  • How do you want to do it?
  • Why exactly do you need the support of the donor to whom you’re sending your proposal?

If you don’t have the answers to these questions, you should postpone sending your project proposal until you gain razor-sharp clarity. The reason is simple: Your clients will demand an explanation to these questions and you must have an understanding before you expect someone else to understand.

#2 Limited Focus

What’s the ultimate goal of a project? Identifying the pain areas of your clients and supply a solution. Rather than getting fixated on the problems in your proposal, furnish more details about the solution. In other words, you should remember that your project proposal’s purpose is not to explain the situation or show you’re aware of it, but to convince the potential donors you’ve got a long-term, well-planned solution.

Make sure to use this document to provide a specific action plan explanation as possible. Only if you provide a precisely identified solution, you’ll have a chance of:

  • discussing the project more thoroughly with donors, and
  • proving you’d use the invested money in the best possible way.

While discussing the problem-solution approach with your clients, make sure you do it in multiple sessions and document each and every step. For that to happen, you can use simple project management software. This way, you will both help your donor understand the project’s purpose in detail, get a documented record for the future and keep the clarity about the project structure intact.

#3 Ignored Requests

Until it’s your lucky day, your project proposal is going to have revisions. Your clients will provide their inputs about the project proposal and suggest improvements that you must incorporate. If you jump the gun here and don’t take their inputs seriously, you may end up losing the deal.  In case your proposal cannot meet the criteria of a donor’s RFP, maybe that donor should not finance your project.

#4 Imprecise Budgeting

One of the reasons why numerous project proposals get rejected is the impossibility of defining a realistic budget planned in details. Even if your proposal is outstanding in all other aspects, an imprecise budget may lead you to rejection since no donor will be willing to invest money in a project that seems vague.

What you should do before sending the final version to potential donors is to perform research, check the current prices and potential costs of each segment of your project, starting with equipment and supplies, all the way to workforce payment, and make sure to justify each of the listed outgoes.  Remember that nothing can undermine your business reputation like calculation errors, and make sure to cross check before sending the proposal.

#5 Inadequate Vocabulary

It is alright to let your project management team talk the way they want when they’re working on a certain project. If you promote laid back communication with the usage of professional jargon and abbreviations, that’s completely fine. However, you should keep it to your team only.

If you decide to write your project proposal using atypical vocabulary, you may leave a wrong impression on potential donors. Moreover, they can find it unprofessional or even disrespectful. Keep your sentences simple and easy to understand. In spite of the fact you know you’re sending your project proposal to highly educated people, it doesn’t mean you should make it complex and difficult to understand. On the contrary, keep the explanations concise and informational, and focus on the essence.

How to Create a Perfect Project Proposal?

Even though it may seem difficult, the creation of a perfect project proposal is not science fiction. It requires good understanding of the problem and a lot of time and patience for defining, explaining and presenting solutions. However, this process can be simplified using reliable Project task management software and hiring professionals who will help you out when it comes to critical parts, such as budgeting or evaluation techniques.

No matter what you do, the most important thing about it is to make sure you fully understand your proposal and absolutely believe in it.  Only then the potential donors will believe in it, too.

Author Bio: David is a technical writer, his works are regularly published in various papers and top-notch portals. His rich experience in Project management domain helps him offer latest and fresh perspective on improved efficiency in work flows across organizations. His informative works on similar lines can be reached out on ProProfs Project.