Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

IntroDUCTION: 

In this chapter, we will be talking about the different types of proposals that may be used in Community and Justice Services. We will also be talking about why we would use proposals and where and when we should use them. Proposals are an important tool for us request funding for the programs we know our clients need but don’t have access to yet. This is especially true for institutional environments.

Summary Statements for Proposal Writing

A summary statement is a short, concise paragraph detailing what you are proposing.  A summary is a review of all the information that provides the reader with the important facts about the proposal.

The summary is used to filter out the most important information in case the reader is unable to read the entire proposal.  There should be a summary at the beginning of every proposal you write. You need to have quick, short description of what is in your proposal so the reader knows what the topic is right away.

Your summary should include an explanation of the program/service, who the program/service will be targeted at, a budget overview and any other information that is important for the reader to know before they read the proposal.

What Do I Include in My Summary Statement?

Start off by stating who you are, what company you are associated with, and where the program/service will be located. The next is to explain what client group the program/service will be directed at. Will it be for youths or adults? Women or men or both? The person or organization who will be running the program/service will the be the next piece of information to introduce. It is important to know that the program/service will be run by a person, or people, who are qualified.

Quickly state how will the success of the program/service be measured and how long the program/service will run for. Also include the aspired start date for the program/service. Remember to be brief in this summary; the details will be further explored later on the proposal.

Sections of a Proposal

Cover Page

The first page of your proposal should be a cover page. This cover page should include the topic of the proposal, the person/organization/agency writing the proposal and the person/organization/agency the proposal is for. The date and any contact information will also be included on the cover page. Adding a small picture can sometimes makes the proposal look better, but only when it is called for. For example, if the proposal is for a new halfway house in the city then a picture of the house on the front would be a great idea.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose should include what is being proposed, who it is being proposed to, and why you are writing a proposal (is there a need for this service /program?).

EXAMPLE: I am proposing to create a program for ex-offenders to continue getting their Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) at Laurentian University, Sudbury campus. There are many people in the community stuck in the system because they cannot get a job. My skills will be shown as I run this program as it will be a place I will be challenged and further develop my teaching skills.

Evidence-Based Rationale

The evidence based rationale is all the the facts and research that was gathered to show why this program/service is needed. This is where you will explain the reasoning behind creating the program/service. The use of charts and photos to further explain your evidence is encouraged.

Description of Service or Program

This is the section where the program/service will really shine. Be thorough when describing the program/service, do not leave out any details. Ensure that the entire program/service has been thought out before creating a proposal or it will not be granted.

How the Service or Program Will Be Measured

This section is asking about the success of your program/service. How will you know if your program/service worked or didn’t.

EXAMPLE: We will give clients satisfaction surveys of two to three questions to answer when the program/service is complete. After three years, we will gather all data to check if the program/service worked for our clients.

Staff and Agency Profile

Who will be running this program/service? It is important that the person you are proposing your program/service to knows that the staff will be educated and well-trained before hire.

Budget

Of course, how much money will you be asking for? Make sure to include every single cost that you anticipate the program requiring to start and continue to run. There should be no surprises later on after someone accepts the proposal, they need to know exactly what they are getting into before they invest.

Funding Proposal Introduction

A funding proposal is a way in which we can share our ideas and passions with the world. It is used to request funds by providing a convincing case for a project. A funding proposal can be used in many different environments such as businesses or schools, but what we will be focusing on is the purpose, and the importance it plays in our correctional system.

What is it?

A funding proposal is a great way for us to be able to request funds by providing a compelling case for a proposed program or service. A funding proposal will typically try to focus on the goals and objectives of the program/service. The proposal will also outline a set of measures for evaluation of success. The proposal will give a detailed breakdown of the amount of resources and funds needed for the project. Funding proposals typically like to focus on measures, because it helps the listener gauge the success of the proposal, by providing them with evidence of success.

What is it used for and what is its purpose?

Funding proposals can really be useful in many different scenarios and aren’t only used in the correctional system. They are commonly used all the time, especially by bigger corporations or schools. The purpose of people requesting funds usually varies between two types, some people will request funds for the greater good of everyone, and well others do it for their own personal gain. A funding proposal can be done for somebody with an aspiring business idea, or it can be done for something like a reading program at a school. Either way, funding proposals are a great thing because it gives people with great ideas, a chance to bring their project or plan to life. I believe the real purpose of funding proposals is so that we can advance economically and socially because so many people have great ideas but don’t have the funds to do it. I believe funding proposals will help us advance because typically the proposal will be addressing some sort of issue that we feel the need to address. This can really be helpful in our corrections system because it will only help us improve our system and the rehabilitation process.

When would someone need to use it?

A funding proposal can be used in many different environments but most of the time it will be used at an institutional setting. For example, a school may have a high percentage of students who report going to school without having breakfast. They could do a study on this and try to propose to the school board a need for a breakfast program. They would show all the evidence and facts on why this is important, and in hopes have the program transpire. A lot of the time when we are doing a funding proposal it is addressing something that seems to be an issue for people physically, mentally, or emotionally. Our physical, emotional, and mental health is very important, and this is why it’s good that we can request funds so we can address these issues. This is especially true when we are talking about a prison environment, where if these issues aren’t addressed it could have very negative repercussions. For example, if we were at a prison where violent behaviour is really bad and only getting worse, we would have a reason to look into this. Because this issue is affecting people’s physical safety, it would give us reasonable grounds to look into it. By not addressing it, we would be putting the institution and the people at risk. In this particular situation, we could have a funding proposal for an anger management program, because the problem is violence and typically anger is associated with violence. By having this program it would teach the offenders better ways to deal with their anger and impulsivity. All these reasons would be a big part of the funding proposal, and would most likely provide a pretty good case for the program to transpire.

What elements should be included in this element?

There are many important elements that should be included in a Funding proposal, and rightly so. If you are going to be requesting money from someone, especially a substantial amount, it is important that you provide them with as much relevant detail as possible. Important elements would include information on yourself. The investor is going to want to know what kind of a person you are, like your background, experiences, education, work history, etc. You need to be able to prove you’re the right person for the job and why you would be the best person. Probably one of the key elements in a funding proposal is the objectives and goals because there needs to be a reason for the program or service. It should be very clear in your proposal what you are aspiring out of receiving the funds. Your proposal should also include the resources you have and the resources you’ll be needing like: staff, money, and equipment. In your proposal it is important to also say who the clientele is, and why there’s is a need for whatever we are trying to fund. Another big part of the funding proposal is providing them with a budget and a plan, because they will want evidence to why you are requesting for however amount of money.

What is the structure format?

Funding proposal outline

1. “Background Information
   • 2.1. Opportunity Statement
   • 2.2. Vision
   • 2.3. Positioning
2. Project Details
   • 3.1. Goals & Objectives
   • 3.2. Customers
   • 3.3. Methods
   • 3.4. Staff / Administration
3. Available Resources
4. Required Resources
   • 5.1. Personnel
   • 5.2. Facilities
   • 5.3. Equipment
   • 5.4. Suppliers
   • 5.5. Budget
5. Evaluation Plan
   • 6.1. Formative Evaluation
   • 6.2. Summative Evaluation
6. Appendix 1: Project Plan”(Haughey,2019)

Program Proposals

What is a Program Proposal?

A program proposal or a project proposal contains key information about your program, it is the essential information of your program for your sponsors to understand your outlook all the planned activities and events in a program proposal are scheduled orderly to make sure they’re going to be completed in the corresponding time and a program proposal varies and how much it would cost and if they’ll allocate funds for it such programs include

-A Feeding program -Program Evaluation

-Training Program -Academic Program

-Radio Program

Usually a program proposal is drafted during the early stages of a project the proposal is a rough draft at best and is not a contract some individuals confuse a program proposal with a business proposal but it is not this, sponsors would sign the proposal to approve its contents after the sponsors have approved the proposal a business starts to further the paperwork like contracts, project plans and other things

What is a Program proposal used for and its reason to use it?

A program proposal is used to show your program and its information and what you hope to achieve if an organization would fund your program. It needs to be worded and organized well so that the organization you’re pitching too is intrigued and you have to lay out a very organized picture for them to understand what you actually want to do and what it would achieve and what kind of progress would be continually achieved through your program.

When would someone need to use a Program Proposal?

An individual could want to use a program proposal if they wanted a new program in a institution they are working in. if you were working in a correctional institution and you wanted a program that introduced e-cigarettes into facilities since there are rules against smoking in facilities you’d have to write down in your program proposal all the reasons you think it be beneficial for the offenders to be able to use e-cigarettes like anger management, anger release, withdrawal assistance

What elements should be included in a Program Proposal?

Program Proposals start off with an introduction and in this introduction you should include what the program will accomplish, why the program should be funded and how your program will help the institution reach its goals.

After the introduction you would give a background of the needs that your program will assist with, remind the institution the issues that are around it and explain how the program could assist that institution with said issues, also give a small explanation of how the programs idea came about.

This step is explaining all the aspects of the procedure for undertaking the project and this will be the longest portion of all the elements because you have to explain your entire basic outlook on the program from a well-constructed scope statement to a timeline of how long the program will take these aspects need to be worded well and made intriguing to the audience the other aspects include making a statement of milestones and deliverables, a statement of known risks and how they will be overcome and a list of relevant stakeholders, known team members, and how they will be involved.

Finally you will include a budget and when making this budget make sure the readers know how much money the program will need, when you will need the money and how the money will be spent the readers will want to know all of this information so make sure to make it as detailed as possible the better you make your budget the easier it will be to acquire funding.

EXAMPLE FUNDING PROPOSAL:

  Image by Quinn Kampschroer from Pixabay

Shelter for Abused Men

Horizons: Request for Funding

275 Bloor St

Sudbury, ON, P3C 2L2

─

Jo Danis
Logan Desage
Bajot Singh Tatla

Do you know where to go if you are a man who is abused? Not many people do. Intimate partner violence, where the male is the victim, is more likely to include major assault, weapons or injuries. There is no shelter in Sudbury designated for abused males so we would like to make one.

Police reported victims of intimate partner violence in 2016 as: Intimate partner violence where the Canadian male is the victims is more likely to include major assault, weapons or injuries. Example: Males are more likely to be the victims are physical assault compared to females (87% for males, 74% for females). Males are also more likely to be victims of level 2 and level 3 assaults (level 2 assault is an assault with a weapon causing bodily harm and level 3 assault is assault that wounds, maims, disfigures or put the other person’s life in danger).

Men often feel emasculated and ashamed to come forward when it comes to being abused by their partner. There is a general stigma in modern society that in a heterosexual relationship, that the man is the primary abuser in an intimate relationship.

Of course, women can be just as abusive and destructive as any male. A professor from Penn State recalls a husband who was being physically attacked by his police officer wife. She monitored his behaviour, threatened him with weapons and threatened to do things to their children, and since she was a police officer, he could not turn to law enforcement.

Another man was mistakenly referred to a program for abusive men when he was trying to call for help.

Men should know that there is a place for them to go if they are in a position of abuse, whether it’s from a spouse, family member, or otherwise. Men do not typically like to take a stand when they are in positions of abuse because of the societal stigma. Men need to be ‘manly’ so they will usually just stay in the abuse relationship they have. This shelter will include many programs for men and their children to take, as well as help them build their own support systems. We will be including a drug/alcohol prevention program, drug/alcohol abuse program, abuse management program, family/marital counseling, a parental support program and even a program for the support system of the abused. It can be hard to watch a loved one be in this position, and even harder when you do not know what to say or do to help.

This program will give advice and share other people’s journeys. Our service is to be available for all and any men and their children to come stay if they need a place to get away from abuse. We have six separate apartment-style dorms that people can stay in. Each equipped with one bathroom, 2 four person bedrooms, a living space, and a kitchen. We will also have programs available such as Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, a Parental Support Program, and an Employment Opportunity Program.

We will have a database that tracks every single person who comes in and out of our care, and tracks how many times a person has used one or more of our services. After one year we will pool all information together and will be able to tell if the shelter can afford to stay open.

For the safety and security of the males in our care, we will be hiring only men for the startup of this operation. We feel that after being abused by a woman, one might the last person they would want to see. We will be employing a total of 6 social workers who will work 10-hour shift rotations. We will also be employing two secretaries for check-in details, and a cleaning/maintenance crew of three people to clean and maintain the building.

Our total maximum budget for this project is (including paychecks for one year): $5,187,040 …. Total budget without paychecks: $401,000

• House purchase cost: $330,000
  • Legal fees: $3,000
  • Approx. Land transfer tax: $2,000
  • Renovations: $60,000
• Food/month: $3,500
• Security System (including instillation): 25,000
• Employees: Social workers total cost- 410,000/month= $4,920,000/year, Secretaries- $2,400/month= $28,800/year, Cleaning services: $2,520/month= $30,240

Horizons is a small non-profit organization in Sudbury dedicated to helping homeless people in the community.

References:

https://www.sampletemplates.com/business-templates/proposal/sample-program-proposal.html

https://project-proposal.casual.pm/https://www.fundsforngos.org/featured-articles/frame-goals-objectives-project-proposal/

https://advocatesforyouth.org/statetppmanual/1101?task=view

https://www.theclassroom.com/write-program-proposal-2533.html

https://www.proposify.com/blog/executive-summaryhttps://bizfluent.com/how-8499585-write-proposal-summary.html

https://www.uh.edu/research/sponsored-projects/proc-pol-guide/proposal-preparation/sections/

https://www.umass.edu/cfr/grant-writing/basic-components-proposal

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YJl01Zy3yqFpw6OtR0g2LDV4t_76p36XanxqQAiIfN0/edit