The following quotes are taken from The Foundation's Center's "Guide to Proposal Writing." What the Funders Have to Say."

"Be thorough in your preparation and research before attempting to initiate contact with a funder."

"Statistics are important, but can be confusing. Use them when they set the stage and give a context for the project."

"Ideas need to stand out. If the format of the proposal helps accomplish that, then it is O.K. But fancy fonts and layout don't carry much weight in and of themselves."

If it is clear, concise, to the point, everything should be there without having to look for it. There should be meat on the bones but no fat."

Start with clarity and no fluff. I remember one proposal that was just bullet format. It was clear, succinct and to the point. For a literary point of view, it was dull, but programmatically, it was clear and precise."

"We like to see more, rather than less, information is the budget. We want to see how our money will be used, how it will fit into the whole picture."

"I don't like to see in-kind services in the budget when often, it's just a million volunteers licking stamps. It can be a bogus attempt to make a $300,000 budget look like a million dollars."

"What makes me crazy is an organization ignoring our guidelines."

"Don't try to pull the wool over our eyes. Be honest and straightforward."

"I hate proposals in plastic or loose leaf binders with lots of tabs and indices. It's also ecologically unsound."