Budget and Design Elements in a Proposal

Budget and Design Elements in a Proposal “Like it or not, budgets are often one of the most important parts of any proposal or grant” (Johnson-Sheehan, 2008, p. 141). A project budget is an estimated financial plan for any project that may require funding. The budget is a financial snapshot of a project. An effective budget will outline specific costs that will be incurred in the performance of a project during a specific time period. Budgets that are thoughtfully constructed and well presented can be crucial to the funder’s proper understanding of your project. The form the budget will take will be determined by the complexity of the funder’s guidelines. For simple projects a …show more content…

The other fixed costs are the programs planned for the participants. If the plan calls for 10 people in a leadership development program, planning for the necessary subcontractor and any materials can be readily estimated.
Variable Costs Variable costs can be more difficult to estimate. Examples may include bandwidth or online fee per user. Reviewing the previous year’s usage can be helpful in determining how these costs could fluctuate. Material costs can vary as well depending on the types of programs required. Other variable costs would include travel, communications, and printing.
The Summary Budget The summary budget can be attached to the proposal as an appendix with the bottom-line number used in the body of the proposal. A brief summary reinforcing the qualifications of the proposal writer also can be included in this section.
Design of the Proposal Presentation, whether it be of a meal or a proposal is a sensory experience. A proposal writer can create a feeling and a mood to a proposal through the use of effective design techniques. The most effective proposals follow the four principles of design: balance, alignment, grouping, and consistency.
Balance
An interesting analogy for balance is a see saw. Children of equal weight will balance each other and will be in balance. Visually balance can be affected not only by the size of the blocks of text or graphics laid out on a page, but also by their value, or visual weight. If there