Grant Proposals that Win

Serine Ben Brahim

About me

I’m a passionate Wikimedian and the Director of Wikimedia UAE. My journey began with Kateb Maktub, a project dedicated to creating content about Arab authors. She has since trained knowledge enthusiasts across the UAE and beyond, helping them contribute meaningfully to the Wikimedia movement. While she contributes to Arabic Wikipedia, Commons, Wikidata, and Wikiquote, she enjoys planning, coordinating, and teaching more than editing. She’s always open to collaborations that promote cultural representation and the sharing of free knowledge.

Agenda

• Understanding funders & grant landscape
• Anatomy of a strong proposal
• Language & Storytelling
• Grant-ready budgeting
• Thinking like a funder

Expected Outcomes

• Know how to frame a fundable proposals
• Learn persuasive storytelling & budgeting
• See how to evaluate proposals

The Grant Landscape

Inside Wikimedia:

• Rapid Fund
• General Support Fund
• Conference Fund
• Research / Alliances

Beyond Wikimedia:

• Cultural and Educational Foundations
• Government or NGO partnerships

What Funders Actually Want

Alignment

Does your idea reflect their goals?

(WMF, for example, values equity, inclusion, and sustainability.)

Impact

Feasibility

Accountability

What real change will your project create?

Is the plan realistic, with clear steps and roles?

Can they trust you to deliver and report transparently?

Example

The Million Wiki Project

The Structure of a Strong Proposal

01

02

Problem/Need

​

Question:

1. What’s the problem?

Goals & Objectives

​

Question:

2. What do you want to achieve?

03

Strategy & Activities

​

Question:

3. How will you do it

04

Impact and Evaluation

​

Question:

4. How will you measure success?

05

Budget & Sustainability

​

Question:

5. What resources do you need?

The Language of

Fundable Proposals

🚫 “We hope to…”

✅ “We will…”

🚫 “We want to raise awareness.”

✅ “We will train 40 editors and edit 200 articles.”

Persuasive Storytelling

Framework:

Context —> Challenge —> Change

​

A great proposal reads like story.

• Context: What’s happening?
• Challenge: What problem are you solving?
• Change: What’s the difference after your project?

Grant-Ready Budgeting

• A funder reads your budget like a mirror of your User group or project. Each line should connect directly to your strategy, not random numbers.

Category Example Purpose Amount

Logistics Venue Local meetup accessibility $200

Common Mistakes to Avoid

🚫 Too much context, no plan

• Writing pages of background but not saying what you’ll actually do.

🚫 Unrealistic numbers

• Setting impossible goals

🚫 Copy-paste proposals

• Copy-pasting the same text to multiple funders

🚫 Ignoring funder priorities

• Forgetting to link back to their mission

The Language of

Fundable Proposals

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Thank you very much!

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