Creating goals, objectives, and outcomes for your grant project

I mentioned in my last post that every grant application is going to ask you about the goals and outcomes of your project, so we’re going to explore that further here. But first of all, it’s important to understand the difference between your organization’s goals and your project goals.

Your organization has a mission, and its overarching goals are tied to that mission. For example, if you run a re-entry program for people who have been incarcerated, your overall goal may be to reduce recidivism rates and prepare justice-involved individuals to transition back into the community. These goals are often very lofty and somewhat abstract. But for the sake of grant proposals, you’ll need to get much more specific and measurable.

If you apply for a grant that supplies general operating funds, you’ll most likely need to turn your big, abstract organization goals into S.M.A.R.T. goals. That’s an acronym, of course, for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound. For most grants, you won’t want to have more than 3 or so goals, because each goal then gets broken down into objectives and outcomes. Funders want your work to be focused, and if you have 5 or 6 goals, it’s likely too scattered.

If you’re applying for a PROJECT based grant (most of them), your goals should align with but be separate from your organization goals. Most likely, your program goals will be more contained and limited in scope. If you find yourself in a situation where the project goals do not directly relate to your organization goals, back it up - you’ve got mission creep!

Under each of your goals, you’re likely to have 2-4 outcomes or objectives. (Many funders use these terms interchangeably, but some federal applications require both. Read their materials very closely to see how they’re using each of these words, and match your language to theirs.) While goals in a grant proposal are large and overarching, your objectives and outcomes are where they expect you to get very specific.

Here are some ideas for creating specific outcomes: