Statement of Need Template
The most common weakness in a first proposal is a need statement about the organization rather than about the problem. A funder is looking for the condition their money would change, described so it would still be true if you did not exist. This is how that section is built, and how to tell whether yours is one.
See the coursesEverything on this page is yours to copy and adapt. The courses cover the decisions behind it: what to charge, what to promise, and what to put in writing.
What yours needs to cover
- ✓ The problem stated in one sentence, before any context
- ✓ Evidence: the figures, their source, and their date
- ✓ The specific population and place, narrowed to what you can actually reach
- ✓ The consequence of the problem continuing, without catastrophising
- ✓ The gap between what exists now and what is needed, which is where your project enters
How to use it
- Gather the evidence before writing, and note the source next to every figure.
- Write the problem sentence first and keep rewriting it until it needs no preamble.
- Narrow the population until it matches the scale of the project you are funding.
- Cover your organization's name and read it again: if nothing is left, it is an appeal rather than a need.
Why the need statement carries the whole proposal
Every later section of a proposal is an answer to the need. The objectives promise to reduce it, the activities explain how, and the evaluation measures whether it happened. If the need is vague, everything built on it is vague too, which is why reviewers often decide how seriously to read an application within its first two pages.
A strong need statement describes a condition in the world that the funder cares about, in a specific place and for specific people, with evidence a skeptical reader would accept. It does not describe your organization's lack of money, because that is a need of yours rather than of the community.
Assembling the evidence
Look for data at the level of the community you actually serve. School district report cards, county health rankings, census tables and state agency reports usually give you figures for a city, county or school, which are far more persuasive than national averages. Record the source and the year beside every figure as you collect it, so the citations are never reconstructed from memory at midnight before a deadline.
Your own service data counts as evidence when it is described honestly. A waiting list of 47 families, a count of calls you had to turn away, or intake surveys showing the most common barrier are all legitimate, and they show the funder that you are close enough to the problem to see it.
Writing it so it reads in two minutes
Open with the problem in one plain sentence. Follow with two or three sourced figures that establish its size, then narrow to the population your project will reach and explain why existing services do not meet it. Close with the consequence of the gap continuing, stated soberly. Unit 4 of the Professional course practices this with several drafts of the same need statement, from weak to fundable.
A filled-in example
| Problem sentence | Many older adults in the county skip meals because they cannot travel to a pantry |
|---|---|
| Size of the problem | County survey data shows 1 in 6 residents over 65 lives more than five miles from a grocery store, with no car |
| Local service data | The pantry turned away 112 home-delivery requests last year because it had no driver |
| Population reached | 150 homebound adults over 65 in the three rural zip codes the pantry serves |
| Gap in existing services | The nearest meal delivery program covers the city limits only |
| Consequence | Missed meals raise the risk of falls and hospital admission, as the county health department notes |
Mistakes to avoid
- Describing your funding gap as the need. We need $30,000 to hire a driver is a budget line, not a need. Describe the people who go without meals, then present the driver as the solution.
- Relying on national statistics. A national figure tells the reviewer about the country, not about your county. Use the most local credible data you can find and say where it came from.
- Overstating the consequence. Catastrophic language makes careful reviewers suspicious. State the realistic consequence and let the evidence do the persuading.
- Leaving figures undated. A statistic without a year may be ten years old. Date every figure so the reviewer knows it is current.
Statement of Need Template FAQs
How much data does a statement of need require?
Enough that the problem is established rather than asserted, and no more. Two or three well-sourced figures at the right geographic level are usually stronger than a page of national statistics that do not describe the place you work in.
Where do I find local data?
National statistics agencies, health and education departments, and local government reports publish most of what a need statement requires, and many funders accept your own service data when it is described honestly.
Can I use a story instead of data?
Use both. A single case makes a statistic mean something, and a statistic stops a single case being dismissed as an exception. Neither works well alone.
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