Successful grant-writing involves solid advance planning and preparation. It takes time to coordinate your planning and research, organize, write and package your proposal, submit your proposal to the funder, and follow-up.

Organize your proposal, pay attention to detail and specifications, use concise, persuasive writing, and request reasonable funding. Clearly understand the grantmaker’s guidelines before you write your proposal. Make sure the grantmaker’s goals and objectives match your grantseeking purposes.

Source: http://www.npguides.org/

Additional information is available here:

http://www.cnmsocal.org/StartingANonprofit.html