APPENDIX 1: GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS
Ask: a formal request for a contribution to a donor
or prospect
Fiscal agent: an organization that accepts donations
on behalf of another without tax-exempt status and
forwards the money to the other group, sometimes
taking a fee for administrative expenses
Beneficiary: person who benefits from a project or
receives services provided by an organization
General operating support/unrestricted funding: a
grant that can be used to pay for indirect costs or
direct costs at the recipient’s discretion
Budget: a chart or list of costs associated with an
organization or project added together and totaled; in
grant writing, there are two main types of budgets –
an organizational budget (or general operating budget)
and a project/program budget
Gift: a contribution that does not need to be paid back;
this could be a monetary gift or an in-kind gift of
products or services
Budget narrative/budget justification: an explanation of
each cost category in a project budget
Giving circle: groups of donors who pool their
contributions to support specific causes or
organizations
Call for proposals: an invitation to submit a proposal for
a specific program area or type of project; sometimes
funders invite only pre-selected organizations to apply,
other times funders post calls for proposals publicly so
any organization that matches its terms can apply; also
referred to as a request for proposals (RFP)
Goal: the big picture outcome or result you want your
organization or program to achieve
Grantee: term for an organization receiving a grant from
a foundation or other institutional funder
Concept note/paper: similar to a letter of inquiry or
intent (LOI), a short document that describes a
project; while an LOI is usually 1-3 pages long, a
concept paper can be