Write a research proposal for a university. Choose a proposal topic that will benefit both you and the school. For instance, if you write a proposal to study ancient Egyptian tomb paintings on-site in Cairo, discuss how your discoveries there will guide you toward writing your ancient history PhD dissertation. Also write that you will team up with Egyptologists at the University of Cairo to unite your home university and the one abroad.
Write a proposal that is a good fit for the organization. Researching the organization to see what kinds of proposals they have backed in the past is essential, according to experts at Georgia Perimeter College. Also investigate how much money they allot for projects. For example, draft a document to an arts endowment project to paint murals on the sides of 22 worn-down city buildings. Ensure that your proposal is financially possible---for instance, you will need 200 cans of paint, 300 brushes, compensation for the artists, and so on. If your proposal is way out of the organization's range, they will not be able to consider your idea seriously.
Create a proposal that benefits a particular group of people, or society at-large. Writing a grant proposal requesting money to travel to Africa for a personal ancestry writing project likely will not make it past round one. However, apply the concept to a wider general interest and you are much better off. For instance, draft the proposal to include interest in ancestry as a whole by pledging to build a website that lets other people connect with their ancestors in Africa. Make the "so what" of your proposal a desire to help others, not just yourself.
Include in your proposal "green" ideas that make the project earth-friendly. In 2008, according to a Business Week article interview by William J. Holstein, there was a spike in companies wanting to tackle issues of climate change and sustainability. A "green" proposal for a company or agency is more likely to get positive attention. For example, if you are requesting funds to construct a bridge above a busy high school intersection, talk about the benefits of the construction for the environment. Write that the bridge will encourage people to walk to school, instead of driving. Also note that you will use only sturdy, environmentally-safe metal materials for the construction.