How to Write a Concept Note That Gets You Invited to Submit a Full Proposal
Edward Jengo
Most organisations treat the concept note as a shorter version of the full proposal – and that’s exactly why they never hear back.
A concept note is not a mini-proposal. It’s a pitch document whose only job is to make a programme officer curious enough to want more.
What Funders Are Actually Deciding
When a programme officer reads your concept note, they’re not yet evaluating your project. They’re answering three questions:
• Does this fit our priorities right now?
• Do these people seem credible?
• Is this worth 40 hours of our review time?
Your concept note needs to answer all three in two to four pages.
The Structure That Converts
If a funder provides a template, use it – ignoring it signals you don’t follow instructions, which is fatal for a grant relationship. When no template exists, this structure works across nearly every context:
• Opening Problem Statement (1-2 paragraphs) – Start with the problem, not your organisation. Funders fund change, not charities. Be specific and data-grounded: “3.2 million smallholder farmers have no access to climate-adapted seeds” lands harder than “agriculture is a major challenge.”
• The Gap (1 paragraph) – What’s already being done, and why isn’t it enough? This demonstrates landscape knowledge and positions your intervention as genuinely necessary rather than duplicative.
• Proposed Approach (2-3 paragraphs) – Describe what you’ll do, who benefits, and roughly how long it will take. Be specific enough to be credible, but think in terms of a movie trailer, not a full film. Make the logic chain visible: because the problem is X, and existing solutions fall short in Y way, our approach does Z, which leads to this change in people’s lives.
• Organisational Credibility (1 paragraph) – Not your founding story or mission statement. The specific, relevant experience that makes you the right team for this intervention. Funders are quietly managing risk — show them you’re a safe bet.
• Budget Range (2-3 sentences) – Give a realistic range aligned with what this funder typically awards. If you’re asking a funder whose grants average $200,000 for $2 million, the note is dead regardless of quality.
• Closing (1 sentence) – Frame the relationship as a dialogue you’re genuinely interested in having.
Before You Submit: A Final Checklist
• Does the first paragraph make the problem feel urgent and specific?
• Is the logic chain – problem → gap → approach → outcome — visible without effort?
• Have I used the funder’s own language and aligned with their stated priorities?
• Have I described outcomes rather than activities?
• Is the ask within the funder’s typical grant range?
• Is it within the requested page limit, with room to breathe?
The full proposal is where you win the grant. The concept note is where you earn the right to write it. Treat it accordingly.
(Edward Jengo is a Ugandan fundraising expert, and Chief Executive Officer of Bright Path Consult)
