Writing Grant Reports

Learn how to write reports to keep donors, funders, managers, and

stakeholders informed about your project and programs.

Report Writing
Guidelines

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 1

 Report Writing Guidelines Submit reports on time with all the requested
information from the funder.
Follow these guidelines when writing a report
about your project or grant program for donors, Do not cover up bad news or adversity.

funders, managers, and other stakeholders.

Use graphics to present data.

Clearly state and demonstrate your

accomplishments.

Set the stage for future projects.

Submit reports on time with all the requested information from the funder.
If your project/program’s donor/funder has a reporting schedule and provides a reporting form:
• Use the form according to the reporting guidelines.
• Provide all the information requested.
• Submit the completed report on time.
This process sounds simple, but many grantees and project teams miss deadlines or do not provide
the information the donor/funder requests. Keep in mind that the person/team at the organization,
foundation, or agency that issued the grant are also usually responsible for managing the grant
and reporting on progress to an internal board or team of supervisors. If you do not comply with
their reporting guidelines and provide the information requested on time, you may jeopardize the
opportunity to receive funds in the future.

Do not cover up bad news or adversity.

Be honest with the donor/funder about any issues or challenges with your project/program. If
there are delays in the schedule, state this clearly and provide a realistic, adjusted timeline. If you
are over budget, explain why as well as where you plan to make cuts, or how you plan to raise
additional funds. If you are not honest with the donor/funder, then anything your project may have
accomplished could be overshadowed by being late or over budget. Notifying the donor/funder
about challenges upfront may also allow them to help you get back on track.

Use graphics to present data.

Use lists, charts, graphs, tables, timelines, and infographics to present data to donors/funders.
These visuals make it easy to see and understand important data and make the report visually
appealing and easier to read.

Clearly state and demonstrate your accomplishments.

State your program successes and achievements using strong, clear, simple language. Use bullets
and graphics to make them easily identifiable. This is the information the donor/funder wants to
know, so make it easy to find and easy for the donor/funder to share.

Set the stage for future projects.

In the analysis and observations sections of your final report, explain what the results mean for your
future work. Explain how the project can be expanded to increase its impact, or how successes can
be built on in a ‘next phase’.

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 2

 Report Writing
Process

The Writing Process

This writing process can be used for different types of reports. Writers often repeat steps 2-4
multiple times before arriving at a final draft of the report.

Creating Creating
Prewriting Revising Editing
First Draft Final Draft

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Prewriting
In the prewriting stage, you will decide on the information to include in the report.

Prewriting

Make sure to brainstorm information – more

information is better at this point in the
writing process.

Use the donor/funder’s reporting form

and/or requirements to guide your
brainstorming.

Use an idea map to help you organize the

information.

EXAMPLE
You received a grant to develop an online training program for your organization’s
volunteers. Now the donor requires you to submit a six-month report that includes the
following information:
• Purpose and description of the project
• Work you have done to date
• Results and successes
• Obstacles and how you overcame them
• Remaining tasks and timeline
• Concerns and solutions
• Current and remaining budget

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 4

 Idea Mapping
Use an idea map to create a visual representation of your brainstorming process. Follow these
steps to create an idea map for your report. Once you have completed the idea map, use it to
write your first draft.

1. Write the name of your project in the middle of the page and draw a circle around it.

2. Review the report form or guidelines for important information you must provide, such as
results, obstacles, solutions, remaining timeline, and budget.

3. Write each element of the grant around the middle circle. Draw a circle around each element,
and a line connecting them back to the middle circle.

4. Starting with one element, brainstorm everything you want to say about it. Write everything
down around the element, draw a circle around it, and connect it to the grant element or to
another element.

5. Repeat ‘Step 4’ for the remaining grant elements.

6. If you brainstorm information that does not fit into one category, write it off to the side.
When you are finished brainstorming, connect these ideas to other elements on your map.

Idea Map Example

Hire
NGagement

15 Conduct in-person
Applicants training for
Development team
Convert in-person
training into
Request for Develop
online learning Train and
deploy volunteers proposals (RFP) storyboard
faster for modules
Purpose/ Work to
Overview be done Develop
portal
Create interface
module 1
Budget to date:
prototype
30,000 USD

Budget
Grant =
50,000 USD
Online training Limited
testing
for volunteers Module 1

Results/
Field test
Success
Need support
Support Concerns/ materials
Solutions
Need to
improve
portal
Field test Positive
support materials interface
Obstacles content
Remaining
Tasks review

Revisions
Not all
volunteers are
familiar
Field Test with online Need to
in May Develop courses simplify
course portal
prototypes interface
in April
Need more
support to
Deploy in
June roll out program

Support

Videos Step-by-step
Instructions

Webinars

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 5

Creating the First Draft

To create the first draft of your report, take the ideas from your idea map and assemble them as a
response to each report element. Do not worry about writing complete sentences at this point. Make
sure the information is organized so that it flows well, and you have included all important details.

Revising
Read through your first draft, transforming pieces of information into sentences. Next, review what
you wrote, paying attention to the following revisions.

Revising

Organization

Active
Statements

Details
and Data

Jargon

Organization
Make sure the information flows well and is easy for someone without knowledge of the project/
program to follow.

Active Statements
Avoid using the passive voice. Instead, write short, strong, active statements.
Example: “A prototype of module 1 was developed and tested with eight volunteers and trainers.”
Better Option: “We developed a prototype of module 1 and tested it with eight volunteers and
trainers.”

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 6

Details and Data
Provide details and data in your report.
Example: “We developed a prototype of module 1 and tested it with eight volunteers and trainers.”
Better Option: “We developed a prototype of module 1 and tested it with eight volunteers and
trainers. We used a survey and interviews to get feedback on the content, level of expertise,
interactivity, and resources included in the course. A summary of this responses is in Table 1 below.
The survey tool is included in Appendix A.”

Jargon
Avoid using jargon in the report.
Example: “We did A/B testing for promotional email messaging.”
Better Option: “We tested two different promotional email messages to determine which message
was most effective in encouraging volunteers to register for the online course.”

Editing
Editing is an important stage in the writing process and is
best done by a professional. If professional editing is not an
option, try to find someone with strong writing skills to edit
the report.

Check the report for the following information:

• Clarity

• Repetition

• Grammar

• Punctuation

• Spelling

• Typos

• Data (include correct data and cite outside sources of

information that you refer to in the report)

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 7

Creating the Final Report
After you have completed the Editing step, have others read
your report. This should include:

• Everyone who has worked on the project/program.

• Two or three people who are familiar with your

organization, but do not know every detail or are not
directly involved in the project/program.

After others provide feedback, you will likely need to repeat

the drafting, revising, and editing phases of the writing
process. When the report is ready, create your final draft.

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 8

 Intermediate Reports

Intermediate Report Structure

Follow this general report structure to write an intermediate report if you are creating a report on
your own (without specific guidelines).

• Title of Project

• Date

• Contact Information

This section should provide an overall idea of how the project/program is

progressing without going into significant detail. A person who is familiar with the
project/program should be able to read the summary and understand if it is on
target. A person who is not familiar with the project/program should be able to read
the summary and want to know more.

The summary should include:

• One paragraph that identifies the purpose of the project/program and provides a
brief description.

• One paragraph that describes where you are to date and next steps. Include
links to any products ready for viewing (if applicable).

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 9

 The status section describes the work you have completed to date. You do not
need to provide extensive detail in this section, but you should clearly identify
the project milestones you have met. You should compare these milestones to
milestones presented in your initial proposal so the donor/funder can see that you
are on track, ahead of schedule, or behind schedule.

The results section is where you will present any data related to the outcome
measurements you identified in your grant proposal. If the project has a long
development period, you may not have relevant results to report. In this case, if you
have tested models, or run pilots and received feedback, include that data here.

This section should identify the challenges you have encountered to this point
and what you have done to overcome them. It should also identify challenges you
anticipate in the next stages of the project and how you intend to address them.
Depending on the donor/funder, they may be able to provide additional resources or
support to help you.

Begin this section by identifying the major pieces of work that will lead to
accomplishing the next one or two milestones. Also include a modified schedule
that identifies everything that has been completed as well as the remaining tasks
and milestones until the end of the project/program. Clearly indicate if you are on
schedule.

Include an overview budget with currently paid to date and remaining expenditures.
Explain any budget anomalies.

The appendix should include:

• Detailed timeline

• Detailed budget

• Project Work Plan

• Additional documents (surveys, product samples, metrics)

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 10

Intermediate Report Example
This is a short sample of an intermediate report for a grant program to develop an online training
program for volunteers.

Title Page
• Volunteer Training Program
• January to December
• Lina Anaya, Program Manager

Overview/Executive Summary
Relief NGO is using this $50,000 USD grant to convert our in-person training courses for
volunteers into a self-paced online learning program. Transitioning to an online learning format
allows us to reach and train more volunteers per year (from 100 to 1,000 volunteers) and deploy
them more quickly (within one week instead of four weeks) using the same training budget
amount.
We developed storyboards for all five training modules and created and tested a prototype of
module 1 with a group of volunteers. Overall the feedback is very positive. During testing we
realized that not all volunteers are familiar with using online learning, so we are modifying the
portal interface (learning management system) and including additional support materials for
the next round of testing in June. We remain on schedule to complete the project by December
and within the allocated budget.

Status
In February, we sent out a Request For Proposals (RFP) to 15 content developers who could
convert the in-person training into online courses. We selected NGagement, based on their
proposal, which was within our scope, timeframe, and budget parameters. The RFP evaluation
criteria and results as well as NGamement’s proposal are included in Appendix A.
We worked with NGagement to identify project milestones and relative timeframes:
1. Kick Off project meeting with the NGagement development team (March)
2. NGagement works with our staff and experts to develop storyboard content (March – April)
3. NGagement creates prototype for Module 1 (May)
4. Field test Module 1 with testing group (June)
5. NGagement incorporates feedback into module 1 and develops the rest of the Modules 1-5
(June – September)
6. Field test Modules 1-5 with the testing group (October)
7. NGagement incorporates feedback into Modules 1-5 and finalizes courses (November)
8. Create roll out strategy (November)
9. Deploy learning program to volunteers (December)
To date, we have created the draft storyboards for Modules 1-5. We developed a prototype for
Module 1 and tested it in June with eight volunteers and trainers.

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 11

 Status (continued)
We are currently incorporating their feedback into Module 1, as well as developing the
remaining Modules (2-5). We are on target to field-test the complete product in October, make
modifications, and deploy the final product in December as planned.
To date, $29,000 USD has been spent from the $50,000 USD budget. A detailed budget is in
Appendix B. Below are the rough expenditures thus far and what remains in the current budget.
Expenditures
• Design and set up learning portal: $10,000
• Develop storyboards for Modules 1-5: $10,000
• Create prototype Module 1: $7,000
• Field Testing Round 1: $1,000
• Media: $1,000
Remaining
• Create prototype Modules 2-5: $12,000
• Media: $4,000
• Field Testing Round 2: $1,000
• Revisions: $2,000
• Marketing: $2,000

Results
We field tested our prototype of Module 1 with eight volunteers and trainers who are
representative of our overall target audience. Each volunteer has previously attended the
in-person training, so they are qualified to compare the online training with the in-person training.
After taking Module 1, each volunteer and trainer was asked to complete a survey, then
participated in a follow-up call. A summary of the results of the field test are below. A detailed
report of the data along with the survey tool and call notes are in Appendix C.
The results were very positive. Overall, the test group felt that the online course content was
relevant and reflected the in-person training. They responded:
• 3.9/4.0 - The content was the same as the in-person training.
• 3.7/4.0 - Volunteers who complete the online training would be equally prepared.
• 3.8/4.0 - They would use the online courses to train their volunteers.
When asked about individual elements of the online training, the test group responded:
• 3.7/4.0 – The learning is interactive and engaging.
• 3.9/4.0 - The videos are useful.
• 3.9/4.0 - The knowledge checks demonstrate an understanding of the content.

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 12

 Results (continued)
The one area where the test group rated the online course low, 2.8/4.0, was the portal (learning
management system) where the course will be hosted. In the follow-up interviews, volunteers
felt the portal navigation and interface was not as intuitive as it needed to be, especially for
creating an account and accessing the course. We are working to address these concerns in
future prototypes.

Concerns and Solutions

Our primary concern is with the portal interface. The test group did not find the portal to be
easy to use or intuitive. This included creating an account as well as the interface for the actual
courses. We will use the following strategies to address these concerns and will field test the
updates in the next round.
• Simplify the account creation process and form by asking for less information and make all
entries on one page.
• Add a “Start Here” button to the Welcome page so users know where to begin.
• Develop two videos: one that shows users how to create an account, and one that shows
users to how to launch the course.
• Remove the menu from the left side of the course to create more screen space.
• Increase the size of the navigation buttons.
• Add a “Repeat” button to each slide so it is easy for learners to review content.

Next Steps and Remaining Schedule

As steps 1-5 have been completed on schedule, our next step is to incorporate the feedback
identified in our first round of field testing (see Concerns and Solutions section) as we modify
Module 1 and develop Modules 2-5. The second round of field tests will occur in October, where
we will field test all five modules with a larger group of volunteers.
We are on schedule to incorporate the feedback we receive from our second field test and will
be ready to launch the new online training in December.
Timeline and Milestones
1. Completed: Kick Off project meeting with the NGagement development team (March)
2. Completed: NGagement works with our staff and experts to develop storyboard content
(March – April)
3. Completed: NGagement creates prototype for Module 1 (May)
4. Completed: Field test Module 1 with testing group (June)
5. NGagement incorporates feedback into module 1 and develop the rest of the Modules 1-5
(June – September)
6. Field test Modules 1-5 (October)
7. NGagement incorporates feedback into Modules 1-5 and finalizes courses (November)
8. Create roll out strategy (November)
9. Deploy learning program to volunteers (December)

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 13

 Budget
We have spent two-thirds of the course development budget so far and only have a prototype
for one of the five modules. Module 1 will serve as a template for the remaining modules.
Developing the initial template costs more, however, using the template to produce the
remaining modules allows us to develop them quicker and less expensively.

$41,000 USD allocated to the contract with NGagement, $27,000 has already been spent (66%)
with four of the five modules still remaining to be developed. Because there was no online
version of the training prior to this project, there were substantial costs to develop and test the
portal interface and the content for the first module. The Module 1 course template will make
the development of the remaining modules quicker and less expensive.

Appendix
• Detailed timeline
• Detailed budget
• RFP criteria
• RFP evaluation Results
• NGagement proposal
• Field test survey tool
• Field test survey report and call notes
• Module 1 prototype
• Portal interface design layout

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 14

 Final Reports

Final Report Structure

Follow this general report structure to write a final report if you are creating a report on your own
(without specific guidelines).

• Title of Project

• Date

• Contact Information

This section should provide an overall idea of how the project/program is

progressing without going into significant detail. A person who is familiar with the
project/program should be able to read the summary and understand if the project/
program is on target. A person who is not familiar with the project/program should
be able to read the summary and want to know more. The summary should include:

• One paragraph that identifies the purpose of the project/program and provides a
brief description.

• One paragraph that describes the final product and successes. Include links to
the final product (if applicable).

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 15

 The results section is where you will present the data related to the outcome
measurements you identified in your grant proposal. Present the data and describe
what it means in terms of solving the problem you wanted to solve with the project/
program.

This section should include observations you have about the implementation of the
project/program that is not directly related to the data. An example of this could
be a discussion of the effectiveness of different recruitment strategies or support
materials.

Include a completed overview of the budget. Explain any variances from the original
budget in the proposal. An example of this could be that you decreased your
marketing budget and increased your support budget because you found that the
most effective marketing method was not very expensive, but that people needed
more support than you had originally planned.

The appendix should include:

• Detailed budget

• Final products and deliverables (if applicable)

Final Report Example

This is a short sample of a final report for a grant program to develop an online training program
for volunteers.

Title Page
• Volunteer Training Program
• January to December
• Lina Anaya, Program Manager

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 16

 Overview/Executive Summary
Relief NGO used this $50,000 USD grant to convert our in-person training courses for volunteers
into a self-paced online learning program. Transitioning to an online learning format allows us
to reach and train more volunteers per year (from 100 to 1,000 volunteers) and deploy them
quicker (within one week instead of four weeks) using the same training budget.
We launched the completed online training program in December. In the first three weeks after
the launch, 60 volunteers registered for the training and 48 of the 60 have completed it. This
represents already over half of the total number volunteers we would normally train with our
in-person training in one year. This puts us on target to meet or exceed our estimate of training
1,000 volunteers this year. You can view the online training at www.reliefNGO.org/training.and
within the allocated budget.

Results and Analysis

The training evaluations of the 48 relief volunteers who completed the online training were
very high. In the course evaluation, 40 volunteers rated themselves “confident and prepared to
volunteer,” with the remaining 8 rating themselves “nervous but prepared to volunteer.” No one
rated themselves “unprepared to volunteer.” In addition, in reviewing the knowledge checks and
exams within the course, all volunteers scored 85% or higher for each one. The remaining twelve
volunteers who registered for the course are in the process of completing it. A detailed report of
the data is in Appendix A.
During the month of December, we were able to deploy 30 volunteers to their ongoing relief
efforts. In January, we were able to conduct training for 25 volunteers. While this is a small
sample size, it does show that we can train more volunteers and have them deployed to relief
efforts quicker than we could with in-person training sessions.

Observations
We made adjustments to the portal interface between the first and second round of field tests
and created support materials (videos and user guide) to address the field test group’s concerns
about the online training being “not easy to access and use”.
Our email marketing and social media campaigns have generated significant interest in the
online training among new and existing volunteers. A number of managers are ‘cautious’ about
using online learning to train their volunteers. We have plans to contact the early adapters
(managers and volunteers) in May, after volunteers have been deployed for a couple of months,
to get testimonials about the success of the online training. Incorporating these testimonials
into our marketing materials and social media campaigns could help the remaining volunteers
and managers feel confident in the online training.
Finally, using an online format to train volunteers has enabled us to train more volunteers
before they are deployed, and also more easily provide on-going support training while they are
volunteering in relief efforts. We will continue to work with partner organizations and volunteers
to identify what topics might be part of this on-going training and support effort.

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 17

 Budget

We did not spend the entire $5,000 USD that was allocated to media development. Production
of the videos were less expensive than planned so we reallocated the remaining $800 to our
marketing efforts and used it to develop a 2-minute promotional video explaining the online
training. This video is used in our email marketing campaigns, so volunteers have a better
understanding of the online training and how to access it.

Appendix
• Detailed budget
• Modules 1-5 (links)
• Learning portal (link)
• Promotional video and materials

© Copyright 2020 Cornerstone OnDemand Foundation 18