What is the need to be addressed? Your organization’s need statement will—or at least it should—directly address this question. Therefore this is the best place to begin writing your proposal. A need statement sets the framework for the entire proposal, as it describes a critical condition, set of conditions, or a social need affecting certain people or things in a specific place at a specific time. The need statement is fundamental to your proposal because funders must agree with the organization that the project meets an important need. Bolstered by accurate data (quantitative statistics) combined with the right selection of stories that provide a more personal illustration of the need (qualitative data), a compelling need statement is often the component that motivates a funder to give serious consideration to a nonprofit’s request. Make no mistake: a good, solid, and well-supported need statement is the key that unlocks the door, moving your proposal that much closer to funding consideration.