A grant proposal is a formal document, usually written in a prescribed format, for submission to a grants authority. There are many forms of grant proposal, often written to government authorities where disbursement of money is done on an approvals basis created by law. Some grants proposals are written to philanthropic organizations or other bodies in a particular sector of activity, arts, academic, research, etc.

A grant proposal sets out:

• The nature of the proposed work, usually a detailed description
• An estimate of time frames
• Specific project issues and related matters.

The grant proposal is supposed to match the terms of grant approval. This can be a complex type of document, and many people are employed as grants proposal writers specifically because of their expertise in the various fields where grants are offered.