The follow is an excerpt from the Student Philanthropy Board Handbook regarding NOFOs.

What is a NOFO?

The NOFO is a document that tells non-profit organizations that there is grant money available and explains what the requirements are to be eligible for the money.  After the NOFO is issued, non-profit organizations respond, following the instructions in the NOFO, with proposals that describe how they would use the grant money in their programs. The SPB reviews all of the proposals to decide which one best meets the requirements of the NOFO. The organization with the winning proposal will be issued the grant according to the terms established by the LLS grant and the LLS Coordinating Committee.

Choosing a Topic

Choosing an appropriate NOFO topic is crucial to avoid problems when drafting the NOFO text.

A NOFO should address a critical need in the community. Some critical needs are homelessness, hunger, poverty, low graduation rates, and violence, but you are not restricted to these areas. A good way to find out the current critical needs of the community is by looking at local newspapers. Ask, “What is the problem that this article is addressing?”

Once you have identified a critical need, look at ways that that problem can be alleviated within the restrictions of the LLS grant. This is a brainstorming step, so drawing diagrams or making lists can be helpful.

• Critical Need > Focus on one aspect > How can we help/what would a program look like?
  
  Examples:
  
• Elderly needs > Elderly aren’t connected with family > Help them use technology to connect with others
• Decreased Hurricane Preparedness > Mobile home residents are at risk > Educate mobile home residents about hurricane preparedness

Considerations from Dr. Morgan Gresham’s Fall 2009 Technical Writing Student Philanthropy Board:

“Our SPB chose student-based mentoring programs that focused on 8th through12th grade students. Each team member was assigned the task of researching and preparing a report on the specific area of social concern. From these reports students engaged in an exchange of information to narrow the topic to either mentoring or academic improvement. These two issues were joined to create a cohesive board vision and to maintain an appropriately-sized audience among organizations. Through an online and in person meetings, our team created a useful dialogue from which it became possible to reach a workable consensus.”

• Carefully selecting away issues requires careful consideration of ethical, practical, and academic limitations.
• What areas have previous SPBs addressed?  What sets us apart?
• Are there any organizations in our area that can address this need?
• Will this issue be impacted effectively by the amount being awarded?
• Can the effects of the grant on this topic be measured accurately?
• Will grant funding be linked to sustainability?
• Is this topic so broad that the board will receive too many proposals?
• Is this topic so narrow that the board will receive too few proposals?
• What topics does our professor have expertise in?
• What topics do our students and board members have expertise in? (Be sure to note any ethical concerns or conflicts of interest right away.)

Research

There are two different stages of research when working on a NOFO and it can be helpful to assign certain board members to research.  Initial research is done to discover a critical need in the community.  Secondary research is done once the team identifies the critical need they want to address.

• Initial research can consist of reading local newspapers to find an area of critical need in the community. Although other research is appropriate, it is important to be able to justify what a need is critical in Hillsborough and/or Pinellas counties. Local news focuses almost exclusively on the needs of the area, so it facilitates the localization of a topic.
  
• Secondary research is performed after a critical need has been identified.  This research helps identify and focus the NOFO towards a specific problem within the community with the critical need.  Scholarly journals help provide evidence for the team's argument and the NOFO's problem statement. A good resource are the e-journals and databases on the USFSP library website (http://www.nelson.usf.edu/). Reference librarians can help you with research, but appointments with them must be made two weeks in advance, so it would be beneficial for the researcher(s) on the SPB to schedule a session early.

Writing the NOFO

The NOFO is written by a team of students so it is important to consider aspects of team writing when drafting the document.

• NOFO Style
  The NOFO is written in clear, concise language that gives non-profits a good understanding of the grant's requirements. Watch out for unclear words, lengthy descriptions, and informal tone. This document is being written for non-profit organizations as a formal USFSP communication and should be professional, clear and a good representation of USF St. Petersburg.
  
• NOFO Structure
  The NOFO is written following a strict template designed by the LLS Coordinating Committee.  A sample NOFO is included in Appendix G.
  

• Problem Statement

 
The Problem Statement is the main body of the NOFO. It describes what type of proposals the SPB is looking for, how the board decided on that topic, and how they will evaluate potential proposals.  

There are two editable sections in the Problem Statement.