Using Dividers, Binders, or Bindery
Once again, let the directions dictate your course. Most often, however, the grantmaker will prohibit bindery or special covers. Instead, they will direct you to staple the pages together or enclose them in a rubber band.
Stapling can create a problem when you have a lot of pages to fasten together. You can use a heavy-duty stapler that can staple through at least 150 pages. Rather than investing in equipment that you may use only infrequently, go to your local shipper or copy shop and use one the business provides for customers.
Sometimes the instructions ask you to three-hole punch your original and copies and to secure them with clips or rubber bands. That means that the granting agency intends to create binders for the reviewers. If you want to avoid having to hole-punch dozens or even hundreds of pages, you can buy a ream of prepunched paper for printing your proposal.
When a funder is not specific about binding or dividing copies, you are free to package your proposal as you wish. There are a number of different ways to do this:
A three-ring binder with dividers for each section. (This method is particularly effective when you have large grant proposals of more than 100 pages, such as those for medical or dental programs.)
Wire or plastic bindery with a full-color cover or a simple cover with titles, logos, and other appropriate information
A pocket folder with a cover letter in one pocket and the proposal and attachments in the other
Binder clips
For the most part, keep your packaging simple. Often, even though you send the requisite number of copies, the granting organization must make additional ones. In these cases, they'll have to unbind or unstaple your grant packages.
