Edit Right AdvisorsModel 2A of Grant Gearbox. Fund it right.
Grant Gauge
Grant Gauge is Edit Right Advisors' bid or no-bid decision model. It runs a mandatory eligibility gate first, then tests strategic alignment, delivery feasibility, and competitiveness before anyone writes a word. You receive a one-page bid decision with the reasons recorded: go, go with conditions, or no go.
What is Grant Gauge?
Grant Gauge is Edit Right Advisors’ bid or no-bid decision model. A strong proposal takes weeks of staff time, and organizations often apply because a call is open rather than because it fits. Left unsolved, that habit burns staff time and goodwill and lowers your success rate. Grant Gauge gives leaders an honest, structured answer before they commit.
When should you use Grant Gauge?
Use it if you are weighing a call and are not sure it is worth weeks of your team’s time.
In your words: “Should we even apply for this one?”
How does Grant Gauge work?
The model reads from top to bottom. A failed mandatory requirement with no remedy allowed leads straight to no go.
- Mandatory eligibility gate: Whether you meet every mandatory requirement in the call. If a requirement fails and no remedy is allowed, the decision is no go.
- Strategic alignment: Whether the opportunity fits your mission, strategy, and theory of change.
- Delivery feasibility: Whether you have the capacity, partners, budget, and time to deliver the work.
- Competitiveness: How strong your case is against the funder's criteria and likely competition.
- Bid decision: Go, go with conditions, or no go, with the reasons.
What you get
- Outputs: a one-page bid decision with the reasons and, for go with conditions, the named conditions to meet first.
- Result: effort goes to opportunities that fit your mission and can be delivered, and you avoid costly bids you are unlikely to win.
Delivered through SS-02 Grant Writing and Resource Mobilization.
What we need from you
- The call for proposals and its eligibility rules
- Your organization’s profile, capacity, partners, and track record
Who it is for
- NGOs and community-based and similar organizations: decide honestly whether to bid before investing time.
- Funders: receive fewer, better-fitted applications.
- Government: receive applications from eligible, ready organizations.
- Researchers: check eligibility and fit before committing to a bid.
Illustrative example
Illustrative example only. This is a generic scenario, not a client result.
A nonprofit finds an open call that seems close to its work. Grant Gauge checks the mandatory eligibility rules first, and they are met. Strategic alignment is strong, but delivery feasibility shows the call needs a local partner the team does not yet have. The one-page bid decision is go with conditions, naming the partner agreement as the condition to meet before writing starts.
Recognized practice behind Grant Gauge
- Bid or no-bid decision. Grant Gauge follows the qualification practice in the APMP Winning Business Ecosystem, which weighs fit, capacity, and risk before proposal work begins.
- Eligibility screening. The eligibility gate mirrors the eligibility section funders set out in a notice of funding opportunity, such as the structure in US federal grant rules (2 CFR 200, Appendix I).
- Standard decision language. Go, go with conditions, and no go are standard bid decision terms.
Edit Right models are our own structured adaptations of established practice. Naming a benchmark, author, or institution does not imply accreditation, membership, or endorsement.
How Grant Gauge connects
2B Review Ramp
Explore the model2C Compliance Compass
Explore the model1C Change Canvas
Explore the modelParent framework: Grant Gearbox
Back to the frameworkFrequently asked questions
What is a bid or no-bid decision?
It is a structured decision on whether to pursue a funding opportunity, made before proposal work begins. It weighs fit, capacity, and risk.
What happens if we fail the eligibility gate?
If a mandatory requirement fails and the call allows no remedy, the decision is no go. This saves your team from writing a proposal that cannot be funded.
What does go with conditions mean?
It means the bid is worth pursuing once named conditions are met, such as securing a partner or confirming match funding.
Key terms
- Notice of funding opportunity: The funder’s published call, setting out eligibility, criteria, and rules.
- Eligibility gate: The mandatory requirements an applicant must meet before anything else is assessed.
- Go with conditions: A decision to bid once named conditions are met.
- Competitiveness: How strong your case is against the funder’s criteria and likely competition.
Find funders that fit your mission.
Email hello@editright.io or call +1 314 998 0221.
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