What changes will occur as a result of your project/program? 

Goals are broad statements offering the reader an understanding of the general thrust of your program. Goals are not the same as objectives. Objectives are specific, measurable outcomes of your program. Objectives are your promised improvements in the situation described in your problem statement. You might want to take a look back at the logic models you produced in the pre-proposal planning period for ideas for this section. 

The goals and objectives section of your proposal should answer the grantor’s question, “How much bang for my buck will my money buy?” Specifically, grant makers want to know your measurable objectives, NOT process objectives (those are for your methods section). You can get ideas for measurable objectives from other people who have done similar programs or you can even ask your grant maker. It is critically important to distinguish between these process objectives and true outcome objectives. If you do not do so you will end up knowing only what has occurred during your program but will not have dealt with the changes attributed to your program. Remember, you have proposed your program in order to make some change in the world, not to add one more service to a world already crowded with services and service providers. 

Objectives should be realistic and attainable. If you are having difficulty defining your objectives, try projecting your agency and community a year or two into the future. What differences would you hope to see between then and now? What changes would have occurred? These changed dimensions may be the objectives of your program. 

Make sure you answer these questions in your goals & objectives section: 

• Who is to change? 
• What behaviors are to change? 
• When will these changes occur? 
• How much change will occur? 
• How will you measure the change?