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gotchas.md

180 lines · small-business/skills/grant-rfp-writer/reference/gotchas.md at 2574e29

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Most marks come from matching words in the file, so treat them as pointers.

1# Gotchas
2
3Failure modes that waste an evening, lose a winnable bid, or put the organization at legal risk.
4
5---
6

Gotchas

Failure modes that waste an evening, lose a winnable bid, or put the organization at legal risk.

Raw lines 1 to 6
7## Gotcha: drafting before the go/no-go
8
9**Why it matters:** This is the most expensive failure in the whole skill. An evening — often several — spent on a response the organization was never eligible for, from a person who has very few evenings. The rejection arrives without the proposal ever being scored.

Gotcha: drafting before the go/no-go

Why it matters: This is the most expensive failure in the whole skill. An evening — often several — spent on a response the organization was never eligible for, from a person who has very few evenings. The rejection arrives without the proposal ever being scored.

Raw lines 7 to 10
11### Bad
13```
14"I'll start on the technical approach section for the Fort Whitfield HVAC
15solicitation."
16```
18Section L required three federal contracts over USD 500k. There is one.

Bad

"I'll start on the technical approach section for the Fort Whitfield HVAC
solicitation."

Section L required three federal contracts over USD 500k. There is one.

Raw lines 11 to 19
20### Good
22```
23NO-BID — mandatory past performance requires 3 federal contracts over USD 500k
24in 5 years. You have 1 (USD 310k, 2024). Hard disqualifier in Section L.
25Recompetes in 2029; two more qualifying contracts makes it a real target.
26```
28Ninety seconds, and the evening stays free for a bid that can be won.
30---

Good

NO-BID — mandatory past performance requires 3 federal contracts over USD 500k
in 5 years. You have 1 (USD 310k, 2024). Hard disqualifier in Section L.
Recompetes in 2029; two more qualifying contracts makes it a real target.

Ninety seconds, and the evening stays free for a bid that can be won.

Raw lines 20 to 31
32## Gotcha: inventing past performance or outcomes
34**Why it matters:** On a federal application the certification page states the submission is true and complete. False statements carry consequences under the False Claims Act. This is a legal exposure, not a writing choice, and it is created by one sentence.

Gotcha: inventing past performance or outcomes

Why it matters: On a federal application the certification page states the submission is true and complete. False statements carry consequences under the False Claims Act. This is a legal exposure, not a writing choice, and it is created by one sentence.

Raw lines 32 to 35
36### Bad
38```
39Riverbend has served over 500 students annually since 2019, with strong
40outcomes in reading advancement.
41```
43The real figure is 380 and "strong outcomes" has no source.

Bad

Riverbend has served over 500 students annually since 2019, with strong
outcomes in reading advancement.

The real figure is 380 and "strong outcomes" has no source.

Raw lines 36 to 44
45### Good
47```
48[NEEDS DIRECTOR] Section 2 — need the exact annual served count and the
49reading advancement figure with its source. The 2024 proposal said "over
50400" with no citation; this solicitation asks for documented outcomes.
51```
53Then, once answered:
55```
56Since 2019 Riverbend has served 380 students annually across four school
57districts. 71% advanced two grade levels in reading within twelve months
58(internal pre/post assessment, 2024 program year).
59```
61---

Good

[NEEDS DIRECTOR] Section 2 — need the exact annual served count and the
reading advancement figure with its source. The 2024 proposal said "over
400" with no citation; this solicitation asks for documented outcomes.

Then, once answered:

Since 2019 Riverbend has served 380 students annually across four school
districts. 71% advanced two grade levels in reading within twelve months
(internal pre/post assessment, 2024 program year).
Raw lines 45 to 62
63## Gotcha: writing prose before the compliance matrix
65**Why it matters:** A missing required form scores zero regardless of how good the narrative is. Evaluators are usually required to reject rather than allowed to overlook.

Gotcha: writing prose before the compliance matrix

Why it matters: A missing required form scores zero regardless of how good the narrative is. Evaluators are usually required to reject rather than allowed to overlook.

Raw lines 63 to 66
67### Bad
69Write a strong technical approach, discover on submission day that SF-33 needs a wet signature and the director is out of town.

Bad

Write a strong technical approach, discover on submission day that SF-33 needs a wet signature and the director is out of town.

Raw lines 67 to 70
71### Good
73Build the matrix first — every requirement, mapped to a section, with a status. Signature routing gets counted backwards from the deadline like any other task.
75---

Good

Build the matrix first — every requirement, mapped to a section, with a status. Signature routing gets counted backwards from the deadline like any other task.

Raw lines 71 to 76
77## Gotcha: ignoring the evaluation weights
79**Why it matters:** The evaluation section is a published scoring rubric. Writing the interesting section instead of the valuable one loses by a margin that reallocating the effort would have covered.

Gotcha: ignoring the evaluation weights

Why it matters: The evaluation section is a published scoring rubric. Writing the interesting section instead of the valuable one loses by a margin that reallocating the effort would have covered.

Raw lines 77 to 80
81### Bad
83Eight polished pages on the management plan (10 points). Two thin pages on past performance (30 points).

Bad

Eight polished pages on the management plan (10 points). Two thin pages on past performance (30 points).

Raw lines 81 to 84
85### Good
87```
88Scoring: technical 40, past performance 30, key personnel 20, price 10.
89Past performance is worth 3x key personnel — that's where the pages go.
90```
92---

Good

Scoring: technical 40, past performance 30, key personnel 20, price 10.
Past performance is worth 3x key personnel — that's where the pages go.
Raw lines 85 to 93
94## Gotcha: leaving portal registration late
96**Why it matters:** SAM.gov and several agency systems take days to weeks. A finished, winning proposal that cannot be uploaded is the most avoidable loss in this work, and it happens every year.

Gotcha: leaving portal registration late

Why it matters: SAM.gov and several agency systems take days to weeks. A finished, winning proposal that cannot be uploaded is the most avoidable loss in this work, and it happens every year.

Raw lines 94 to 97
98### Bad
100Draft for three weeks, start the portal registration two days out.

Bad

Draft for three weeks, start the portal registration two days out.

Raw lines 98 to 101
102### Good
104Portal status is checked in the go/no-go, before the go decision. If registration will not complete in time, that is a no-bid with a note to register now for the next cycle.
106---

Good

Portal status is checked in the go/no-go, before the go decision. If registration will not complete in time, that is a no-bid with a note to register now for the next cycle.

Raw lines 102 to 107
108## Gotcha: copied text from the last proposal
110**Why it matters:** Three reliable failures — the wrong agency name survives, an outdated number survives, and the requirement it answered last time is not the one being asked now. Any of the three reads as carelessness to an evaluator.

Gotcha: copied text from the last proposal

Why it matters: Three reliable failures — the wrong agency name survives, an outdated number survives, and the requirement it answered last time is not the one being asked now. Any of the three reads as carelessness to an evaluator.

Raw lines 108 to 111
112### Bad
114```
115Okonkwo Mechanical is pleased to submit this response to the Department of
116Veterans Affairs...
117```
119In a submission to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Bad

Okonkwo Mechanical is pleased to submit this response to the Department of
Veterans Affairs...

In a submission to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Raw lines 112 to 120
121### Good
123Reuse aggressively, then read every reused paragraph against the current requirement and the current recipient before it stays.
125---

Good

Reuse aggressively, then read every reused paragraph against the current requirement and the current recipient before it stays.

Raw lines 121 to 126
127## Gotcha: answering an adjacent question
129**Why it matters:** The most common scoring failure is a well-written section that answers something near the requirement but not the requirement. It reads fine and scores badly, and the writer never understands why.

Gotcha: answering an adjacent question

Why it matters: The most common scoring failure is a well-written section that answers something near the requirement but not the requirement. It reads fine and scores badly, and the writer never understands why.

Raw lines 127 to 130
131### Bad
133Requirement: "Describe your approach to maintaining service in occupied facilities."
134Response: three pages on the company's general maintenance methodology.

Bad

Requirement: "Describe your approach to maintaining service in occupied facilities." Response: three pages on the company's general maintenance methodology.

Raw lines 131 to 135
136### Good
138Re-read the requirement after drafting and check it literally, phrase by phrase. Occupied facilities means occupied facilities: noise, hours, access, disruption, safety around building users.
140---

Good

Re-read the requirement after drafting and check it literally, phrase by phrase. Occupied facilities means occupied facilities: noise, hours, access, disruption, safety around building users.

Raw lines 136 to 141
142## Gotcha: winning something the organization cannot deliver
144**Why it matters:** Bad performance damages the past performance record, which is the asset that wins everything afterward. For a small organization, one bad record closes a lot of doors for years.

Gotcha: winning something the organization cannot deliver

Why it matters: Bad performance damages the past performance record, which is the asset that wins everything afterward. For a small organization, one bad record closes a lot of doors for years.

Raw lines 142 to 145
146### Bad
148Bid it because the dollar figure is attractive and worry about staffing later.

Bad

Bid it because the dollar figure is attractive and worry about staffing later.

Raw lines 146 to 149
150### Good
152Capacity is check 4 of the go/no-go, before fit and odds. Reimbursement-basis awards get a specific cash-flow question, because floating six months of costs has broken small nonprofits that won.
154---

Good

Capacity is check 4 of the go/no-go, before fit and odds. Reimbursement-basis awards get a specific cash-flow question, because floating six months of costs has broken small nonprofits that won.

Raw lines 150 to 155
156## Gotcha: submitting without explicit approval
158**Why it matters:** A submission is a binding commitment with certifications attached. It obligates delivery, pricing, and reporting, and there is no editing it after the portal closes.

Gotcha: submitting without explicit approval

Why it matters: A submission is a binding commitment with certifications attached. It obligates delivery, pricing, and reporting, and there is no editing it after the portal closes.

Raw lines 156 to 159
Involves a person without explicit approval :156
160### Bad
162Complete the package and upload it because the deadline is close.

Bad

Complete the package and upload it because the deadline is close.

Raw lines 160 to 163
164### Good
166State exactly what is going, to whom, by when, and what it commits the organization to — including the reporting burden that follows a win. Wait for a yes. Then submit, early enough that deadline-day portal traffic is not a risk.
168---

Good

State exactly what is going, to whom, by when, and what it commits the organization to — including the reporting burden that follows a win. Wait for a yes. Then submit, early enough that deadline-day portal traffic is not a risk.

Raw lines 164 to 169
170## Gotcha: dropping the post-award obligations
172**Why it matters:** A missed grant report can cost the next award and sometimes claws back the current one. It is a more common failure than losing the bid was, and it happens because the work feels finished at submission.

Gotcha: dropping the post-award obligations

Why it matters: A missed grant report can cost the next award and sometimes claws back the current one. It is a more common failure than losing the bid was, and it happens because the work feels finished at submission.

Raw lines 170 to 173
174### Bad
176Award announced, celebrate, close the file.

Bad

Award announced, celebrate, close the file.

Raw lines 174 to 177
178### Good
180On award, put every reporting date, drawdown deadline, and renewal date on the calendar with lead time. Say plainly what the ongoing burden is — for a small nonprofit, quarterly narrative and financial reporting is real work that has to be staffed.

Good

On award, put every reporting date, drawdown deadline, and renewal date on the calendar with lead time. Say plainly what the ongoing burden is — for a small nonprofit, quarterly narrative and financial reporting is real work that has to be staffed.

Raw lines 178 to 180