Do you want to get your documentary made as soon as possible?

Too many documentary proposals are unprofessional, lack the correct information and turn off wealthy donors and potential funders right at the start.

We've searched and there's nothing else like this Documentary Proposal Template Pack.

If you want an effective money-winning proposal you're in the right place.

There is no guessing. The proposal template is already formatted and ready for you to plug in your own film's information.

Documentary Proposal Template Pack

The Documentary Proposal Template Pack is a comprehensive, step-by-step fundraising tool that helps you pitch your documentary project to potential major funding partners including corporations, private investors and foundations.

Created by award-winning documentary team Hank Rogerson and Jilann Spitzmiller, they've raised more than $1-million for their documentary projects. In addition Jilann serves as a grant funding judge -- analyzing hundreds of filmmaker proposals.

Together, Hank and Jilann are giving you their best strategies, proposal samples/templates, pitch deck sample and fundraising letters all packaged into ONE easy-to-follow system to help you create a money-winning pitch.




Step-by-Step Tutorials, Templates and Samples

  • Video Tutorials

    A 15-part video series takes you step-by-step through the proposal writing process, whether it's to a small foundation or a major documentary funder.

  • Template/Samples

    A quick-start/pre-formatted proposal template, pitch deck sample, fundraising letters and a real-world money-winning proposal to use as reference to craft your own proposal. NEW! Now includes Canva Proposal Template.

  • Worksheets & Assignments

    Helpful assignments, worksheets and prompts take you step by step through each section of the proposal to help you write your proposal word by word.

Imagine putting together a documentary pitch that helps you bring in tens of thousands of dollars (or MORE!). How much is that worth?

Even if the proposal pack just helped raise an extra $1,000, $5,000 or $10,000, your small investment has easily paid for itself!

What To Expect

Immediately after logging in, you can download the proposal template/samples, pitch deck, worksheets and fundraising letters.

Watch a short welcome video from the instructor who will then take you step-by-step through the Non-Fiction Core Application, the industry-standard application form used by most major documentary funders, including ITVS, Sundance, Tribeca and many more. 

You'll learn exactly what to put in each section for maximum impact. 

By the end of this class, you will have a professional, ready-to-submit proposal and pitch deck that can be adapted for any funder or application!


Course curriculum

    1. Course Introduction

    2. About this Course

    1. Documentary Proposal Checklist

    2. Intro: Documentary Proposal Checklist

    1. READ FIRST: TEMPLATE INSTRUCTIONS

    2. Documentary Proposal Sample - "STILL DREAMING" (TEXT ONLY - PDF)

    3. Documentary Proposal Template (PDF)

    4. Documentary Proposal Template ("Live" Google Doc) - SAVE A COPY

    5. Documentary Proposal Template (Word .docx)

    6. Documentary Proposal Template (iPages)

    7. Documentary Proposal Template (CANVA)

    8. BONUS: Documentary Pitch Deck Sample

    1. VIDEO: Log lines

    2. EXAMPLE: Log Line Examples

    3. WORKSHEET: Log Line

    4. Your Log Line

    1. INTRO: Story Summary and Synopsis

    2. VIDEO: Story Summary Part 1

    3. VIDEO: Story Summary Part 2

    4. SAMPLE: Story Summary & Synopsis

    5. WORKSHEET: Story Summary/Synopsis (Part I)

    6. WORKSHEET: Story Summary/Synopsis (Part II)

    7. Your Story Summary/Synopsis

    1. VIDEO: Topic Summary

    2. SAMPLE: Topic Summary

    3. WORKSHEET: Topic Summary

    4. Your Topic Summary

About this course

  • 67 lessons
  • 2 hours of video content

What Students Are Saying

"Clear and Easy To Follow"

by Barbara Altemus

"The course is very clear and easy to follow. I wish I had the course before writing the Sundance proposal but I am grateful that I found it before we turned it in. Thank you for creating a guide for filmmakers that is truly needed and so very appreciated."

"Thorough and Inspiring"

Bart Erbach

"So grateful to have this resource. I can't imagine how I would have gotten this kind of overview and knowledge otherwise. It was simple, easy to follow, thorough and inspiring."

"Truly Priceless!"

by Ondrea Barbe

"This is EXACTLY what I have been looking for, a clear structure with a teacher with so much experience. I am only at 5%, which is CRAZY! because the course already inspired me to start my own proposal.”

"Invaluable!"

by Ronnie Braithwaite

"Invaluable! It fast-tracked my efforts 10-fold!"

"Very Helpful"

by Matthew Landfield/TimeTravlr Creative

"Excellent course. The detailed guidance through a very complex and challenging application process is very helpful."

More than... imagined!

Carlos Malache/Cinematographer

"More helpful than I could have imagined. Thanks for a great product!"

"Amazing Opportunity"

by Yvette Fintland

"Thank you for this amazing opportunity and course to help me get up to speed with my projects. I LOVE the program."

"Big Advantage"

by Kacey Cox

"I'm so happy that Desktop Documentaries put this course together. It's helping to demystify what goes into putting together a successful proposal. I've written proposals before but it was all done mostly on intuition. So to now have a framework to go on, is big advantage."

"Great learning course"

Tommy Phipps

"Very well laid out and easy to follow. And most importantly a great learning course. Anyone thinking of producing documentaries should take this course to nail all of the Core Application questions. GET IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME OUT THE GATE."

"Easy To Follow"

Beckie Gaskill

"It was so thorough and easy to follow. It gave me a ton of information and I liked all of the downloadable worksheets as well. It is also nice that every piece of the course was easy to pause and take notes when needed."

Our 100% Guarantee

Your success as a filmmaker is our #1 priority!

The Documentary Proposal Template Pack / Pitch Deck / Grant Writing Tutorial Series is such a great resource that we guarantee you'll love it or your money back.

We offer a 100% happiness 30-day money back guarantee.

Instant Access

The Documentary Proposal Template Pack is available immediately after purchase. Just click the red buy button and you'll be taken to a simple registration page where you'll be asked to create a password and insert your email. After that, you'll make payment and then you'll have access to the entire course.

Got questions? Contact Us 

What You Get

  • 15-Part Video Series (Step-By-Step Proposal Writing Tutorials)

  • Quick Start/Pre-Formatted Documentary Proposal Template (Multiple Formats: Google Doc, docx, iPages) - New! Now includes Canva Template

  • Documentary Pitch Deck Sample

  • Non-Fiction Core Application Proposal Sample PDF

  • 4 Fundraising Letters of Interest (LOI) Samples

  • Instant/Lifetime Access To All Materials

Meet Your Instructor

Documentary Director - Producer ​Hank Rogerson​

Hank is an award-winning documentary filmmaker with credits including SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS, which had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, picked up 11 awards on the festival circuit, and was broadcast worldwide. He produced and directed HOMELAND and CIRCLE OF STORIES for National PBS.

He is the co-founder of DocuMentors and is a former professor of filmmaking at Santa Fe University of Art and Design. Hank’s latest feature documentary STILL DREAMING premiered at DOCNYC and debuted nationally on PBS.

Hank has worked on a range of documentary projects—from feature docs to interactive non-fiction, from TV episodic doc shows to branded doc content. He has worked with such clients as PBS, BBC, Sundance and Discovery, and his films have twice premiered at Sundance, and been shown the world over. Work With Hank

"Invaluable! It fast-tracked my efforts 10-fold!"

- Ronnie B.