In other words, you do not want to waste time on a proposal for your idea if they will not fund it. This draft budget should include a rough estimate of personnel costs, equipment, and supplies in relation to your basic idea. Then, develop an outline of the proposal . Follow their guidelines or format exactly, even if another order makes more sense to you. The form they use to evaluate the proposal follows their guidelines.
Most federal guidelines indicate the points which can be awarded to each section.
This provides you an indication of the relative weight they put on the various sections. In other words, if the Objectives Section can receive 20 points and the Personnel Section can receive 5 points, your Objectives Section will probably be longer and more detailed than the Personnel Section. A proposal should ordinarily NOT have as its focus the obtaining of equipment. Instead, tell them what the problem is, and then what the program is to overcome that problem. Then, you can say you need a computer lab, or whatever, to implement that program.