The Art & Science of Grant Writing

Hey everyone,

The other day, I was talking to a client who was complaining about an online grant application process.  Looking through it myself, I agreed.

Each question in the sections ended with the instructions of "200 words maximum". Seasoned, as well as new grant writers, will tell you that its not what you say, but rather how you say it.  For some grant writers, open ended grant applications are harder for them. "How do you know when you've covered

everything possible about your request," they ask.   Others

prefer the parameters set up within an online application with word or character limitations.

 Here are few tips to think about as you develop any kind of proposal.

1. The Art of a proposal.  You decide how you want to describe  your program, your request or your appeal.  As the writer, you decide how eloquent you want to be.  Feel free to fully answer the questions within a proposal.  You can always go back to to edit and wordsmith so that you can get to the word limit.  The important thing is to get it on paper.

 For online applications, I will usually fill out the questions on a word doc and upload responses separately. You should do whatever makes you feel more comfortable.

One word of caution here.  Don't get to verbose with your descriptions.

Be straight forward.  One of the things I didn't mention in my last blog update on Confessions of a Foundation Executive, is that foundations receive a lot of proposals each week.  Some of them even get hundreds. Don't make your proposal hard to read and understand. 

I suggest that just like a basketball player gets prepared for the game, you do the same in preparing for your proposal writing.  Make sure you know your population, recent data about the problem you are tackling, and your information about why you are the organization to address this problem.  Edit and revise your statements so that they are written grammatically correct but also so that someone who doesn't know a lot about your topic can understand it.  Avoid a lot of acronyms and industry specific jargon. 

2. The Science of a proposal.  Science has a pattern and some predictability. In science there is exploration to seek to understand the unknown.   Like in science, you need to investigate and seek as much

information about your potential funding source.  

You need to know, what is the funder's mission, its core beliefs and what type of impact does it want to make? Why was the foundation started?What is the foundation's giving history to programs such as yours? The more you know the better proposal you will write.If space allows, mention that your organization's mission and that of the foundation mirror or support one another.Discuss some of your successes in similar program areas that the foundation funds.

I often hear from grant writers that they want to send extra tables, videos, etc., etc., to further "make the case," that their request should be funded.  Be very careful here.  Enclose only the information that the foundation requests.  Sometimes, there is no way to review your collateral materials.  I remember from my work in philanthropy, receiving VHS tapes from applicants.  I had a small stack of these kinds of  "extra stuff" on my desk. These were sadly never viewed and were probably costly items for the organizations that sent them.  Your proposal must speak for itself. 

 I hope this post has been helpful to you... happy writing!  Are you experiencing any challenges with putting it down in writing? 

Next time, I'll be talking about How to Recruit New Board Members.  Those of you who are emailing me with topic ideas... thank you so much!