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Grant Writing Tips

The grant writing season is almost here, so it's time to start thinking seriously about how to improve your grant writing skills. Here are a few of the Grant Goddess's tips for success.

  • Read the instructions.While this may seem like a simple thing, you would be amazed at how many people overlook it. Start out by reading the instructions from start to finish, without stopping. Read the small print and read the parts that look like technical jargon. Read it all. Remember, your success in being funded rests predominantly on how well you respond to what is contained in the Request for Applications (RFA), so you want to make sure that you thoroughly understand what is in print.
  • Answer the questions directly. Sometimes, an RFA includes questions to which the writer is asked to respond. In other cases, it lists funding criteria and you are asked to write in response to the criteria. Regardless of how it is presented, your task as a grant writer is to respond directly to the questions or criteria. The No. 1 error made by aspiring grant writers is insisting on writing what they want to write in spite of what has been asked. Never forget that the funding source is holding all the cards and your job is to give them the information they need to determine that your organization would be a great place to invest their money.
  • Review the formal evaluation requirements of the funding source before finalizing your objectives or writing your evaluation plan. Since you will be required to demonstrate the degree to which you have achieved your objectives and you will be required to provide specific data to the funding source as part of the state, national, or organization's (if you have a private funding source) evaluation, it would make sense to try to tailor your objectives and your evaluation plan to include the data that will be required for the formal evaluation.
  • Tell the truth. This is simple, but it must be said. It is true that some people lie in grant proposals. It is also true that some "professionals" do this. But it is also true that most people do not. You have to live with yourself and you have to implement the grant when it is funded. Don't make the mistake of lying in the proposal. You'll find that explaining yourself later to your stakeholders will be very difficult. You will also find that implementing a fabricated program can be more difficult than you imagined. Remember . . . what a tangled web we weave . . .
  • Don’t let competition scare you. Just because a funding source may only be offering one (or 10 or 50) of a particular type of grant does not mean that you should not apply. What if you would have been the one selected? Also, remember that you learn much from proposals that are not funded. A rejection this year might give you the information needed to be successful next year. If you never try, you'll never succeed.
  • Success is just around the corner for you. The only way you can start claiming your share of grant funding is to start writing. Good luck!

(The tips in this article were excerpted from 101 Tips for Aspiring Grant Writers.)

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