Share your favorite grant writing tips and tricks!
Let's create an epic list of tips! Share your tried and true advice here. Specific scenarios and examples are welcome!
Kara Adams, M.Ed., CAE (she/her/hers)|Community Manager|kara.adams@foundant.com
Headquartered: Bozeman, MT| Remote Location: Chicago, IL | Direct: 312-802-1374 |www.foundant.com|
Comments
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Create internal deadlines to submit the finalized grant several days ahead of the deadline.
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Never make any assumptions about your grantmaker's/reviewer's knowledge. Having been on both sides of the grant seeking equation, making assumptions, well...you know how the saying goes. It's a fast track for becoming a fundable proposal instead of a highly competitive proposal.
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Use short, specific headers and subheaders to guide and create more impact for your reader.
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Use Grammarly to help catch grammar mistakes and readability.
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I've had to work really hard at shorter sentences but now I'm working with other folks in my org to shorten, shorten, shorten. Think newspaper, people can't digest sentences that are 40 words long!
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Under promise and over deliver. Everything takes more time than you think!!
Johna Rodgers, GPC
Owner, Principal Consultant | Johna Rodgers Consulting, LLC
johnarodgersgpc@gmail.com |
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Use a logic model to develop a new project, then build the proposal.
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Hi All, my name is Natalie and I am a Foundant CSM. I also used to work as a Grant Writer :) You might already be doing this but I wanted to share this in case it inspires new ideas!
Develop a master narrative about your organizations and projects and update it once per year. You can then use the narrative on applications and tweak/customize per funder - this saves you A LOT of time as you begin to apply for dozens of grants in the year.
Things to include: Mission & Vision, Project Overview, Community Served, Needs Statement with compelling local data points w/ sources, Client Stories that show impact and a summary on how your project is unique/novel.
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Either write to the rubric the entire time OR have someone external to the project compare the application to the criteria. If they don't provide any, make a rubric based on the criteria and get feedback based on a reviewer's perspective.
Also speaking from a reviewer's perspective, Federal, state, and local - be organized in your application so that it matches back to the RFP. Never send a reviewer on a goose chase. They might miss something important.
Dr. Ericka Harney, CAE, CFRE, GPC, CVA
ericka@erickaharney.com | 859-492-0677
Consultant & Coach to Nonprofits - Harney & Associates, LTD
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Keep core grant content handy and updated. While no application is the same, there certainly are similarities in terms of the questions that are asked and what you are required to submit. Maintaining core content in the form of a master proposal will make the writing experience much easier.
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