A tightly focused project stands out from the rest.
Many grant writers make the mistake of trying to tell the readers how much they know about their subject without really getting down to the business of the project.
Match Your Expertise with the Agency Goals in the Grant Proposal
Your goals are important, but the goals of the funding source or agency are more important. The agency wants to give money for their own reasons, not necessarily for your reasons.
A winning proposal elegantly ties your expertise and the goals of the agency together in a clear partnership. You keep your expertise, they keep their goals.
Funding agencies want to see this alignment of goals and expertise almost immediately. A good way to achieve this alignment is to have a discussion with someone at the agency as long as the conversation does not create a conflict of interest for them.
In the book "Getting the Grant" Rebecca Gajda and Richard Tulikangas say, "Build a relationship with the funder".
Most funding agencies have a large number of grant applications and become bored when the prose does not strike the right tone or if the proposer is a "cold call".
A good grant will get to the point right away, be void of fluff, and put the goal of the project into the head of the reviewer almost immediately.
Here is a Quick Grant Writing Checklist to Develop a Focused Grant Proposal:
- Match Expertise with an Agency: Federal, State, Local, Private and Foundations all have programs of varying rigor. Make sure they want something that you have the expertise to deliver. If at all possible, get to know someone at the agency.
- Above All, Read the Guidelines: The agency will tell you what they are looking for. Don't ignore it. It will show. Some people have been known to "lift" the goals out of the guidelines and put them into their grant application as a guide. Follow their guidelines exactly.
- Write a Draft: A draft is something you can mess up and not have to worry about presenting to anyone. This helps you with writer's block and helps you cut out the good and the bad. Cut deep and pull out the relevant information.
- Write a Problem Statement: "We believe childhood obesity is caused by having vending machines in schools."
- Write a Goal: "We seek funding to replace unhealthy snacks with healthy snacks in schools."
- Write a Plan for Achieving the Goal: "(1) Meet with principles and superintendents, (2) meet with vendors, (3) meet with teachers, (4) hold a healthy snacks symposium, etc.
- Write a Budget that Matches the Plan: Some grant writers are guilty of not asking for enough money, while some grant writers are guilty of asking for too much. The best way to fix this problem is attach a cost to each element of the plan and justify it. If the cost looks inflated, it probably is. Don't be afraid of presenting cost data such as bids and catalog prices to show where the costs came from.
Of course, don't forget to back the problem statement with national, state and local data.
Also, use charts whenever possible to make it easier for the reader to follow the big picture. If the project involves relationships with other organizations, show letters of support from those organizations.
It is also helpful to look at a sample grant proposal before you get started.
Remember, a new proposal sits in a stack with a bunch of other proposals. Do everything possible to make the application stand above the rest.
References
Gadja, R and Tulikangas, R. (2005). "Getting the Grant: How Educators can Write Winning Proposals and Manage Successful Projects." Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Alexandria, VA
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