Grant Proposals

[wednes]

There is a job I'm interested in applying for, but one of the things they'll want me to do is write grant proposals. I've never written one before, and don't really know anything about writing them. On the other hand, how hard can it be? Is there some special magic invovled, or is it the kind of thing anyone with decent writing skills can do?

EDIT: Alright class, you've convinced me. I went ahead and sent them an Email and resume. I appreciate the faith and encouragement. I swear, I wish I'd known all you guys when I was just starting out in life. (Well, I knew one or two of you) You're some of the smartest people I know, and knowing that you all beleive in me means a lot.

< / mushy blubbering >


Now I'm off to make chili.
I'm certain I could earn a living making chili.

Comments

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I've not written grants myself, but I have the impression (from folks I've known who have done that) that experience helps, but a combination of willingness/effort about educating yourself, along with being aggressive about asking questions (particularly of the organization sponsoring the grant you're after), can go a long way.

how hard can it be?

[erisreg.livejournal.com]

not hard, places that are requesting proposals give guidelines for what they want to see, if your writeing unsolicited proposals you need to know how to research the potental grantor,.. all stuff a high school kid could do,.. it's been a number of years since i did it,.. but i have a hard time believing it's changed much,..0.0

Re: how hard can it be?

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks

[hortonhearsawho.livejournal.com]

I've helped to more grants than I'd like to count. It's not much more than a combination of making yourself sound absolutely amazing and worthy of anything and asking really nicely.

All you need to do is know how to write well, and you definitely can do that.

[fflo.livejournal.com]

I'll second that last affirmation!

[wednes.livejournal.com]

You guys are so awesome.

Thanks!

[locakitty.livejournal.com]

I think parilous is involved in that sort of thing too, you should ask her :)

[parilous.livejournal.com]

:-)

Yeah, I've written and co-written over 20 grant proposals; 12 funded for amounts as little as $65,000 and as much as $800,000.

hortonhearsawho is correct in that it's mainly writing effectively to make yourself look good. There's lots of research involved (as all solicitation for proposals ask that you prove need). It's is absolutely necessary that you be detail-oriented, because agencies/foundations will reject your grant if you do something as minute as format the page numbers wrong.

Some tips -- you can mention these in the interview so you can prove you know what's required from a grantwriter:
** Repeat exact phrases from the solicitation in your grant proposal and restate headings EXACTLY as stated in the solicitation outline
** Don't use tricks like lowering font size to fit within a proscribed page limit (often you can't, anyway). You're supposed to format the proposal exactly as requested, and if you're adding flourishes, make sure to remember the 10/10 rule: If it's the 10th proposal being reviewed and it's 10pm, how hard will it be to read it?
** Triple check everything. At the end of the proposal process when you're exausted and can't bear to read it again, you must. Sit there with the solicitation and your proposal and underline where you addressed their questions and responded to their requirements. Trust me on this; I've had an EXCELLENT proposal get rejected because I failed to provide titles for members of a community coalition. In the appendix, no less! Hardly a critical part of the proposal, right?
** Know that your proposal is likely to be reviewed by multiple reviewers, who are going through the review process with a checklist to make sure you've addressed all requirements. Then they will read for content. Sometimes your proposal will be broken into pieces with different reviewers reading various parts of your proposal, so try not to refer to other sections constantly. It's worth it to provide an overview and say that more in-depth information is that other section.

** Note that in any letter of interest you provide, you may want to go into how your project will forward the goals or mission statement of the foundation/agency, too. Reiterate where appropriate in the proposal you write.

What I've also learned is that grants from foundations generally come with little or no strings attached (no reports, for instance), but you should definitely spend time to send them updates about how their money is being spent and how it is affecting/improving your project. A coworker of mine wrote for foundation grants when she was the administrator of a hospital. She spent about 10 hours every quarter to handwrite a letter to the foundation, telling them of the successess of the program and how their money was impacting peoples' lives. As a result, the foundation began to give money unsolicited every year, and every year the amount increased. At the end, the $10,000 grant they originally received grew into $1 million. It is due solely to having written to them. Foundations like to feel good about their giving, so make them feel good!


All that being said, I can totally see you (Wednes) doing this.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Holy Crap, you are AWESOME!

I so appreciate this information, I'm putting it in my memories so's I can find it again.

Thank you so much!

[raggedrose.livejournal.com]

Just do it.
I mean, ya don't have a job now, so it isn't like you're giving up one you like for one you're taking a chance on. Let 'em tell you no. Don't beat 'em to it.
And you obviously can write.
I've helped to write exactly one grant proposal, so I can't exactly claim to be the voice of experience, but it seemed pretty straightforward to me. And as the above friends have described.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Sage advice.

;-)

[cmdavi-70.livejournal.com]

I helped write a number of grant proposals last year. I can only speak about what I experienced. It requires some patience, endurance for tedium, using and re-using the organization's jargon, and dealing with a considerable amount of rejection. Also, communication with those doling out funds to have a point clarified can occasionally be frustrating. On the other hand, once you've written a couple, you get into the rhythm, and you can do some cutting and pasting. I have total confidence in your writing ability, and I can guarantee you that even the most challenging grant writing job will be better than retail in myriad ways!

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Ha. True dat, I'm sure.

[princezna.livejournal.com]

I just so happen to own a book called, "Grant writing for dummies." If you need it email me.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

You're a genius!

[haroeris-astrum.livejournal.com]

Academic grant proposals? I might be able to help in that case.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Actually, it's for Catholic social services.

[sudrin.livejournal.com]

I love professional writing, its so full of Bull that its sometimes a pleasure to write. I know my encouragement is a little late, but I think you can do it.

[madush69.livejournal.com]

Good luck.