Your application will have multiple parts, but will each one tell the same story?
“Oh, I could never do that,” they say. The thing they could never do is to ask for money. If you press them for a reason, it invariably leads to self-perception. Those who say they could never ask for money don’t want to be thought of as disadvantaged or responsible for why they should ask for money.
Few grant writers find themselves in this category. Often, what sets apart a successful grant writer from those who struggle is their attitude toward asking. You’ll notice a selective use of verbs and adjectives in their proposals. This helps them correctly position their organizations in the minds of funders. It’s about psychology and positioning, and there are 4 writing tips you can use along the way.
1. For goodness sakes, do your homework!
Take a moment and roll your eyes in disbelief. Get it out of your system. Does it really need to be said? The answer is a resounding yes. There’s the need to be assured that the grantor’s interest and funding philosophies align.
It’s only the beginning. Go past the all the items on the checklist you’ve made. Give yourself time to wander and do some associating. This foundation is more than a funding source. It’s an organization that can have extremely useful connections. You won’t know this until you research and look for patterns to jump out at you.
2. Present a logical solution
While it’s true that foundations and funders are on the lookout for innovators, your solution still must be processed and validated for funding. For that, it must be in the form of a story that has a beginning, where you’ll present the problem. Then you’ll move on to present your solution. The third part is a projection of your outcomes.
It’s a 3-part story. Don’t generate any sub-parts, and don’t change the order.
The problem/solution/results formula prevents grantors from getting lost as they read through your proposal. The steps are logical. It allows you to be in control of the story being told with the proposal’s narrative.
- Here’s the problem
- Here’s what we’re going to do
- Here’s what will happen when we apply the solution
3. Convince the grantmaker you know what you’re doing
This is not about competence. Due diligence will decide whether your organization has succeeded in the past and can implement the program outlined in your grant application.
This is about connectivity. Funders and foundations want to know you understand the community you serve. They’re looking for reasons to support your solution. Those reasons aren’t a list of “because” statements. It’s a story of insight that’s expressed with statistics, followed with interpretations and conclusions.
Grantors are looking for more than fundable ideas. They also want reassurance that your organization will be a capable fiduciary steward of their grant. In most cases, that’s historical proof. Your application will call out the skills and experience of your organization’s leaders.
4. Stick to the story
Many people look at grant applications as having two parts. There’s the narrative, and there’s the budget. The narrative is where you craft a compelling story about how you will create social change with the funding from the grant.
Awesome! And do those spreadsheets in the budget area tell that same story?
Grant applications get rejected when the story of your numbers is different than the story of your narrative. A grantmaker reviewing your application should be able to look at the budget alone and decide if it’s worth supporting. It should need no help from your narrative. It should be a part of your narrative.
5. Remember who you’re writing for
It’s not always appropriate or advisable, but sometimes when you have a question there is no better way to continue than to pick up the phone and have a person-to-person conversation with a foundation representative. Why guess what they want to see to decide? When you take the time to build a relationship with a funder, you can be confident that your application focuses on what’s important to them, not just what’s important to you. And that’s a great way to stand out.
If you need help getting your proposals noticed, put us to work for you. Grant writing is all we do. Contact us today.
