Category Archives: grant writing formula

An Unusual Grant Scenario

I was hired recently by an organization to write a grant for a program they developed over a year ago. They applied for this same grant last year, but they were not successful.  The design section scored very well, but the needs section, management plan, and evaluation section did not score well.  In fact, those sections were scored very poorly.

My interest was piqued as I reviewed the readers’ comments.  Why?  Because this was an unusual scenario.

The most typical scenario when a grant is not funded is to see high scores for need, low scores for evaluation, and moderate scores for design.  Why is this?

Most applicants score high on need because they know their needs well. They have gathered their data and they really know why they want and need the grant.  Most applicants score low on evaluation because most people don’t know much about evaluation. It’s like the grant world’s second cousin.  Everybody knows there is an important connection to it, but not many have taken the time to really get to know it.

Scoring well on design, but poorly on everything else means that they know what they want to do, but they are unclear on why (needs section) and how (management plan). Or maybe they are clear on those things but they don’t know how to express it well.  In reality, it doesn’t matter.  If you can’t make it clear to the readers, you won’t be funded.

The good news is that I can help these folks.  They have an excellent, clear view of what they want to do.  They really do know how to do it; they just need help with expressing it in writing.  A needs section is easy to write if there’s a lot of available data (and there is).  As for evaluation, I’m a professional evaluator as well as a grant writer (did you know that?) so we’ll nail the evaluation section.

The lesson from this unusual grant scenario is that you must pay attention to all sections of your grant proposal.  All pieces of the puzzle need to fit together well. That requires attention to all sections separately, as well as to the way they connect to each other.

An Unusual Grant Scenario

I was hired recently by an organization to write a grant for a program they developed over a year ago. They applied for this same grant last year, but they were not successful.  The design section scored very well, but the needs section, management plan, and evaluation section did not score well.  In fact, those sections were scored very poorly.

My interest was piqued as I reviewed the readers’ comments.  Why?  Because this was an unusual scenario.

The most typical scenario when a grant is not funded is to see high scores for need, low scores for evaluation, and moderate scores for design.  Why is this?

Most applicants score high on need because they know their needs well. They have gathered their data and they really know why they want and need the grant.  Most applicants score low on evaluation because most people don’t know much about evaluation. It’s like the grant world’s second cousin.  Everybody knows there is an important connection to it, but not many have taken the time to really get to know it.

Scoring well on design, but poorly on everything else means that they know what they want to do, but they are unclear on why (needs section) and how (management plan). Or maybe they are clear on those things but they don’t know how to express it well.  In reality, it doesn’t matter.  If you can’t make it clear to the readers, you won’t be funded.

The good news is that I can help these folks.  They have an excellent, clear view of what they want to do.  They really do know how to do it; they just need help with expressing it in writing.  A needs section is easy to write if there’s a lot of available data (and there is).  As for evaluation, I’m a professional evaluator as well as a grant writer (did you know that?) so we’ll nail the evaluation section.

The lesson from this unusual grant scenario is that you must pay attention to all sections of your grant proposal.  All pieces of the puzzle need to fit together well. That requires attention to all sections separately, as well as to the way they connect to each other.

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

Is There a Formula for Grant Writing Success?

Maybe I’m being more reflective that usual because of the new year, or maybe it’s because several  people have asked me about our success lately. The question on my mind is this:  What is the difference between super-successful grant writers like those at CRR (with funding success of over $100 million in less than 10 years) and those grant writers who struggle for every mini-grant or who spend decades writing and can’t get far passed the $10 million mark? It can’t just be luck. Is there a formula?

Well, yes and no. There is a certain amount of basic skill involved.  Good grant writers are, first and foremost, excellent writers. They are also excellent readers.  Reading an RFP (and reading between the lines of an RFP) is critical.

Good grant writers know how to follow the instructions, write succinctly, develop appropriate budgets, write good goals and objectives, build a compelling case for a project, write effective evaluation plans, and put together a comprehensive and complete proposal package. All of these skills can be taught and learned, but what separates the good grant writers from really great ones?

It’s about the things you can’t teach.

Great grant writers are extremely creative.  They can see connections between data and programs that others miss.

They are highly intuitive.  They have a sense for what a funder is really asking for, in spite of what is on the written page.

They are resilient. They handle failure and set-backs as well as success. And trust me on this– if you do a lot of grant writing, you will experience some failure – not as much as those who aren’t as good, but you don’t get to be among the best without taking those failures and learning from them.

They handle stress well.  Deadline stress is a particular kind of stress.  Every person I have ever interviewed for a job says they handle stress well.  Then they get to experience our kind of deadline stress.  Some rise to the occasion and do their best work.  Others fall apart. Also, it’s one thing being able to handle a single deadline for a single proposal, but it’s another thing entirely to handle the stress of 5 grants due on the same day, followed by another 3 grants due two days after that, and so on. That brings me to the next characteristic of really great grant writers….

They are experts at managing time and multitasking. Writing only one proposal at a time feels like a vacation.

Want to know more abut what makes the difference between good grant writers and the really successful ones (beyond what I have said here)?  Visit the CRR online store and take a look at the CD or cassette of 12 Secrets of Successful Grant Writers.

It’s not rocket science, but knowing the secrets can make the difference between being good and being GREAT.

Is There a Formula for Grant Writing Success?

Maybe I’m being more reflective that usual because of the new year, or maybe it’s because several  people have asked me about our success lately. The question on my mind is this:  What is the difference between super-successful grant writers like those at CRR (with funding success of over $100 million in less than 10 years) and those grant writers who struggle for every mini-grant or who spend decades writing and can’t get far passed the $10 million mark? It can’t just be luck. Is there a formula?

Well, yes and no. There is a certain amount of basic skill involved.  Good grant writers are, first and foremost, excellent writers. They are also excellent readers.  Reading an RFP (and reading between the lines of an RFP) is critical.

Good grant writers know how to follow the instructions, write succinctly, develop appropriate budgets, write good goals and objectives, build a compelling case for a project, write effective evaluation plans, and put together a comprehensive and complete proposal package. All of these skills can be taught and learned, but what separates the good grant writers from really great ones?

It’s about the things you can’t teach.

Great grant writers are extremely creative.  They can see connections between data and programs that others miss.

They are highly intuitive.  They have a sense for what a funder is really asking for, in spite of what is on the written page.

They are resilient. They handle failure and set-backs as well as success. And trust me on this– if you do a lot of grant writing, you will experience some failure – not as much as those who aren’t as good, but you don’t get to be among the best without taking those failures and learning from them.

They handle stress well.  Deadline stress is a particular kind of stress.  Every person I have ever interviewed for a job says they handle stress well.  Then they get to experience our kind of deadline stress.  Some rise to the occasion and do their best work.  Others fall apart. Also, it’s one thing being able to handle a single deadline for a single proposal, but it’s another thing entirely to handle the stress of 5 grants due on the same day, followed by another 3 grants due two days after that, and so on. That brings me to the next characteristic of really great grant writers….

They are experts at managing time and multitasking. Writing only one proposal at a time feels like a vacation.

Want to know more abut what makes the difference between good grant writers and the really successful ones (beyond what I have said here)?  Visit the CRR online store and take a look at the CD or cassette of 12 Secrets of Successful Grant Writers.

It’s not rocket science, but knowing the secrets can make the difference between being good and being GREAT.

Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com