Category Archives: grant writer

Grant Writing is like the World Cup

Non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link, shares his ideas about how grant writing is like World Cup soccer. His opinions about soccer are not shared by everyone here at Creative Resources & Research, but his grant writing thoughts are pretty much spot on.

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I  never played organized soccer; which assumes that it is organized, which I cannot attest to by watching. I just don’t get it most of the time. I don’t understand why there isn’t more scoring, and why most shots aren’t even close to going in the net. I don’t understand heading or why they aren’t forced to wear helmets to do that. It gives me a headache just watching a header.

And then there are the guys lolling on the ground after getting tripped, which I must say that to anyone who put on a football uniform (American Football), or who played competitive basketball, or who ran through the catcher at home plate, grimacing like death is approaching on the ground while clutching body parts really looks a tad wimpy. I’d much rather see an Inspector Clouseau rebound after a good tumble onto the soft grass with a crisply delivered, “Of course I am all right”.

But, since I never played soccer, I can only compare it to what I know, grant writing.

The Warm-Up – I see the players jogging around, bouncing on their toes, swinging their legs from side-to-side. I do similar things to prepare for grant writing, I begin by making coffee, organizing my materials, reading a grant sample, booting the computer up, putting out the cat, etc.

First Half – It starts a little slowly with the sides testing each other – a little rough sometimes as the defenders try to establish themselves as tough guys (they usually aren’t the ones rolling around the lawn, they’re the ones who cause other guys to).

It’s the same with grant writing. I read the rfp, make a grant outline, organize my data, skirmish with my client about getting me more data, find some research – sort of testing the boundaries of what I know and what I need to learn fast.

Half Time – Now I haven’t seen a locker room scene with the soccer coach making great “Knute Rockne” speeches to the soccer players. My guess is that it doesn’t happen like it does in American Football with the coach exhorting the players to greater levels of courage and violence. It’s probably more like an English Tea, with round café-style tables and cups with saucers and a gentle discussion about strategy and stiff upper lips while white-gloved masseuses give nice shoulder rubs.

So I treat grant writing half time the same way. I make more coffee, maybe have a snack, read about massage chairs in the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog, or eat lunch if the time of day is right. Sometimes, I will do a small household chore like take out the trash, or pick vegetables in the garden.

Second Half – Now the guys on both teams are getting tired and they’ve already had their high tea so there’s really nothing to look forward to. They tend to complain more to the referees in the second half. They also tend to lay down on the turf more curled and grasping shins hoping to get a penalty or a rest.

Grant writing is the same. By the second half, you’re tired and cranky and you’d rather lay down on the floor of the study than continue but there’s no referee to stop time so there’s nothing left to do but slog it out and finish. There are times when I’d really like to see a red card and get kicked right out of a grant, but there’s little hope of that happening.

Now that I’ve written this, I can see that the World Cup isn’t really that much like grant writing at all. But you do kick the narrative around until you’re exhausted with it, and the game is over. When the deadline finally comes, the referee blows the whistle and the game is over then there’s nothing more you can do about the result of all your work; you just hope it was good enough to put the ball in the net.

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Now is a great time to register for an online grant writing seminar or course through our Online Learning Center.  Learn grant writing when it’s convenient for you.

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

Changing the World

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  –Margaret Mead.

I had one of those awesome grant writer payoff moments yesterday.  I was sitting in an end-of-year evaluation meeting with a group of collaborative partners that has been implementing a grant funded, school-based violence prevention program for the last four years. The group was discussing the outcomes for the past year and plans for the next year.

It was an unusually lighthearted and joyful meeting.  Of course, there were many educators around the table and school is out for the summer, but even in that situation grant evaluation meetings are typically not that celebratory, at least not in my experience. However, this group had good reason to be proud. There was good improvement in our targeted outcomes in spite of the fact that the sites involved had been hit hard by budget cuts and had suffered several dramatic challenges late in the year (the death of a teacher at one school; the arrest of a teacher at the other).

As we were discussing the outcomes and fine tuning the plans for next year, the real magic happened. A student walked in the room bringing some copies to the meeting facilitator.  After the student left, one of the principals said, “Now she’s a real success story!” and he proceeded to tell us how troubled that young woman had been and how many thought that she might be in real trouble and lost beyond the ability of anyone at the school to help.

Then he talked about the services provided to the young woman through the project – not just through the grant, but through the entire collaborative effort.  We learned that she had been assisted in various ways by at least  8 of the project partners in that room, and that the grant had helped coordinate those services so the community could actually wrap its arms around that young woman and walk her through the difficult time in her life. Then he told us how well she is doing now (including earning a 3.5 GPA!). The principal finished his remarks with the words, “Seriously, we saved a life.”

I sat there listening quietly, but the truth is that it was a moment that took my breath away.  I couldn’t speak because there was a lump in my throat. There is no question that moments like that are the real payoff in grant writing, and they are the reason I do it.

Most of the time, I work in isolation as I write.  I communicate with people as much as I need to to gather the information I need to put together a high quality proposal, but hours and hours are spent alone with my notes and my computer. The process is so separate from the ultimate result (changing lives) that it’s very hard to see sometimes, especially when I’m backed up against multiple deadlines, and I’m tired, and my client is being difficult (yes, it happens at times).

Because I also serve as a program evaluator, I have the incredible honor of being able to see the result of my writing efforts. I get to see programs in place that weren’t there before, services that weren’t offered before, and yes, I get to meet people whose lives are forever changed for the better because of those hours I spent in isolation doing what I do best.

So, the experience yesterday will provide some good motivating fuel for my writing for a while.  When I’m tired of writing and I want to quit or I want to take a shortcut or two instead of giving it my best effort, I’ll remind myself that I’m not writing, I’m changing the world.

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Related Post: The Real Payoff

The Grant Goddess’ Online Learning Center opens in a few days! Keep checking back here or visit GrantGoddess.com to see the link on the home page.

Want to supercharge your grant writing?  Become a member at GrantGoddess.com! You’ll have access to a huge selection of grant writing, program evaluation, non-profit development, and research tools.

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

Changing the World

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”  –Margaret Mead.

I had one of those awesome grant writer payoff moments yesterday.  I was sitting in an end-of-year evaluation meeting with a group of collaborative partners that has been implementing a grant funded, school-based violence prevention program for the last four years. The group was discussing the outcomes for the past year and plans for the next year.

It was an unusually lighthearted and joyful meeting.  Of course, there were many educators around the table and school is out for the summer, but even in that situation grant evaluation meetings are typically not that celebratory, at least not in my experience. However, this group had good reason to be proud. There was good improvement in our targeted outcomes in spite of the fact that the sites involved had been hit hard by budget cuts and had suffered several dramatic challenges late in the year (the death of a teacher at one school; the arrest of a teacher at the other).

As we were discussing the outcomes and fine tuning the plans for next year, the real magic happened. A student walked in the room bringing some copies to the meeting facilitator.  After the student left, one of the principals said, “Now she’s a real success story!” and he proceeded to tell us how troubled that young woman had been and how many thought that she might be in real trouble and lost beyond the ability of anyone at the school to help.

Then he talked about the services provided to the young woman through the project – not just through the grant, but through the entire collaborative effort.  We learned that she had been assisted in various ways by at least  8 of the project partners in that room, and that the grant had helped coordinate those services so the community could actually wrap its arms around that young woman and walk her through the difficult time in her life. Then he told us how well she is doing now (including earning a 3.5 GPA!). The principal finished his remarks with the words, “Seriously, we saved a life.”

I sat there listening quietly, but the truth is that it was a moment that took my breath away.  I couldn’t speak because there was a lump in my throat. There is no question that moments like that are the real payoff in grant writing, and they are the reason I do it.

Most of the time, I work in isolation as I write.  I communicate with people as much as I need to to gather the information I need to put together a high quality proposal, but hours and hours are spent alone with my notes and my computer. The process is so separate from the ultimate result (changing lives) that it’s very hard to see sometimes, especially when I’m backed up against multiple deadlines, and I’m tired, and my client is being difficult (yes, it happens at times).

Because I also serve as a program evaluator, I have the incredible honor of being able to see the result of my writing efforts. I get to see programs in place that weren’t there before, services that weren’t offered before, and yes, I get to meet people whose lives are forever changed for the better because of those hours I spent in isolation doing what I do best.

So, the experience yesterday will provide some good motivating fuel for my writing for a while.  When I’m tired of writing and I want to quit or I want to take a shortcut or two instead of giving it my best effort, I’ll remind myself that I’m not writing, I’m changing the world.

——————————–

Related Post: The Real Payoff

The Grant Goddess’ Online Learning Center opens in a few days! Keep checking back here or visit GrantGoddess.com to see the link on the home page.

Want to supercharge your grant writing?  Become a member at GrantGoddess.com! You’ll have access to a huge selection of grant writing, program evaluation, non-profit development, and research tools.

Grant Writing Rejection

Grant writing rejection can be hard to take. Nonprofit consultant and grant writing expert, Derek Link, provides some tips on what you should do if your grant is rejected.

One reason that grant writers can fail is by taking on too many low percentage grants that are unlikely to be funded. Selecting grants to write is a delicate thing because as a grant writer you get so many requests from unqualified applicants.

It would be easy to take on lots of contracts from clients you know don’t have a prayer of getting funded, but then your reputation is nothing but a house of cards. Unless you want to move from state to state on an annual basis where nobody knows how unsuccessful you were the year prior, success is important!

Your reputation as a grant writer relies primarily on one thing – getting grants funded. Be prepared for rejection from time to time, because not every grant can be funded; not even the best written ones. Grant rejection is hard to take when you’ve written what you believe to be a good narrative. Getting rejected means doing some damage control with the client as well as preparing for resubmission when the opportunity arises.
Here are some ideas about what to do when your grant is rejected:

  1. Always ask for the readers’ comments. Funding agencies don’t always have the staff to provide these so often your request will be denied. If you do get them, study them carefully and try not to focus on the things that the readers obviously missed. I’ve heard grant writers get all wound up about some reader missing something that cost them points. OK, it happens and it stinks, but move on to why did they miss it? Was it in the wrong section? Maybe it needed to be repeated, bolded, underlined. On the rewrite, make sure that point is easier to find and repeated so even the slowest reader can find it.
  2. If you find that the readers really missed the mark on your proposal, then file a challenge and detail the reasons you think that the readers got it wrong. There has to be a truly egregious error for a negative funding decision to be reversed. Remember, they’ve probably already sent out the notices to all the people who were successful so it’s unlikely they are going to eat crow and reorganize the whole field to fund your proposal. But it can happen, so sometimes it’s worth a challenge. If it’s a federal grant, your appeal needs to demonstrate that a standard other than the approved scoring criteria was applied.  That is nearly impossible to demonstrate.
  3. If you can’t get readers’ comments then it’s a good idea to request copies of some of the winning proposals so you can compare them to what you submitted. Write down the reasons you think that the proposal was rejected and keep it on file for the following submission. It’s better to do it right after you learn why you weren’t funded.
  4. If you planned with a collaborative that meets regularly, discuss the rejected proposal with them to talk about why it wasn’t funded and whether the group is capable and willing to make changes in the proposal design so it is more likely to be funded the next time around.

It’s a terrible experience to have to give a client disappointing news about a grant being rejected. Your clients put a lot of faith in your writing abilities and failure hurts your reputation as a “grant magician.” A failed grant in the early stages of a client relationship can ruin your relationship with them. Be wise about which grants you write and try to steer clear of lower percentage competitions with a client until you’ve had some success and demonstrated your competence. Once your relationship has been established, and your abilities are enshrined in the annals of their annual report, then you can survive a few rejections here and there.

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Visit GrantGoddess.com for lots of great tips and ideas to help increase you grant writing success!
 
Become a fan of the Grant Goddess and Creative Resources & Research on Facebook!

Grant Writing Rejection

Grant writing rejection can be hard to take. Nonprofit consultant and grant writing expert, Derek Link, provides some tips on what you should do if your grant is rejected.

One reason that grant writers can fail is by taking on too many low percentage grants that are unlikely to be funded. Selecting grants to write is a delicate thing because as a grant writer you get so many requests from unqualified applicants.

It would be easy to take on lots of contracts from clients you know don’t have a prayer of getting funded, but then your reputation is nothing but a house of cards. Unless you want to move from state to state on an annual basis where nobody knows how unsuccessful you were the year prior, success is important!

Your reputation as a grant writer relies primarily on one thing – getting grants funded. Be prepared for rejection from time to time, because not every grant can be funded; not even the best written ones. Grant rejection is hard to take when you’ve written what you believe to be a good narrative. Getting rejected means doing some damage control with the client as well as preparing for resubmission when the opportunity arises.
Here are some ideas about what to do when your grant is rejected:

  1. Always ask for the readers’ comments. Funding agencies don’t always have the staff to provide these so often your request will be denied. If you do get them, study them carefully and try not to focus on the things that the readers obviously missed. I’ve heard grant writers get all wound up about some reader missing something that cost them points. OK, it happens and it stinks, but move on to why did they miss it? Was it in the wrong section? Maybe it needed to be repeated, bolded, underlined. On the rewrite, make sure that point is easier to find and repeated so even the slowest reader can find it.
  2. If you find that the readers really missed the mark on your proposal, then file a challenge and detail the reasons you think that the readers got it wrong. There has to be a truly egregious error for a negative funding decision to be reversed. Remember, they’ve probably already sent out the notices to all the people who were successful so it’s unlikely they are going to eat crow and reorganize the whole field to fund your proposal. But it can happen, so sometimes it’s worth a challenge. If it’s a federal grant, your appeal needs to demonstrate that a standard other than the approved scoring criteria was applied.  That is nearly impossible to demonstrate.
  3. If you can’t get readers’ comments then it’s a good idea to request copies of some of the winning proposals so you can compare them to what you submitted. Write down the reasons you think that the proposal was rejected and keep it on file for the following submission. It’s better to do it right after you learn why you weren’t funded.
  4. If you planned with a collaborative that meets regularly, discuss the rejected proposal with them to talk about why it wasn’t funded and whether the group is capable and willing to make changes in the proposal design so it is more likely to be funded the next time around.

It’s a terrible experience to have to give a client disappointing news about a grant being rejected. Your clients put a lot of faith in your writing abilities and failure hurts your reputation as a “grant magician.” A failed grant in the early stages of a client relationship can ruin your relationship with them. Be wise about which grants you write and try to steer clear of lower percentage competitions with a client until you’ve had some success and demonstrated your competence. Once your relationship has been established, and your abilities are enshrined in the annals of their annual report, then you can survive a few rejections here and there.

————————————–
 
Visit GrantGoddess.com for lots of great tips and ideas to help increase you grant writing success!
 
Become a fan of the Grant Goddess and Creative Resources & Research on Facebook!

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

Tune Out the Noise in Your Grant Proposal

Do you remember how difficult it could be sometimes to tune in to a radio station? A tiny move of the tuning nob could bring static.  Another tiny move could bring in two stations talking over each other and a little static, too. Finally, you get it just right and you hear the station you wanted as clear as a bell. (I realize that there may be some very young ones among you who have come of age in an era of iPods and Pandora who don’t know what I’m talking about, but go with it for a moment, ok?)

I have been working on a grant application this week (as usual), and I have a great client who has been doing some fantastic things.  This client is extremely bright and she sees connections between everything.  When she describes what she wants to do through the new grant, she can’t help but connect it to all sorts of other activities and programs that are already going on.  This integration of webs of services and partnerships is one of the hallmarks of a skilled program administrator, but it makes for messy grant writing.

Don’t get me wrong.  It’s very important in a grant narrative to connect new and existing services, to show the organization’s capacity for implementing programs of the size and scope of the one in the grant, and to use previous examples of success to demonstrate the likelihood of success of the new project. However, it’s also critical to describe what you plan to do as clearly as possible with as little “noise” as possible.

The simpler the program design, the easier it is to describe it clearly in writing. The more complex the design, the more potential there is for “static,” and the higher the likelihood that the readers will start to read other things into the proposal that are not really there and to impose their experiences and biases over your writing (that’s the other radio station you hear that’s infringing on your favorite song).

Your job as a grant writer is to keep it as simple as possible for the reader. Draw connections to other programs and services, but not so much that your message (your program design) becomes less clear.

Remember, the grant readers don’t know your organization or your fabulous program. Those little extra pieces of information about related programs and services that are only partially explained bring into your mind a full picture of integrated services.  To the reader, they only spark questions…..and static.

Do yourself a favor…..keep your program design simple and clean, and clear as a bell.

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Related Posts:

Five Tips for Writing Good Grant Objectives

Five Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Grant Objectives

Relax……And Tell Your Story

A Fool and His Grant Are Soon Parted – Follow the Instructions

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Tune Out the Noise in Your Grant Proposal

Do you remember how difficult it could be sometimes to tune in to a radio station? A tiny move of the tuning nob could bring static.  Another tiny move could bring in two stations talking over each other and a little static, too. Finally, you get it just right and you hear the station you wanted as clear as a bell. (I realize that there may be some very young ones among you who have come of age in an era of iPods and Pandora who don’t know what I’m talking about, but go with it for a moment, ok?)

I have been working on a grant application this week (as usual), and I have a great client who has been doing some fantastic things.  This client is extremely bright and she sees connections between everything.  When she describes what she wants to do through the new grant, she can’t help but connect it to all sorts of other activities and programs that are already going on.  This integration of webs of services and partnerships is one of the hallmarks of a skilled program administrator, but it makes for messy grant writing.

Don’t get me wrong.  It’s very important in a grant narrative to connect new and existing services, to show the organization’s capacity for implementing programs of the size and scope of the one in the grant, and to use previous examples of success to demonstrate the likelihood of success of the new project. However, it’s also critical to describe what you plan to do as clearly as possible with as little “noise” as possible.

The simpler the program design, the easier it is to describe it clearly in writing. The more complex the design, the more potential there is for “static,” and the higher the likelihood that the readers will start to read other things into the proposal that are not really there and to impose their experiences and biases over your writing (that’s the other radio station you hear that’s infringing on your favorite song).

Your job as a grant writer is to keep it as simple as possible for the reader. Draw connections to other programs and services, but not so much that your message (your program design) becomes less clear.

Remember, the grant readers don’t know your organization or your fabulous program. Those little extra pieces of information about related programs and services that are only partially explained bring into your mind a full picture of integrated services.  To the reader, they only spark questions…..and static.

Do yourself a favor…..keep your program design simple and clean, and clear as a bell.

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Related Posts:

Five Tips for Writing Good Grant Objectives

Five Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Grant Objectives

Relax……And Tell Your Story

A Fool and His Grant Are Soon Parted – Follow the Instructions

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

Bless His Cotton Socks

Every culture has its own polite way of saying, “He’s an idiot.” In South Africa, a friend of mine who grew up there will say “Bless his cotton socks.” In the Southern U.S., I’ve heard the common, “Bless his heart.” In California, we tend to use the somewhat lukewarm, “He meant well.”

These sayings are used at the end of sentences like, “Joe fell off the top step of the ladder again, bless his heart,” or “Judy is wearing that peacock-feathered hat again, bless her heart.” In grant writing there’s a little different set of applications for these sayings. Here are a few:

  1. “Mortimer thought the budget would be easy to put together so he waited until 8AM on the deadline date to start. Bless his heart.”
  2. “Jackie skimmed the RFA and missed the fact that there had to be an evaluation section. Bless her heart.”
  3. “George figured a one page letter of commitment wasn’t a big deal for the partners so he didn’t ask request them until a week before the deadline. Bless his cotton socks.”
  4. “Fernando wanted to save paper so he reduced the font to size ten in all the tables when the RFA required a size 12, but he meant well.”
  5. “Wynona put 20 computers in the project budget but didn’t describe how she’d use them in the narrative. Bless her heart.”

While we use these sayings to accommodate the humanity of our follies, finding them at the end of a sentence in a grant writing process is generally very bad news. Don’t invite someone to bless your cotton socks as a grant writer!

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This post was written by Derek Link, non-profit consultant and expert grant writer.

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Want grant tips? Visit GrantGoddess.com!

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

Bless His Cotton Socks

Every culture has its own polite way of saying, “He’s an idiot.” In South Africa, a friend of mine who grew up there will say “Bless his cotton socks.” In the Southern U.S., I’ve heard the common, “Bless his heart.” In California, we tend to use the somewhat lukewarm, “He meant well.”

These sayings are used at the end of sentences like, “Joe fell off the top step of the ladder again, bless his heart,” or “Judy is wearing that peacock-feathered hat again, bless her heart.” In grant writing there’s a little different set of applications for these sayings. Here are a few:

  1. “Mortimer thought the budget would be easy to put together so he waited until 8AM on the deadline date to start. Bless his heart.”
  2. “Jackie skimmed the RFA and missed the fact that there had to be an evaluation section. Bless her heart.”
  3. “George figured a one page letter of commitment wasn’t a big deal for the partners so he didn’t ask request them until a week before the deadline. Bless his cotton socks.”
  4. “Fernando wanted to save paper so he reduced the font to size ten in all the tables when the RFA required a size 12, but he meant well.”
  5. “Wynona put 20 computers in the project budget but didn’t describe how she’d use them in the narrative. Bless her heart.”

While we use these sayings to accommodate the humanity of our follies, finding them at the end of a sentence in a grant writing process is generally very bad news. Don’t invite someone to bless your cotton socks as a grant writer!

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This post was written by Derek Link, non-profit consultant and expert grant writer.

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Want grant tips? Visit GrantGoddess.com!

Superman, Where Are You?

We are facing a big deadline this week.  We have multiple grants due at the same time and everyone has his or her head down and nose to the grindstone, but we can always count on Derek to help us see the humor of it all.  Here are some humorous thoughts from non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link, on slowing down time when deadline time is racing closer.

Time flies when you’re approaching a deadline. I’m pretty sure that Superman is the only being, real or fictional, who can turn back time. If you’re approaching a deadline – mere mortal that you are – here are a few places you can go where in my experience time can actually slow down.

  1. The DMV.
  2. Customer service calls to the phone company.
  3. Jogging on the indoor track at Sun City.
  4. Meeting with an IRS agent.
  5. A long line at the grocery store with a rookie cashier, a bad receipt tape, and a customer who’s using their debit card for the first time while arguing about the amount her single tomato was discounted.
  6. The post office at lunch.
  7. Watching the calendar after hiring a building contractor with a bunch of Better Business Bureau complaints.
  8. Technical support calls from – or to – India with “Roger”, “Jason”, or “Howard”.
  9. Auto dealerships after giving up your car keys.
  10. Driving and waiting for the “Code 3” police car to pass you knowing you were five mph over the limit.
  11. Waiting for a copier repairman or anything else on grant deadline day.

So if time seems to be going too fast and your deadline is staring you down like an angry railroad union member at the helm of a locomotive, take yourself away to a place where time slows down. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could merge these time warps and make it slow down for important stuff and speed up for annoying stuff? Oh Superman, where are you!?

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Related posts:

Grant Writing and the Space/Time Continuum

Stress Relief through Laughter

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Don’t forget to visit GrantGoddess.com for tips and ideas to improve your grant writing skills!

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