Category Archives: grant writer

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!

Grants Are Like Sausage

Non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link, must be hungry.  Last week, he shared with you how Grants Are Like Donuts. This week, he writes that grants are like sausage. Enjoy his post about the importance of processing and editing your final grant proposal:

Like making laws, writing grants is sort of like making sausage, a messy process not too appetizing to watch. Processing a grant, like making sausage, involves lots of parts getting thrown together, with tons of information being ground up into a palatable chunk of copy.

Have you ever chomped down on a piece of cartilage in your sausage? Kind of slows you down doesn’t it? But when sausage is properly ground, you probably don’t ever come across anything too chewy! Reading a badly written grant is kind of like that piece of cartilage that you have to stop and chew on a while.

Here’s a piece of copy from an actual grant that, in my opinion, represents chewy cartilage. This kind of chewy writing makes your brain do a lot of unnecessary and unpalatable mental chewing.

“LEP students at J. Doe elementary school have a high level of psychomotor and spatial/mechanical skills that will be utilized through computer assisted instruction to enhance language learning activities. In selecting LEP students for participation, attention was paid to the Special Education criteria required by the State Education Agency. Special Education students are diagnosed using appropriate instruments and will be served accordingly.”

I have to guess at what they were trying to say, but it sure was chewy! This grant should have been processed more, and by that I mean edited, reviewed, commentary invited, revisions made, and re-edited – then edited once more. Chewy grants don’t score well and don’t get funded. So be sure to process-process-process!

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Related posts from the archives:

Trust the Grant Writing Process

How Can the Grant You Just Finished Help Make You  a Better Writer?

Good Grant Writers Are Like Wedding Planners

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

Grants Are Like Sausage

Non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link, must be hungry.  Last week, he shared with you how Grants Are Like Donuts. This week, he writes that grants are like sausage. Enjoy his post about the importance of processing and editing your final grant proposal:

Like making laws, writing grants is sort of like making sausage, a messy process not too appetizing to watch. Processing a grant, like making sausage, involves lots of parts getting thrown together, with tons of information being ground up into a palatable chunk of copy.

Have you ever chomped down on a piece of cartilage in your sausage? Kind of slows you down doesn’t it? But when sausage is properly ground, you probably don’t ever come across anything too chewy! Reading a badly written grant is kind of like that piece of cartilage that you have to stop and chew on a while.

Here’s a piece of copy from an actual grant that, in my opinion, represents chewy cartilage. This kind of chewy writing makes your brain do a lot of unnecessary and unpalatable mental chewing.

“LEP students at J. Doe elementary school have a high level of psychomotor and spatial/mechanical skills that will be utilized through computer assisted instruction to enhance language learning activities. In selecting LEP students for participation, attention was paid to the Special Education criteria required by the State Education Agency. Special Education students are diagnosed using appropriate instruments and will be served accordingly.”

I have to guess at what they were trying to say, but it sure was chewy! This grant should have been processed more, and by that I mean edited, reviewed, commentary invited, revisions made, and re-edited – then edited once more. Chewy grants don’t score well and don’t get funded. So be sure to process-process-process!

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Related posts from the archives:

Trust the Grant Writing Process

How Can the Grant You Just Finished Help Make You  a Better Writer?

Good Grant Writers Are Like Wedding Planners

Grant Writing is NOT……

I have been reading a lot of grants lately, and working with other grant writers.  I’ve seen good writing and not-so-good writing.  Rather than give you another list of grant writing do’s and don’ts, I thought I share some things that grant writing is not.

Grant writing is not…..a scavenger hunt. The readers should not have to hunt through your narrative to find the key features of your project design. It should be well-organized and clear.

Grant writing is not…..creative writing.  If you have been reading this blog or listening to any of our Tips from the Grant Goddess shows on BlogTalkRadio you know that I often talk about the creative side of grant writing; however, that is different than creative writing. Grant writing is based on providing the information the funder wants. Don’t make the mistake of saying whatever you want to say, regardless of what has been asked.

Grant writing is not…..the same for all funding sources.  I run into people all the time who say, “Yeah, I’m a grant writer, too.”  Upon further conversation, I learn that he has written a few small foundation grants, sometimes successfully.  Recently, a potential client chose to go with another writer who had lots of experience with small private grants, but almost no experience with large federal proposals, and absolutely no experience with the particular program in question. As the deadline approached, the client learned the hard way that there are different kinds of grant writing.

Grant writing is not…..all about you. The writer should be invisible so the message can take center stage. This is not the time to impress the reader with your education or your ability to spin a fancy yarn. Remember this…if the reader is thinking about how good your writing is (or isn’t), he’s not focused on your message, and that’s not good.

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Related posts and articles:

Working with a Grant Writer: You Get What You Pay For
Do I Really Need a Grant Writer?
Is Grant Writing Success Really Just About Luck?

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

Grant Writing is NOT……

I have been reading a lot of grants lately, and working with other grant writers.  I’ve seen good writing and not-so-good writing.  Rather than give you another list of grant writing do’s and don’ts, I thought I share some things that grant writing is not.

Grant writing is not…..a scavenger hunt. The readers should not have to hunt through your narrative to find the key features of your project design. It should be well-organized and clear.

Grant writing is not…..creative writing.  If you have been reading this blog or listening to any of our Tips from the Grant Goddess shows on BlogTalkRadio you know that I often talk about the creative side of grant writing; however, that is different than creative writing. Grant writing is based on providing the information the funder wants. Don’t make the mistake of saying whatever you want to say, regardless of what has been asked.

Grant writing is not…..the same for all funding sources.  I run into people all the time who say, “Yeah, I’m a grant writer, too.”  Upon further conversation, I learn that he has written a few small foundation grants, sometimes successfully.  Recently, a potential client chose to go with another writer who had lots of experience with small private grants, but almost no experience with large federal proposals, and absolutely no experience with the particular program in question. As the deadline approached, the client learned the hard way that there are different kinds of grant writing.

Grant writing is not…..all about you. The writer should be invisible so the message can take center stage. This is not the time to impress the reader with your education or your ability to spin a fancy yarn. Remember this…if the reader is thinking about how good your writing is (or isn’t), he’s not focused on your message, and that’s not good.

———————————–

Related posts and articles:

Working with a Grant Writer: You Get What You Pay For
Do I Really Need a Grant Writer?
Is Grant Writing Success Really Just About Luck?

Grant Writing is a Service

Nonprofit agencies pay for professional services all the time. I’ve worked with animal welfare agencies that hire veterinarians and Internet technicians and I’ve worked with disability organizations that hire instructors and therapists. Executive Directors (ED) will budget for those services and of course they only employ professionals to do the work. They would never dream of allowing a volunteer to fill in for a veterinarian if they weren’t a licensed vet.

Sometimes when it comes to paying for a grant writer ED’s cut corners, and often anyone with time and a computer will do. Is this something you do as an ED?  Perhaps that’s because you have not been successful at writing grants in the past, so you could feel that securing grants is a matter of throwing proposals against the wall until something sticks.

I can assure you that a professional grant writer is worth the money. A well-crafted narrative can make all the difference in a funding competition. In the current economic times, there are a lot more organizations submitting proposals than ever. In order to secure a share of the money these days, you want your proposal to stand out because it’s outstanding, not because it looks like a amateur wrote it. When I’ve read grants in the past as part of scoring teams, a poorly written grant stands out like a sore thumb.

Grant research and grant writing are very time-consuming activities. I know, I pretty much do them all day, every day. While that’s my job focus, an ED has a lot of other things to do, not the least of which is the care and feeding of their Board and donors. I am amazed that ED’s find any time to write grants at all. I don’t know, but I suspect most of that writing happens in the wee hours of the morning propelled by Starbucks.

I want to suggest to Executive Directors that your time might be better spent on planning fund raising for other legs of the funding stool, events, and donor cultivation. You might be a good grant writer, but those of us who work on grants full time still have an advantage. I’d suggest to you also that hiring a grant writer is not shirking your duty, it is a wise use of time and resources.

A good grant writer can increase your bottom line and relieve you of the task so you can do more of what you’re best at, connecting with people! Grant writing is a professional service and paying for professional services in support of the mission can be a wise investment.

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This post was written by non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link.
 
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Related posts and aticles:
 
Working with a Grant Writer – You Get What You Pay For
Good Grant Writers are like Wedding Planners
Do I Really Need a Grant Writer?

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

Grant Writing is a Service

Nonprofit agencies pay for professional services all the time. I’ve worked with animal welfare agencies that hire veterinarians and Internet technicians and I’ve worked with disability organizations that hire instructors and therapists. Executive Directors (ED) will budget for those services and of course they only employ professionals to do the work. They would never dream of allowing a volunteer to fill in for a veterinarian if they weren’t a licensed vet.

Sometimes when it comes to paying for a grant writer ED’s cut corners, and often anyone with time and a computer will do. Is this something you do as an ED?  Perhaps that’s because you have not been successful at writing grants in the past, so you could feel that securing grants is a matter of throwing proposals against the wall until something sticks.

I can assure you that a professional grant writer is worth the money. A well-crafted narrative can make all the difference in a funding competition. In the current economic times, there are a lot more organizations submitting proposals than ever. In order to secure a share of the money these days, you want your proposal to stand out because it’s outstanding, not because it looks like a amateur wrote it. When I’ve read grants in the past as part of scoring teams, a poorly written grant stands out like a sore thumb.

Grant research and grant writing are very time-consuming activities. I know, I pretty much do them all day, every day. While that’s my job focus, an ED has a lot of other things to do, not the least of which is the care and feeding of their Board and donors. I am amazed that ED’s find any time to write grants at all. I don’t know, but I suspect most of that writing happens in the wee hours of the morning propelled by Starbucks.

I want to suggest to Executive Directors that your time might be better spent on planning fund raising for other legs of the funding stool, events, and donor cultivation. You might be a good grant writer, but those of us who work on grants full time still have an advantage. I’d suggest to you also that hiring a grant writer is not shirking your duty, it is a wise use of time and resources.

A good grant writer can increase your bottom line and relieve you of the task so you can do more of what you’re best at, connecting with people! Grant writing is a professional service and paying for professional services in support of the mission can be a wise investment.

——————————
This post was written by non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link.
 
——————————
 
Related posts and aticles:
 
Working with a Grant Writer – You Get What You Pay For
Good Grant Writers are like Wedding Planners
Do I Really Need a Grant Writer?

Form a Grant Planning Committee

Non-profit consultant and grant writer, Derek Link, offers some advice about forming a grant planning committee:

For those of you brave enough to read a post with such a seemingly reckless title, one that could severely curtail our readership, forfeit RSS feeds by the millions, and perhaps even be banned in certain Western states, please keep reading you intrepid seekers of grant knowledge.
What I am suggesting is that if your organization needs grants, forming a planning committee will enable you to do several important things:

1) Bring potential collaborative partners to the table – Successful grants these days – large ones in particular – often require that there are collaborative partners. This is because there can be overlapping and competing interests. Funders are worried that grant money will be wasted on poorly targeted or duplicative efforts.

2) Accurately targeting needs for grant funding by spending enough time around a table talking, to truly understand an issue from diverse perspectives. Sometimes the answer to a problem is sharing existing resources not seeking new ones.

3) Break past agency turf wars by spending enough time with leaders from other agencies to form solid relationships. Everyone wants the client to win, but sometimes agencies hold their mission so tightly they drive off potentially helpful collaborative partners.
There are other good reasons for forming a planning committee, and there are also cautions. Here are some key don’ts:

1. Don’t accept members who won’t send a decision-maker to the meetings.

2. Don’t keep members who don’t/won’t make the commitment to attend every time you meet.

3. Don’t birdwalk – Make meetings N.E.A.T. (Nature-Expected Outcomes-Agenda-Time).

4. Identify the common priorities using a needs assessment.

5. Don’t keep meeting if common ground can’t be established.

While another committee and another set of meetings may initiate a reaction similar to a carnival tilt-a-whirl, a grant planning committee can yield well-targeted, productively collaborative grant applications.

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Click here for more great grant writing resources.

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

Form a Grant Planning Committee

Non-profit consultant and grant writer, Derek Link, offers some advice about forming a grant planning committee:

For those of you brave enough to read a post with such a seemingly reckless title, one that could severely curtail our readership, forfeit RSS feeds by the millions, and perhaps even be banned in certain Western states, please keep reading you intrepid seekers of grant knowledge.
What I am suggesting is that if your organization needs grants, forming a planning committee will enable you to do several important things:

1) Bring potential collaborative partners to the table – Successful grants these days – large ones in particular – often require that there are collaborative partners. This is because there can be overlapping and competing interests. Funders are worried that grant money will be wasted on poorly targeted or duplicative efforts.

2) Accurately targeting needs for grant funding by spending enough time around a table talking, to truly understand an issue from diverse perspectives. Sometimes the answer to a problem is sharing existing resources not seeking new ones.

3) Break past agency turf wars by spending enough time with leaders from other agencies to form solid relationships. Everyone wants the client to win, but sometimes agencies hold their mission so tightly they drive off potentially helpful collaborative partners.
There are other good reasons for forming a planning committee, and there are also cautions. Here are some key don’ts:

1. Don’t accept members who won’t send a decision-maker to the meetings.

2. Don’t keep members who don’t/won’t make the commitment to attend every time you meet.

3. Don’t birdwalk – Make meetings N.E.A.T. (Nature-Expected Outcomes-Agenda-Time).

4. Identify the common priorities using a needs assessment.

5. Don’t keep meeting if common ground can’t be established.

While another committee and another set of meetings may initiate a reaction similar to a carnival tilt-a-whirl, a grant planning committee can yield well-targeted, productively collaborative grant applications.

——————————————-

Click here for more great grant writing resources.

Working with a Grant Writer – You Get What You Pay For

It has happened three times so far this season. We start working with a client on a project.  Before a contract is signed, they notify us that they have decided to go with another writer who will do the work for a lower fee.  Each time, I remain gracious, reminding the client of our success rate and our relationship, and I invite them to call if they need assistance.  Then I let go, and move on to others.

Last month, we got calls from the first two (with just a week before the deadline) telling us that their “bargain grant writer” bailed out on them at the last minute, and asking if we would take on the project. For one of them, we did, and we successfully met the deadline with a quality proposal. We were unable to help the other one because we just had too many proposals on our plate at that time.

Today, we heard from bargain shopper number three. This time, the client has been working with the new consultants, but after receiving two drafts, it became clear that the product was not going to be good.  So, with a grant deadline just 6 days away (counting the weekend), the client called and asked if we would take on the project. This is a long time client and normally we do everything we can to help, but this time, the answer is “no.” Why? We have quite a few projects in the hopper right now, including another one due on the same date as the one the client wants us to take on.  Decisions have to made, and I choose to reward the loyalty of those who didn’t allow themselves to be lured away by big promises and lower fees by focusing on their projects when time is tight.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with trying to get the best possible deal for your organization. In fact, I think it’s your duty as a public servant to do so.  However, the “best deal” is not always just about money.  In the case of grant writing, you also need to consider success rate, experience with the particular grant for which you are applying, and experience in field you work. If your proposal is about health care services and you hire someone who has never written a health care grant (or maybe has written just a couple) and has no experience in the health care field, you will get what you pay for – the grant writer’s on the job training.

In these tough budget times, everyone is looking for ways to cut corners.  Just remember that if you don’t get the grant, have you really saved anything?  And if you do get the grant written by the more experienced writer, wasn’t the slightly higher fee worth every penny?

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Want more information about working with a grant writer? Visit our Grant Writing Resources page.