The following tips for successful grantwriting were written by Nelson Holl, Executive Director of the California Consumer Protection Foundation. They are the result of roughly 20 years of reviewing grant applications and are intended for first time applicants or applicants who have not been having much success.
- Relationships count. The more the funder knows about you the more they can read between the lines. Whenever possible talk to funders before you apply. This gives you an opportunity to discuss your ideas and gives the Foundation a sense of who you are as a person, even if it is only on the phone. We are one of the few funders to actually invite pre-application calls and inquiries. You would be surprised at the number of applicants who never take us up on our offer.
- Presentation is half the battle. They say that first impressions count. This is true in writing as it is in person. Letters or proposals that are difficult to read or hard to download are often dumped. A simple, straight-forward approach is usually the best.
- This is a highly competitive process, even more so in today's economic environment. If you are going to take the time to apply, do it right. Read the guidelines, follow the instructions. Nothing turns people off more than applications that do not respond to the guidelines, or were clearly intended for another funder. In our guidelines for a Letter of Intent or a full proposal, we ask 8-10 basic questions. If you use these as headings, in the order given, it makes our job that much easier. Remember, many reviewers are actually looking for a reason to decline your request, especially if they don't know you to begin with.
- A good proposal has its own internal logic. When you read it, everything makes sense from the need for the project down to the line item budget justifications. If you have any doubts, have some unrelated or disconnected person read your submission. If they understand what you are trying to say and do, then you are on the right track.
- The focus of a proposal should be on what you want to do and why. Many applicants waste lots of ink on their past accomplishments, citing demographic data, making philosophical comments, in the belief it will overcome a weak or flawed idea. While it may work if a funder knows you, or if they are new to the business, it is no substitute for clearly knowing why a proposed project is needed, how it fits into what you are currently doing, and how you will implement and fund it.
- Is there really a need for your project? Most people apply for funding simply because they need money or think it's a good idea. They have no information or data to justify the need, or only vague references to some global problem such as a digital divide. It helps to not only document the need, but the process you went through to figure it out. Documenting the need is not as critical in a narrowly defined program such as the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Fund's coordinated campaign, but for more discretionary and therefore competitive pots of money, such as the Community Collaborative Fund, it can be critical.
- Be true to your mission and purpose. When the Foundation started funding technology, it was amazing how many advocacy groups wanted to open computer labs. When it's a stretch, it's pretty apparent. More importantly, it raises questions about the long-term interest or ability of the applicant to sustain the project. While it doesn't mean that we wouldn't fund it, the bar is raised whenever you diverge from your established mission and purpose. The more you demonstrate that the proposed project is an outgrowth of what you are already doing, the better.
- Don't be a parrot. One of the worst proposals I ever read was one that simply reiterated our funding priorities as the project goals. While you need to respond to established funding priorities, you also need to demonstrate your own thinking and planning.
- Have clear goals and objectives. Broad, philosophical goals such as increasing access to underserved communities are okay for funding guidelines, but not for a proposal. For a proposal, goals should answer the who, what, where and how question. Moreover, you should only need one or two goals. Objectives should be measurable or observable. However, you do not need to list every conceivable objective. Pick three or four of the most important and focus on those, anything more and you start to lose the reader.
- Do your homework. A lot of applicants do not even bother to see if anyone else is providing the same service, much less how their approach differs. Anytime an applicant says they are unique, our antennas go up. In many instances, we would rather prefer replication of an existing model than trying to create something from scratch. We also prefer making grants to collaborate with existing programs, rather than creating competing or duplicative ones. Too, the more developed your concept or project is, the more likely it will get funded. We are one of the few foundations to offer planning grants. If you haven't done your homework, you should seriously consider asking for a planning grant instead of an implementation grant.
- Be persistent. Just because you are turned down doesn't mean that your idea wouldn't be funded in the future. However, that doesn't mean you simply re-submit the same application or proposal over and over. If you are given the opportunity to discuss why your request was declined and how you can improve it, you should take advantage of it.