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Tips for Effective Grant Writing
by Linda Zukauskas
Do your research. Don't expect someone to give you money just because your cause is worthy.
It literally pays to spend time learning why a grant maker is motivated to give their money to a grant seeker. When you research potential grant makers, make sure you examine what support they've given in the past and to whom they've given it. Does the grant maker accept unsolicited applications or do they only give to pre-determined recipients? Does the grant maker give in your area? Does the grant maker give money or gifts in kind? Most importantly, does the grant maker support your goals?
Matching grant makers to grant seekers is like trying to find a spouse. You want to find someone you can impress while being completely honest when describing yourself. Just as in romance, you can win in the short term if you lie in order to please your partner. But, such behavior always ends up badly in the long term.
Do spend time learning about the grant maker you've elected to pursue. Don't expect them to respect you if you don't respect them.
Grant makers use online and/or paper sources to describe what they want to see in a grant application. Read the application guidelines very, very carefully. Then, contact the grant maker to confirm the guidelines you've studied are current and to ask follow-up questions.
If possible, ask members of your organization if they are familiar with anyone associated with the grant maker. For example, your director may belong to the same professional organization as one of the members sitting on the grant maker's board. It's important to leave no stone unturned as you learn about the grant maker and begin to form what could be a long and productive relationship with them.
It's not critical that you use an existing friendship as you apply for a grant. In fact, if there isn't a mutual goal between your organization and the grant maker, you should not pursue the application based only on a friendship.
Do gather your information and organize it. Don't forget any information requested by the grant maker's guidelines.
Instead of being intimidated or overwhelmed by the information requested by the grant maker, be grateful. Guidelines can be a checklist to make sure you gather all the data you need to present. Guidelines can also be a way to help motivate members of your organization who are late in sharing details about planning or budget.
Most applications include the following information:
- A history of your organization
- A description of your project and what you want to accomplish
- An evaluation plan (i.e., how you will know you've reached your goal)
- A budget for the project and description of how you financially sustain your organization
- Any other documents specifically requested by the grant maker
As you state the problem your project addresses, make sure your objectives are measurable and attainable. If you can, show how you've reached similar goals in the past to demonstrate you can be trusted with the grant maker's money. Clearly state how reaching the goal will benefit the target audience specifically and the community in general.
Do plan your project before you ask for money. Don't ask the grant maker to be patient as you figure out how you might spend their money.
Define your goals! A grant maker wants to put money in the hands of someone who will spend it in a manner that meets or exceeds the goals of the grant maker's mission. A grant application should show exactly how you will do that, including any recognition you can offer to the grant maker.
Do write clearly and concisely. Don't forget that this application is one in a pile of many worthy requests and might be skimmed rather than read.
Grant applications are like résumés. The reader usually begins to evaluate requests for funds by creating a smaller, more manageable group of requests. Therefore, don't give the grant maker any reason to discard your application. Make sure the application meets the grant maker's deadline. Read the text for spelling and grammatical errors, as well as for the accuracy of your facts and figures. If possible, have another member of your organization help you with a fresh set of eyes.
Write the application clearly and concisely so that readers who scan the page can still capture the important points. Use as much white space as you can, but always remember the guidelines. If the grant maker does not want an application to exceed 10 pages, then arrange the document so that it is only 10 pages long.
Use a table of contents to help orient the reader and to give yourself another checklist. Make sure everything the grant maker requests appears in the table of contents.
Do plan for an evaluation. Don't be surprised if the grant maker asks for a refund if you can't show that you've spent their money as you promised.
If you've written your goal as measurable, then you can easily write an evaluation plan. It should include timelines and milestones and regular reports to show when and how you meet each of them. The grant maker will use this plan to verify that you've spent the money as you stated you would. The grant maker can ask for the money to be returned if you use it in a way other than intended.
Do be proud of your goal and your organization's ability to meet it. If you've found a grant maker who supports your mission with their own, then rest assured that you'll be able to work together.
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is a freelance grant writer who spent almost 20 years writing user and administrator documentation, as well as marketing collateral for Diagnostic Related Groups (DRG) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. In 2007, after an aquisition left me free to decide where she would work next, Linda decided to transfer her skills of interviewing Subject Matter Experts and creating informative and persuasive content to writing grants for municipalities and non-profits.