I have worked on both sides of grant funding as a grantee and a grantor, and I have taken that experience into the realm of grant writing as consultant. Grant writing can seem pretty straightforward on the surface, just answer the questions on the grant application and clearly state the need and what you plan to do with the funding to address the need. However, as with most things in life it turns out to be a bit more complicated in reality, especially when it comes to competitive application processes. So here are some general tips and considerations when you’re thinking about or actively working on a grant application.
Content
One thing you are likely to hear from anyone with experience writing grants and to find in books about grant writing is the importance of story telling when writing a grant application. While this is generically true in the broad sense, I would describe effective grant writing more as developing a narrative logic model. This is particularly true if you are working in the realm of social / human services broadly speaking.
The basic components of a logic model are inputs, activities, and outcomes. You can simply search logic models online for more info or check my posts for a write-up on logic models for more information. The way you put these three elements together must of course align with the way the application is setup, but ultimately a good grant application communicates all three of these elements and how they tie together in a cohesive manner, in a way that ties in to your organization’s mission and the purpose and target(s) of the grantee. Approaching grant writing from a story telling perspective can lead to a flowery approach with high minded rhetoric that focuses on emphasizing the needs in the community, as the applicant sees it, and the applicant’s vision of how they are going to remedy those needs. While this approach may seem intuitively correct it is missing the mark in several key ways that are addressed by using a narrative logic model approach. Some big ones are speaking in broad generalities and intentionally or implicitly making claims that your organization can’t possibly live up to. A key to effective grant writing is to be specific.
Most grant making organizations are generally aware of the potential need for their funding to address their target issues, this is typically why they offer a grant in the first place. Speaking in generalities about the negative effects of X thing or issue won’t likely get you far. Your need statement should be able to made briefly with a focus on if the need in your area is particularly severe, providing some localized statistics, and speaking to the unique local aspects of the issue in your area.
Once you have established the need you can then speak to your organizations purpose and plan for addressing the need. This will include what you are currently doing and your current resources as well as how you plan to make use of the grant funds you are applying for to address the identified need. This covers your inputs and then ties in your activities. Remember to be specific and don’t try to make claims or set targets that you can’t meet because you think it might sound impressive or that you’ll be able to figure it out after you get the funding. You can then roll into your projected outcomes. When discussing outcomes it is essential to make sure they are realistic, specific, and that you have a proper way of measuring whether or not you’ve actually achieved the result you’re targeting.
Process
A good process will make developing an application much easier. This means starting with doing a bit of planning by clearly identifying your submission deadline(s). From there you can identify all the different pieces of information you need to collect, what you have or don’t have, and where to get it so you can setup timelines for how much work it will take to hit your deadline without panicking towards the end. It is a good idea to sketch out your timeline with sufficient time ahead of the deadline to do a group review of your application or have someone else look it over for proof reading and other feedback.
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