Category Archives: Derek Link

The Can’t Be Dones (CBD’s)

I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.
Frances Willard (1839 – 1898)

I have run into my share of resistance to change in my career as a consultant. In fact, I don’t know a successful consultant who has not been forced to address this issue at some point.  Non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link, shares his thoughts today on the “Can’t Be Dones,” those who consistently resist change:

Have you worked with someone who counters every idea for change with, “It Can’t Be Done”? I’ve found sometimes that people mistake their experience for wisdom when all they’re really doing is applying all previous failures to thwart new ideas.

You see “Can’t Be Dones” have become timid about trying new things for some reason. New ideas scare them because they’ve been around long enough to witness failure, perhaps lead others into it, or be led into it themselves. Sometimes, they’re just tired out and should probably retire, or get an attitude transplant.

“Can’t Be Dones” like it when things are in homeostasis, they’re comfortable there. It may not be that they’re happy with the way things are, but it’s a level of discomfort that they’re comfortable with and accustomed to, so it’s not worth changing something and possibly making it worse.

I’ve witnessed the “Can’t Be Dones” at work and their vocabulary around changes is always the same:

  1.  “So-and-so tried that ten years ago and it didn’t work.” (not willing to examine why it didn’t work, or how this is different, or they may have no clue about either and don’t care).
  2. “That won’t work here” and it’s usually because someone else won’t go for the idea, align with the change, adapt to the situation. (Not that the Can’t be Done is opposed, just other people).
  3. “Shouldn’t be done” That’s a bad idea because it conflicts with tradition, customs, norms, morals, values, color of the building, rules, regulations, laws, Celtic lunar rituals (whatever, there will be a reason, and it doesn’t have to be a good one).
  4. “You need to build consensus first.” This is a smokescreen for, “I will never join the majority; so, you feelin’ lucky punk?”

A lot of energy can be wasted on trying to get “Can’t Be Dones” to move in the direction of change. I suggest that you get everyone to move past them and they usually do one of two things, 1) They eventually grumble along behind the pack like a cranky kid who’s tired and didn’t want to go on the hike to start with, or 2) they will resist the changes by stopping on the trail, digging in their heels to test your commitment to moving forward.

It’s important to understand the thought processes of a “Can’t Be Done” and to try to engage them early and often in the process of brainstorming changes. Once in a great while through relationship-building in this manner, they can be brought over from the dark side of resistance. When the CBD’s refuse to join the hike, just be ready to drag them along the dusty trail of change kicking and whining.

————————
 
Free e-book:  12 Secrets of Successful Grant Writers
 
Want to learn grant writing?  Try Grant Goddess University online.

The Can’t Be Dones (CBD’s)

I would not waste my life in friction when it could be turned into momentum.
Frances Willard (1839 – 1898)

I have run into my share of resistance to change in my career as a consultant. In fact, I don’t know a successful consultant who has not been forced to address this issue at some point.  Non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, Derek Link, shares his thoughts today on the “Can’t Be Dones,” those who consistently resist change:

Have you worked with someone who counters every idea for change with, “It Can’t Be Done”? I’ve found sometimes that people mistake their experience for wisdom when all they’re really doing is applying all previous failures to thwart new ideas.

You see “Can’t Be Dones” have become timid about trying new things for some reason. New ideas scare them because they’ve been around long enough to witness failure, perhaps lead others into it, or be led into it themselves. Sometimes, they’re just tired out and should probably retire, or get an attitude transplant.

“Can’t Be Dones” like it when things are in homeostasis, they’re comfortable there. It may not be that they’re happy with the way things are, but it’s a level of discomfort that they’re comfortable with and accustomed to, so it’s not worth changing something and possibly making it worse.

I’ve witnessed the “Can’t Be Dones” at work and their vocabulary around changes is always the same:

  1.  “So-and-so tried that ten years ago and it didn’t work.” (not willing to examine why it didn’t work, or how this is different, or they may have no clue about either and don’t care).
  2. “That won’t work here” and it’s usually because someone else won’t go for the idea, align with the change, adapt to the situation. (Not that the Can’t be Done is opposed, just other people).
  3. “Shouldn’t be done” That’s a bad idea because it conflicts with tradition, customs, norms, morals, values, color of the building, rules, regulations, laws, Celtic lunar rituals (whatever, there will be a reason, and it doesn’t have to be a good one).
  4. “You need to build consensus first.” This is a smokescreen for, “I will never join the majority; so, you feelin’ lucky punk?”

A lot of energy can be wasted on trying to get “Can’t Be Dones” to move in the direction of change. I suggest that you get everyone to move past them and they usually do one of two things, 1) They eventually grumble along behind the pack like a cranky kid who’s tired and didn’t want to go on the hike to start with, or 2) they will resist the changes by stopping on the trail, digging in their heels to test your commitment to moving forward.

It’s important to understand the thought processes of a “Can’t Be Done” and to try to engage them early and often in the process of brainstorming changes. Once in a great while through relationship-building in this manner, they can be brought over from the dark side of resistance. When the CBD’s refuse to join the hike, just be ready to drag them along the dusty trail of change kicking and whining.

————————
 
Free e-book:  12 Secrets of Successful Grant Writers
 
Want to learn grant writing?  Try Grant Goddess University online.

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

Eight Things a Grant Sample Can Teach You

Writing a grant is always a challenging exercise. People who aren’t grant writers always ask me if I can’t just take a previously written grant sample and rewrite it for another client. They think grant writing can be more efficient like building a successful template and then rearranging the pieces for a new competition. It sounds logical, but it simply doesn’t work.

The “bear” of grant writing is that each grant MUST be a unique creation. It is for a specific client with a specific set of needs, and those needs dictate a specific set of remedies, that are dictated by the specific talents and resources of the specific agency making the application, and on and on…

In short, there is no one-size fits all grant template. “Well,” one inquisitor pressed, “surely when it is the same grant competition for the same client, the grants must be almost identical” (after all, he was thinking, their address and phone number haven’t changed). NOT necessarily so! Even the same grant competition revises the request for application (RFA) each year before it is issued to better represent the desires of the issuing agency. So no, resubmission involves a whole lot more work that merely changing the dates on an application.

So what about the title of my article and how does all this apply to grant samples? Well, the point of collecting and reading grant samples is not to copy a previously successful grant because as I’ve already stated, the formats will be different, the requirements will be different, and probably everything else you will write is going to be different.

Here are 8 things that grant samples CAN provide you that are very valuable:

  1. You can learn a lot about the style of language that is effective in your writing.
  2. You can learn ways to show data in tables and graphs that emphasize the right things.
  3. You can learn how other applicants portrayed concepts or processes in a graphic that might be useful to telling your story.
  4. You can review evaluation plans that might inform your evaluation design to make it more comprehensive.
  5. You can see how the various sections of the grant were addressed, numbers of pages used, integration of data, research cited, etc.
  6. You can learn more about the topic of the proposal including applicable research, funding statutes, applicable regulations where indicated, etc.
  7. You can learn about specific populations and regions of the country where grants are given and approaches to the grant purpose that you may not have thought of but which might be applicable to your situation.
  8. You can also learn formatting, style, tricks of word processing that save space, utilize non-narrative portions of the application to clarify and extend concepts.

There are many great benefits to reading successful grant samples and these are just a few. We work hard to collect as many grant samples for each type of competition as we can and we read through them to educate ourselves on best practices and best programs. It has been a worthwhile effort on our part as our clients can attest.

—————————-
 
Get help with your grant writing.  Check out a grant sample or grant outline.
 
Find more great grant writing resources at GrantGoddess.com!

Eight Things a Grant Sample Can Teach You

Writing a grant is always a challenging exercise. People who aren’t grant writers always ask me if I can’t just take a previously written grant sample and rewrite it for another client. They think grant writing can be more efficient like building a successful template and then rearranging the pieces for a new competition. It sounds logical, but it simply doesn’t work.

The “bear” of grant writing is that each grant MUST be a unique creation. It is for a specific client with a specific set of needs, and those needs dictate a specific set of remedies, that are dictated by the specific talents and resources of the specific agency making the application, and on and on…

In short, there is no one-size fits all grant template. “Well,” one inquisitor pressed, “surely when it is the same grant competition for the same client, the grants must be almost identical” (after all, he was thinking, their address and phone number haven’t changed). NOT necessarily so! Even the same grant competition revises the request for application (RFA) each year before it is issued to better represent the desires of the issuing agency. So no, resubmission involves a whole lot more work that merely changing the dates on an application.

So what about the title of my article and how does all this apply to grant samples? Well, the point of collecting and reading grant samples is not to copy a previously successful grant because as I’ve already stated, the formats will be different, the requirements will be different, and probably everything else you will write is going to be different.

Here are 8 things that grant samples CAN provide you that are very valuable:

  1. You can learn a lot about the style of language that is effective in your writing.
  2. You can learn ways to show data in tables and graphs that emphasize the right things.
  3. You can learn how other applicants portrayed concepts or processes in a graphic that might be useful to telling your story.
  4. You can review evaluation plans that might inform your evaluation design to make it more comprehensive.
  5. You can see how the various sections of the grant were addressed, numbers of pages used, integration of data, research cited, etc.
  6. You can learn more about the topic of the proposal including applicable research, funding statutes, applicable regulations where indicated, etc.
  7. You can learn about specific populations and regions of the country where grants are given and approaches to the grant purpose that you may not have thought of but which might be applicable to your situation.
  8. You can also learn formatting, style, tricks of word processing that save space, utilize non-narrative portions of the application to clarify and extend concepts.

There are many great benefits to reading successful grant samples and these are just a few. We work hard to collect as many grant samples for each type of competition as we can and we read through them to educate ourselves on best practices and best programs. It has been a worthwhile effort on our part as our clients can attest.

—————————-
 
Get help with your grant writing.  Check out a grant sample or grant outline.
 
Find more great grant writing resources at GrantGoddess.com!

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

Grant Writer Recharged and Writing

Derek, our non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, is back from his vacation and ready to get back to work:

My vac’s and hol’s* are over for now and I definitely feel recharged by the beauty of the Faith Valley where I was fortunate enough to spend a few days. People not from Northern California may think that beaches, surfers, bikinis, and Hollywood are an accurate representation of California. Many people outside California do not know that Northern California exists at all, or if they do, they may think that San Francisco is representative of our little piece of Paradise.

I know it’s probably irrational to let you in on the truth, mostly because you may want to come here to live, thereby overpopulating the place with ATV’s. But I trust your ability to comprehend the value of the place pictured here, and the rarity of being able to experience such an unspoiled environment and to care for it properly.

If you do plan to come visit the places pictured here, please treat the place with the reverence it deserves. By that I mean, pack out your trash, be careful with camp fires, don’t shoot anything, catch and release what you can’t eat, don’t strip limbs off trees to cook marshmallows with, etc. In other words, just be a good human please, and if you don’t, my mother will probably be castigating you publicly in the meadow with a fury known only by the few who have survived it.

Here are a few pictures:

Faith Valley, Alpine County, California, USA – (One of three connected valleys, Hope, Faith, and Charity – Interestingly, this picture looks a lot like the one that Veronica chose for my previous post and strangely, she has never been there!)

A coyote – (Wiley-looking ¿qué no?)

A Faith Valley sunset – (ahhhhh…)

I’ll be using these pics for my desktop background for a month or two so I can quickly go back in my mind to the peace and serenity of that place, the breezes blowing the sage, the Chickadees chattering while busily cleaning insects off the pines, and the screech of the Marsh Hawks chasing away the Bald Eagle who dared to soar through their territory.

Back to grant writing now – and happily so – recharged as only Faith Valley can make me (well, maybe Kauai too).

*Canadian for vacation

————————-

Looking for some rgeat grant writing resources?  Become a member of GrantGoddess.com!

Grant Writer Recharged and Writing

Derek, our non-profit consultant and expert grant writer, is back from his vacation and ready to get back to work:

My vac’s and hol’s* are over for now and I definitely feel recharged by the beauty of the Faith Valley where I was fortunate enough to spend a few days. People not from Northern California may think that beaches, surfers, bikinis, and Hollywood are an accurate representation of California. Many people outside California do not know that Northern California exists at all, or if they do, they may think that San Francisco is representative of our little piece of Paradise.

I know it’s probably irrational to let you in on the truth, mostly because you may want to come here to live, thereby overpopulating the place with ATV’s. But I trust your ability to comprehend the value of the place pictured here, and the rarity of being able to experience such an unspoiled environment and to care for it properly.

If you do plan to come visit the places pictured here, please treat the place with the reverence it deserves. By that I mean, pack out your trash, be careful with camp fires, don’t shoot anything, catch and release what you can’t eat, don’t strip limbs off trees to cook marshmallows with, etc. In other words, just be a good human please, and if you don’t, my mother will probably be castigating you publicly in the meadow with a fury known only by the few who have survived it.

Here are a few pictures:

Faith Valley, Alpine County, California, USA – (One of three connected valleys, Hope, Faith, and Charity – Interestingly, this picture looks a lot like the one that Veronica chose for my previous post and strangely, she has never been there!)

A coyote – (Wiley-looking ¿qué no?)

A Faith Valley sunset – (ahhhhh…)

I’ll be using these pics for my desktop background for a month or two so I can quickly go back in my mind to the peace and serenity of that place, the breezes blowing the sage, the Chickadees chattering while busily cleaning insects off the pines, and the screech of the Marsh Hawks chasing away the Bald Eagle who dared to soar through their territory.

Back to grant writing now – and happily so – recharged as only Faith Valley can make me (well, maybe Kauai too).

*Canadian for vacation

————————-

Looking for some rgeat grant writing resources?  Become a member of GrantGoddess.com!

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

Grant Writer on Vacation

Derek is on vacation, but before he went on vacation, he wrote about it.  I (Veronica) want you to know that my vacations are nothing like his. I think I could learn a thing or two from his philosophy about really getting away from it all for a few days.

—————————–

You may wonder – or not – what a grant writer does on vacation? Do they tow their editor along with them? Are staff instructed to send out urgent messages about new RFA’s? Do they splurge on buying a dozen grant samples to read poolside whilst sipping umbrella-drinks?

While all of that sounds reasonable (unappealing) and must be considered (not for a second), the answer for this grant writer is NOT. No editor, no grant samples, no rfa’s or rfp’s, no laptop either (the only exception would be an umbrella drink).

For my Vac’s and Hol’s (Canadian lingo for vacation) I’m going to the mountains, to camp, in the wilderness, near a stream, in a valley, where coyotes howl and night and where Native Americans long ago lived and dropped the odd arrowhead to be found.

I am always a writer, so I will be taking along my latest Moleskines to write and sketch in, and books to read, “Elements of Style” (still trying to develop one) and perhaps a recreational book or two I am in the middle of reading. Of course I will bring a cooler with some cold beer, dry ice and food, sunscreen, a hat that I can only wear with dignity in such a solitary landscape, and several changes of clothes.

The high mountains in August are cool, clear, and the peacefulness of the environment is good for a writer’s soul. Days with no television or radio, the only human intrusion is the occasional truck going up the road and the odd jet flying overhead somewhere with angry flight attendants. They should really try soaking up what they’re zooming over sometime, just not when I am there please.

Yes, my batteries are going into the shop for recharging on my Vac’s and Hol’s. My brain will not be in neutral, it will shift into another gear less burdened by the cares of the world and more open to inspiration, listening for the spirit of the Creator in a place still fresh from His hand.

—————————
Five Grant Writing Errors to Avoid.

Free e-book – Using Social Media to Increase Your Business

A Writer’s Journey – a blog about the journey of a writer.

Grant Writer on Vacation

Derek is on vacation, but before he went on vacation, he wrote about it.  I (Veronica) want you to know that my vacations are nothing like his. I think I could learn a thing or two from his philosophy about really getting away from it all for a few days.

—————————–

You may wonder – or not – what a grant writer does on vacation? Do they tow their editor along with them? Are staff instructed to send out urgent messages about new RFA’s? Do they splurge on buying a dozen grant samples to read poolside whilst sipping umbrella-drinks?

While all of that sounds reasonable (unappealing) and must be considered (not for a second), the answer for this grant writer is NOT. No editor, no grant samples, no rfa’s or rfp’s, no laptop either (the only exception would be an umbrella drink).

For my Vac’s and Hol’s (Canadian lingo for vacation) I’m going to the mountains, to camp, in the wilderness, near a stream, in a valley, where coyotes howl and night and where Native Americans long ago lived and dropped the odd arrowhead to be found.

I am always a writer, so I will be taking along my latest Moleskines to write and sketch in, and books to read, “Elements of Style” (still trying to develop one) and perhaps a recreational book or two I am in the middle of reading. Of course I will bring a cooler with some cold beer, dry ice and food, sunscreen, a hat that I can only wear with dignity in such a solitary landscape, and several changes of clothes.

The high mountains in August are cool, clear, and the peacefulness of the environment is good for a writer’s soul. Days with no television or radio, the only human intrusion is the occasional truck going up the road and the odd jet flying overhead somewhere with angry flight attendants. They should really try soaking up what they’re zooming over sometime, just not when I am there please.

Yes, my batteries are going into the shop for recharging on my Vac’s and Hol’s. My brain will not be in neutral, it will shift into another gear less burdened by the cares of the world and more open to inspiration, listening for the spirit of the Creator in a place still fresh from His hand.

—————————
Five Grant Writing Errors to Avoid.

Free e-book – Using Social Media to Increase Your Business

A Writer’s Journey – a blog about the journey of a writer.

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

What is a Grant Writer?

Non-Profit Consultant and Expert Grant Writer, Derek Link, answers the question “What is a Grant Writer?” in his own unique way:

So many times, in response to the standard “guy” question, “So, what do you do?” I get this deer in the headlights response to my answer, “I’m a grant writer.”  The predictable follow-up question is, “Really?  What’s a grant writer?” 

Most people (not all) have heard of grants but most people think it’s a gift-wrapped gold bar that Uncle Sam sends out to undeserving people who make obscene artwork.  So I explain what a grant is first.
What is a grant?
Basically, a grant is an effort on the part of the government to solve a problem, improve a condition, demonstrate the validity of an idea, and sometimes – it’s true (I wish it weren’t) – pay back a political favor. 
The government goes about this by organizing a grant competition.  This competition is assigned a budget and the size of the grants is usually pre-determined, and so the budget allocated to the program determines the number of grants to be given out.  Applications are developed and made available, deadlines for submission of applications are set, and criteria for scoring the applications are created. 
When all of the applications come in, they are sorted and checked to make sure the writers followed all the rules, those that did not are tossed into the trash can and the rest are scored.  The highest scores win the dough, everyone else gets zilch and has to wait for another round of competition.
What is a grant writer?
After I get the person to understand what a grant is, then they often must be helped to understand what the application entails.  This is when in the conversation they glaze over and their minds stray off into “I like pizza” mode.  So I usually cut it short with “A grant writer writes the applications for grants,” which is really all they wanted to know and more than they wanted to know all at the same time.
Guys usually ask you what you do because they’re trying to gauge your level of success to see if you’re someone they can relate to, aspire to be like or perhaps give a dollar to.  But being told that someone is a grant writer is impossible to quantify. 
Being a doctor or a lawyer implies one is making a substantial income but a grant writer is such an unknown that people who care about that stuff – and guys often do – really have a hard time wrapping their head around what it means.
I like that part of being an inscrutable grant writer, apparently savvy about the mysterious inner-workings of government, apparently owning the ability to help others access a trickle of the government wealth, and having an occupation with no common point of reference with which to determine my income level. 
I am a Grant Writer. With this title, I can remain somewhat of a social-class enigma at events and social functions (at least until I go out to the parking lot and fire up my ’97 Honda Civic).

—————————————–

Free Letter of Inquiry Outline

Free webinar on Writing Good Letters of Support for Grants

What is a Grant Writer?

Non-Profit Consultant and Expert Grant Writer, Derek Link, answers the question “What is a Grant Writer?” in his own unique way:

So many times, in response to the standard “guy” question, “So, what do you do?” I get this deer in the headlights response to my answer, “I’m a grant writer.”  The predictable follow-up question is, “Really?  What’s a grant writer?” 

Most people (not all) have heard of grants but most people think it’s a gift-wrapped gold bar that Uncle Sam sends out to undeserving people who make obscene artwork.  So I explain what a grant is first.
What is a grant?

Basically, a grant is an effort on the part of the government to solve a problem, improve a condition, demonstrate the validity of an idea, and sometimes – it’s true (I wish it weren’t) – pay back a political favor. 
The government goes about this by organizing a grant competition.  This competition is assigned a budget and the size of the grants is usually pre-determined, and so the budget allocated to the program determines the number of grants to be given out.  Applications are developed and made available, deadlines for submission of applications are set, and criteria for scoring the applications are created. 
When all of the applications come in, they are sorted and checked to make sure the writers followed all the rules, those that did not are tossed into the trash can and the rest are scored.  The highest scores win the dough, everyone else gets zilch and has to wait for another round of competition.
What is a grant writer?

After I get the person to understand what a grant is, then they often must be helped to understand what the application entails.  This is when in the conversation they glaze over and their minds stray off into “I like pizza” mode.  So I usually cut it short with “A grant writer writes the applications for grants,” which is really all they wanted to know and more than they wanted to know all at the same time.
Guys usually ask you what you do because they’re trying to gauge your level of success to see if you’re someone they can relate to, aspire to be like or perhaps give a dollar to.  But being told that someone is a grant writer is impossible to quantify. 
Being a doctor or a lawyer implies one is making a substantial income but a grant writer is such an unknown that people who care about that stuff – and guys often do – really have a hard time wrapping their head around what it means.
I like that part of being an inscrutable grant writer, apparently savvy about the mysterious inner-workings of government, apparently owning the ability to help others access a trickle of the government wealth, and having an occupation with no common point of reference with which to determine my income level. 
I am a Grant Writer. With this title, I can remain somewhat of a social-class enigma at events and social functions (at least until I go out to the parking lot and fire up my ’97 Honda Civic).

—————————————–

Free Letter of Inquiry Outline

Free webinar on Writing Good Letters of Support for Grants

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