Category Archives: grant writing tip

Grant Writing Mistakes to Avoid

The list of grant writing mistakes to avoid could be longer than the list of tips to do it right because there are so many ways to slip up, particularly when writing large and complex government grants. Here’s a quick list of a few mistakes to avoid that have come up lately:

Mistake #1: Not reading everything in the RFP.  This may seem like a no-brainer to you, but you would be surprised how often people don’t read everything. Reading everything in the RFP is so important that you should do it no matter how many times you have written a particular category of grant.  Things change.  Yes, they really do. I’m working on a grant project right now that has undergone some major modifications.  The RFP is full of brand new detail, websites to visit, and assessments to review.  Calling it complex would be a bit of an understatement. It would be a huge mistake not to read absolutely everything.

Mistake #2: Not participating in the informational conference calls and webinars. About 50% of the time, there is nothing shared on the informational call that is not also in the RFP; however, half the time, some valuable detail is shared that will give you a competitive advantage.  Ok, ok, I know.  That’s not supposed to be the way it works.  Everything you need to apply is supposed to be included in the Federal Register announcement and the RFP, but that’s just not the way it works. I know an organization that was denied funding because they did not comply with a restriction that was explained in the informational webinar and not in the RFP.  It’s still in appeal, but it would have been a lot easier just to participate in the webinar.

Mistake #3: Not using the checklist provided in the RFP.  This is such a common mistake, that many funding agencies now require that you include the checklist in your application.  It’s their way of making sure that you have actually looked at the checklist.  Using the checklist helps you be sure not to leave required pieces out of your application.  It won’t help you with the quality of the narrative response (follow the scoring criteria for that), but it will help you submit all the required documents in the right order.

Mistake #4:  Waiting until the last minute to call with your questions. This requires some advance planning. You can call to ask questions, but the representative from the funding agency will usually not answer the phone, and he/she may not return your call in a timely manner.  If you have waited until the last day to ask a critical question, you’ll be out of luck. 

Mistake #5: Not reading the FAQs or supplemental information suggested in the RFP. This is related to mistake #1 (above), but often people do not think that the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are really part of the RFP, so they don’t read them.  Some agencies publish the FAQs separately.  They can contain some very valuable clarifying information.  The same is true of supplemental information referred to in the RFA.  Sometimes the website the funder is pointing you to really is just for extra information that you don’t need or may already know, but from time to time those references include critical information that will make the difference between success and failure.


Mistake #6:  Including needs that you don’t plan on addressing in the project.  It’s really easy to get carried away providing all sorts of information about how needy your organization is, but you need to be sure that you target your needs section toward the project at hand.  If you identify a need, then your project to address that need (at least in part).  Remember, all of the sections of your proposal need to be connected – from needs, to goals and objectives, to design, to management, to evaluation, to budget.

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Related Posts:


Five Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Grant Objectives

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


Lessons Learned from Failure

Top 10 Lessons I Learned from My Grant Writing Mentor

Grant Writing Mistakes to Avoid

The list of grant writing mistakes to avoid could be longer than the list of tips to do it right because there are so many ways to slip up, particularly when writing large and complex government grants. Here’s a quick list of a few mistakes to avoid that have come up lately:

Mistake #1: Not reading everything in the RFP.  This may seem like a no-brainer to you, but you would be surprised how often people don’t read everything. Reading everything in the RFP is so important that you should do it no matter how many times you have written a particular category of grant.  Things change.  Yes, they really do. I’m working on a grant project right now that has undergone some major modifications.  The RFP is full of brand new detail, websites to visit, and assessments to review.  Calling it complex would be a bit of an understatement. It would be a huge mistake not to read absolutely everything.

Mistake #2: Not participating in the informational conference calls and webinars. About 50% of the time, there is nothing shared on the informational call that is not also in the RFP; however, half the time, some valuable detail is shared that will give you a competitive advantage.  Ok, ok, I know.  That’s not supposed to be the way it works.  Everything you need to apply is supposed to be included in the Federal Register announcement and the RFP, but that’s just not the way it works. I know an organization that was denied funding because they did not comply with a restriction that was explained in the informational webinar and not in the RFP.  It’s still in appeal, but it would have been a lot easier just to participate in the webinar.

Mistake #3: Not using the checklist provided in the RFP.  This is such a common mistake, that many funding agencies now require that you include the checklist in your application.  It’s their way of making sure that you have actually looked at the checklist.  Using the checklist helps you be sure not to leave required pieces out of your application.  It won’t help you with the quality of the narrative response (follow the scoring criteria for that), but it will help you submit all the required documents in the right order.

Mistake #4:  Waiting until the last minute to call with your questions. This requires some advance planning. You can call to ask questions, but the representative from the funding agency will usually not answer the phone, and he/she may not return your call in a timely manner.  If you have waited until the last day to ask a critical question, you’ll be out of luck. 

Mistake #5: Not reading the FAQs or supplemental information suggested in the RFP. This is related to mistake #1 (above), but often people do not think that the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are really part of the RFP, so they don’t read them.  Some agencies publish the FAQs separately.  They can contain some very valuable clarifying information.  The same is true of supplemental information referred to in the RFA.  Sometimes the website the funder is pointing you to really is just for extra information that you don’t need or may already know, but from time to time those references include critical information that will make the difference between success and failure.


Mistake #6:  Including needs that you don’t plan on addressing in the project.  It’s really easy to get carried away providing all sorts of information about how needy your organization is, but you need to be sure that you target your needs section toward the project at hand.  If you identify a need, then your project to address that need (at least in part).  Remember, all of the sections of your proposal need to be connected – from needs, to goals and objectives, to design, to management, to evaluation, to budget.

——————————-

Related Posts:


Five Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Grant Objectives

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


Lessons Learned from Failure

Top 10 Lessons I Learned from My Grant Writing Mentor

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

Tune Out the Noise in Your Grant Proposal

Do you remember how difficult it could be sometimes to tune in to a radio station? A tiny move of the tuning nob could bring static.  Another tiny move could bring in two stations talking over each other and a little static, too. Finally, you get it just right and you hear the station you wanted as clear as a bell. (I realize that there may be some very young ones among you who have come of age in an era of iPods and Pandora who don’t know what I’m talking about, but go with it for a moment, ok?)

I have been working on a grant application this week (as usual), and I have a great client who has been doing some fantastic things.  This client is extremely bright and she sees connections between everything.  When she describes what she wants to do through the new grant, she can’t help but connect it to all sorts of other activities and programs that are already going on.  This integration of webs of services and partnerships is one of the hallmarks of a skilled program administrator, but it makes for messy grant writing.

Don’t get me wrong.  It’s very important in a grant narrative to connect new and existing services, to show the organization’s capacity for implementing programs of the size and scope of the one in the grant, and to use previous examples of success to demonstrate the likelihood of success of the new project. However, it’s also critical to describe what you plan to do as clearly as possible with as little “noise” as possible.

The simpler the program design, the easier it is to describe it clearly in writing. The more complex the design, the more potential there is for “static,” and the higher the likelihood that the readers will start to read other things into the proposal that are not really there and to impose their experiences and biases over your writing (that’s the other radio station you hear that’s infringing on your favorite song).

Your job as a grant writer is to keep it as simple as possible for the reader. Draw connections to other programs and services, but not so much that your message (your program design) becomes less clear.

Remember, the grant readers don’t know your organization or your fabulous program. Those little extra pieces of information about related programs and services that are only partially explained bring into your mind a full picture of integrated services.  To the reader, they only spark questions…..and static.

Do yourself a favor…..keep your program design simple and clean, and clear as a bell.

————————
Related Posts:

Five Tips for Writing Good Grant Objectives

Five Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Grant Objectives

Relax……And Tell Your Story

A Fool and His Grant Are Soon Parted – Follow the Instructions

————————

Tune Out the Noise in Your Grant Proposal

Do you remember how difficult it could be sometimes to tune in to a radio station? A tiny move of the tuning nob could bring static.  Another tiny move could bring in two stations talking over each other and a little static, too. Finally, you get it just right and you hear the station you wanted as clear as a bell. (I realize that there may be some very young ones among you who have come of age in an era of iPods and Pandora who don’t know what I’m talking about, but go with it for a moment, ok?)

I have been working on a grant application this week (as usual), and I have a great client who has been doing some fantastic things.  This client is extremely bright and she sees connections between everything.  When she describes what she wants to do through the new grant, she can’t help but connect it to all sorts of other activities and programs that are already going on.  This integration of webs of services and partnerships is one of the hallmarks of a skilled program administrator, but it makes for messy grant writing.

Don’t get me wrong.  It’s very important in a grant narrative to connect new and existing services, to show the organization’s capacity for implementing programs of the size and scope of the one in the grant, and to use previous examples of success to demonstrate the likelihood of success of the new project. However, it’s also critical to describe what you plan to do as clearly as possible with as little “noise” as possible.

The simpler the program design, the easier it is to describe it clearly in writing. The more complex the design, the more potential there is for “static,” and the higher the likelihood that the readers will start to read other things into the proposal that are not really there and to impose their experiences and biases over your writing (that’s the other radio station you hear that’s infringing on your favorite song).

Your job as a grant writer is to keep it as simple as possible for the reader. Draw connections to other programs and services, but not so much that your message (your program design) becomes less clear.

Remember, the grant readers don’t know your organization or your fabulous program. Those little extra pieces of information about related programs and services that are only partially explained bring into your mind a full picture of integrated services.  To the reader, they only spark questions…..and static.

Do yourself a favor…..keep your program design simple and clean, and clear as a bell.

————————
Related Posts:

Five Tips for Writing Good Grant Objectives

Five Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Grant Objectives

Relax……And Tell Your Story

A Fool and His Grant Are Soon Parted – Follow the Instructions

————————

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

Grant Writing Tip – Put Needs Data in Context

I was working on a school library grant recently and I had all sorts of great data about collection size, age of the school library collection, access to the collection, and qualifications of staff.  Sounds great, right?  The problem is that knowing all that really didn’t tell me anything.  Without the context of state and national averages, I didn’t know if this school was doing great or really in need of help. So, I started doing some research and I got the information I needed to put the data into context and describe the need.

This experience reminded me again that data in isolation means nothing.

As a grant writer, you use data to help you tell a story and build a case for why you need a grant. Using only local statistics without using regional, state, and/or national data to put the local data into context is just as innefective as only providing national data without any local data to show your local situation.  Both scenarios will have the same effect – you won’t get funded.

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Want more grant writing tips? Visit GrantGoddess.com or buy 101 Tips for Aspiring Grant Writers.

Grant Writing Tip – Put Needs Data in Context

I was working on a school library grant recently and I had all sorts of great data about collection size, age of the school library collection, access to the collection, and qualifications of staff.  Sounds great, right?  The problem is that knowing all that really didn’t tell me anything.  Without the context of state and national averages, I didn’t know if this school was doing great or really in need of help. So, I started doing some research and I got the information I needed to put the data into context and describe the need.

This experience reminded me again that data in isolation means nothing.

As a grant writer, you use data to help you tell a story and build a case for why you need a grant. Using only local statistics without using regional, state, and/or national data to put the local data into context is just as innefective as only providing national data without any local data to show your local situation.  Both scenarios will have the same effect – you won’t get funded.

————————

Want more grant writing tips? Visit GrantGoddess.com or buy 101 Tips for Aspiring Grant Writers.

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