Category Archives: grant consultant

How Does a Grant Writer Build Client Trust?

I’ve worked as a consultant for many years now and one thing I know is that establishing trust with clients is important. I’ve watched many consultants over the years fail to build trust with their clients and the result has always been that they fail. Critical ways for a grant writer to lose trust with a client are low approval rates and lack of confidentiality.
The problem with grant writing business failure, beyond the obvious trouble for the consultant, is that the client suffers because they’ve worked to get approval for a consulting agreement. The client has demonstrated their trust in an individual who let them down; it damages the client’s reputation within their organization.
Hiring a grant writer is a big decision because it costs money. While a good grant writer can earn an organization large awards, if the consultant is average or poor, their grants will be funded at a low percentage and contracting with them will cost the organization a lot of money with little or no return on investment.
A poor approval rate erodes trust quickly and another key way to lose the trust of a client is to be less than strictly confidential. I’ve witnessed many consultants lose trust with clients because they are unprofessional and share information they shouldn’t. It may be information about themselves, their co-workers, competitors, or their other clients. A grant writer who is inclined toward gossip will never make a good consultant; these people are a liability to an organization, not a benefit. There is no positive return on investment for gossip.
An easy way to identify a consultant that will not be trustworthy is that they share derogatory information about their competitors to make themselves look good. If a grant writer is willing to gossip about competitors, the client has evidence to question the consultant’s confidentiality with regard to their own organization. It is certain the client’s personal and organizational faults and foibles will be gossiped to anyone who gives an ear. As the old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
A grant writer must have a history of writing successful proposals and be capable of maintaining professional confidentiality in order to achieve a successful career. Organizations are wise to hire consultants cautiously and pay attention to the level of professionalism they display.
Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.  ~Spanish Proverb~






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Photo Credits: Israel Papillon & Julia Freeman-Woolpert
Published by Creative Resources & Research http://grantgoddess.com

Grant Consultant Chic: Top 10 Accessories for the Grant Writing Consultant

MaryEllen Bergh is our resident fashion guru, and she has come up with a list of chic (and helpful!) accessories for the savvy grant writing consultant:

  1.   Large bag to hold your accessories and other things that you absolutely must have with you no matter where you go. The bag should be flexible and strong enough to hold at least three 85-page Request for Applications (RFA) and in a bright color so you can always find it and others can see you coming. I prefer red. It is  neutral and goes with everything.
  2. Oversized sunglasses with a bit of bling (think Lady GaGa) when you just need a different perspective or want others to think you are sophisticated and have a certain “je ne sais quoi.”
  3. A magnifying glass to maintain your focus on the criteria (or in my case, just to read it).
  4. A colorful hat preferably with a floppy brim. The hat not only makes you look stylish when having a bad hair day but, in case you don’t have your sunglasses, can, with a tip of the head, cover up the eye roll (“You never asked me for that data.”).
  5. Earplugs to save you from saying, once again, “You want to do WHAT??”
  6. A chime to center yourself when you become unbalanced. I find chimes in the key of E work particularly well.
  7. A leather belt to cinch in the narrative when you are 6 pages over the limit. It’s also useful to flog the nearest object if you become unbalanced and don’t have a chime. 
  8.  Trendy leather boots with a bit of a heel (black is good) to protect your feet as you wade through all the sh**, uh, information.
  9. A wand with a crystal of some sort (the kind of crystal does not matter but it does make the wand work better…unless you are at Hogwarts in which case a simple wooden one works best) to wave when you need the deadline pushed back or to erase the dark circles under your eyes.
  10. Last, but not least, a long scarf to tie up loose ends. The scarf lends a bit of flair to your presentation and covers up flaws such as neck wrinkles as well.

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Check out all of the resources at GrantGoddess.com!


Grant Consultant Chic: Top 10 Accessories for the Grant Writing Consultant

MaryEllen Bergh is our resident fashion guru, and she has come up with a list of chic (and helpful!) accessories for the savvy grant writing consultant:

  1.   Large bag to hold your accessories and other things that you absolutely must have with you no matter where you go. The bag should be flexible and strong enough to hold at least three 85-page Request for Applications (RFA) and in a bright color so you can always find it and others can see you coming. I prefer red. It is  neutral and goes with everything.
  2. Oversized sunglasses with a bit of bling (think Lady GaGa) when you just need a different perspective or want others to think you are sophisticated and have a certain “je ne sais quoi.”
  3. A magnifying glass to maintain your focus on the criteria (or in my case, just to read it).
  4. A colorful hat preferably with a floppy brim. The hat not only makes you look stylish when having a bad hair day but, in case you don’t have your sunglasses, can, with a tip of the head, cover up the eye roll (“You never asked me for that data.”).
  5. Earplugs to save you from saying, once again, “You want to do WHAT??”
  6. A chime to center yourself when you become unbalanced. I find chimes in the key of E work particularly well.
  7. A leather belt to cinch in the narrative when you are 6 pages over the limit. It’s also useful to flog the nearest object if you become unbalanced and don’t have a chime. 
  8.  Trendy leather boots with a bit of a heel (black is good) to protect your feet as you wade through all the sh**, uh, information.
  9. A wand with a crystal of some sort (the kind of crystal does not matter but it does make the wand work better…unless you are at Hogwarts in which case a simple wooden one works best) to wave when you need the deadline pushed back or to erase the dark circles under your eyes.
  10. Last, but not least, a long scarf to tie up loose ends. The scarf lends a bit of flair to your presentation and covers up flaws such as neck wrinkles as well.

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Check out all of the resources at GrantGoddess.com!

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