Category Archives: grant writing tips

Grant Writing Tools You Can Use

Every now and then we like to post about the amazing grant writing tools we have to help you be successful.  Most are totally FREE.  Those that aren’t free are very inexpensive. Please feel free to share these tools with your friends and colleagues. Grant writers need all the help they can get.

New Text Message Tips. This is really new for us.  We’re sending out grant writing tips and grant sources via text message. There are four different groups you can join – you can join them all or juts the one or two that interest you the most. The tips are totally free, but if you don’t have an unlimited text plan with your mobile provider, standard text message rates apply. We’re sending out 2-3 messages per week for each group, so you won’t be inundated with texts and we do not sell third party advertising so you won’t be flooded with ads, either. Here’s how you sign up:

  • Text GRANTS to 313131 for grant writing tips.
  • Text EDGRANTS to 313131 for grant sources relating to education.
  • Text KIDGRANTS to 313131 for grant sources for youth programs.
  • Text NONPROFIT to 313131 for non-profit development and fund raising tips.

Free online webinars. Right now, we offer free recorded webinars on the following grant writing topics:

  • Top 10 Tips for Grant Wsriting
  • Collaborating with School Districts on Grants
  • Writing Good Letters of Support
  • Grant Research: The Basics
  • Effective Grant Research

In addition to these topics, we have other webinars on various program evaluation and non-profit development topics.  All are between 20 and 40 minutes long (most are about 30 minutes) and all are available for viewing on demand.


BlogTalk Radio Tips from the Grant Goddess.  Every Friday at 3:00 p.m. (Pacific) we air our 30 minute  online radio show, Tips from the Grant Goddess, on BlogTalkRadio. If you miss the live show, you can listen to the recordings on demand at any time. There are currently over 35 shows archived for listening at your leisure.  Some of the many grant writing topics covered in these shows include:

  • The Art and the Science of Grant Writing
  • Tips for Effective Collaboration
  • Budget Development
  • Writing Good Letters of Support
  • Grant Writing: The Basics
  • Grant Seeking
  • Developing a Logic Model
  • Selecting Evidence-Based Programs and Practices

Grant Writing Resources Page. This page has quite a selection of great FREE grant writing resources and tools, including articles and links to other sites with good grant writing resources.

Past Blog Posts. Take some time to go back through the archive of blog posts here.The posts you find are different than the articles we put on the Grant Writing Resources Page. With the exception of news posts, most of our posts are about grant writing tips and techniques that you can still use long after they were initially published.

Grant Tips iPhone App. We took the time to put together an iPhone application with 101+ grant tips to help you succeed with your grant writing.  Currently, the app is available for 99 cents in the App Store. You can get more information here. Pretty soon, the FREE version of the app (Grant Tips Lite) will be available.  It will have only 50 tips, rather than over a hundred, but the other features will all be the same. Stay tuned for more information as we release the new app.

Membership at GrantGoddess.com. Everything I’ve told you about so far has been free (or very inexpensive). A membership at GrantGoddess.com costs only $9.95/month (or you can save some money and get an annual membership for $99/year). On the member site, you’ll have access to the largest collection of grant seeking, grant writing, program evaluation, and non-profit development resources available on the web! The content is not duplicated from the free site; it’s all developed just for members. We launched the member site in January 2010 and it’s growing every day.  But here’s the rub — the early bird rate of $9.95/mo is only good until the end of May.  On June 1, the price will go up to $19.95/month.  Lock in your lower membership rate now!

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

Grant Writing Tools You Can Use

Every now and then we like to post about the amazing grant writing tools we have to help you be successful.  Most are totally FREE.  Those that aren’t free are very inexpensive. Please feel free to share these tools with your friends and colleagues. Grant writers need all the help they can get.

New Text Message Tips. This is really new for us.  We’re sending out grant writing tips and grant sources via text message. There are four different groups you can join – you can join them all or juts the one or two that interest you the most. The tips are totally free, but if you don’t have an unlimited text plan with your mobile provider, standard text message rates apply. We’re sending out 2-3 messages per week for each group, so you won’t be inundated with texts and we do not sell third party advertising so you won’t be flooded with ads, either. Here’s how you sign up:

  • Text GRANTS to 313131 for grant writing tips.
  • Text EDGRANTS to 313131 for grant sources relating to education.
  • Text KIDGRANTS to 313131 for grant sources for youth programs.
  • Text NONPROFIT to 313131 for non-profit development and fund raising tips.

Free online webinars. Right now, we offer free recorded webinars on the following grant writing topics:

  • Top 10 Tips for Grant Wsriting
  • Collaborating with School Districts on Grants
  • Writing Good Letters of Support
  • Grant Research: The Basics
  • Effective Grant Research

In addition to these topics, we have other webinars on various program evaluation and non-profit development topics.  All are between 20 and 40 minutes long (most are about 30 minutes) and all are available for viewing on demand.


BlogTalk Radio Tips from the Grant Goddess.  Every Friday at 3:00 p.m. (Pacific) we air our 30 minute  online radio show, Tips from the Grant Goddess, on BlogTalkRadio. If you miss the live show, you can listen to the recordings on demand at any time. There are currently over 35 shows archived for listening at your leisure.  Some of the many grant writing topics covered in these shows include:

  • The Art and the Science of Grant Writing
  • Tips for Effective Collaboration
  • Budget Development
  • Writing Good Letters of Support
  • Grant Writing: The Basics
  • Grant Seeking
  • Developing a Logic Model
  • Selecting Evidence-Based Programs and Practices

Grant Writing Resources Page. This page has quite a selection of great FREE grant writing resources and tools, including articles and links to other sites with good grant writing resources.

Past Blog Posts. Take some time to go back through the archive of blog posts here.The posts you find are different than the articles we put on the Grant Writing Resources Page. With the exception of news posts, most of our posts are about grant writing tips and techniques that you can still use long after they were initially published.

Grant Tips iPhone App. We took the time to put together an iPhone application with 101+ grant tips to help you succeed with your grant writing.  Currently, the app is available for 99 cents in the App Store. You can get more information here. Pretty soon, the FREE version of the app (Grant Tips Lite) will be available.  It will have only 50 tips, rather than over a hundred, but the other features will all be the same. Stay tuned for more information as we release the new app.

Membership at GrantGoddess.com. Everything I’ve told you about so far has been free (or very inexpensive). A membership at GrantGoddess.com costs only $9.95/month (or you can save some money and get an annual membership for $99/year). On the member site, you’ll have access to the largest collection of grant seeking, grant writing, program evaluation, and non-profit development resources available on the web! The content is not duplicated from the free site; it’s all developed just for members. We launched the member site in January 2010 and it’s growing every day.  But here’s the rub — the early bird rate of $9.95/mo is only good until the end of May.  On June 1, the price will go up to $19.95/month.  Lock in your lower membership rate now!

Five Tips for Writing Good Grant Objectives

Writing good grant objectives is not rocket science, but I have seen it trip up more than a few writers. Think of your objectives as the cornerstone of your project design.  They are linked to your needs and your solutions, and they play a prominent role in the evaluation section. It is definitely worth the time to make them as strong as possible.  Here are a few tips to help you out:

  1. Make your objectives SMART. That stands for Specific, Measurable Achievable, Realistic (I’ve also heard Relevant used here, but I prefer Realistic) and Time-bound. 
  2. Use measures that are available to you. Unless there are specific measures that are required by the funding source, write your objective with measurement tools that you have available at your site.  While you should use existing assessments whenever possible, this might be the opportunity to add new assessments you have been considering using anyway. Just be careful not to commit yourself and the organization to the implementation of a new battery of assessments in addition to the implementation of a new program.
  3. Make sure each objective has all its parts. The most effective outcome objectives are written as standard behavioral objectives.  Each should have four parts:
    1. What will be measured?
    2. When will it be measured?
    3. How much growth do you expect?
    4. How will you know that the objective has been achieved?
  4. Distinguish implementation objectives from outcome objectives. Implementation objectives define your targets for implementing the program (e.g., Fifty program participants will be enrolled by June 30, 2011, as measured by intake records.) and outcome objectives define your ultimate achievement targets (e.g., Forty students will complete the program each year, as measured by achievement of a passing score on the XYZ exam.). Think of it this way: the achievement of an implementation objective proves that you are implementing the program (doing what you said you would do).  The achievement of outcome objective proves that the program works.
  5. Review the formal evaluation requirements of the funding source before finalizing your objectives. Since you will be required to demonstrate the degree to which you have achieved your objectives and you will be required to provide specific data to the funding source as part of a national, state, or organizational (if you have a private funding source) evaluation, it makes sense to try to tailor your objectives to the data that will be required for the formal evaluation.  Not only does this streamline your planning and help with implementation, it also demonstrates your understanding of the needs and requirements of the funding source.

———————————–

For more grant writing tips, check out the Grant Writing Resources at GrantGoddess.com or download our Grant Tips iPhone App.  You can also text the word GRANTS to 313131 to receive grant writing tips 2-3 per week on your mobile phone (Tips are free, but standard text message rates from your mobile carrier may apply if you don’t have an unlimited text plan.).

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

Five Tips for Writing Good Grant Objectives

Writing good grant objectives is not rocket science, but I have seen it trip up more than a few writers. Think of your objectives as the cornerstone of your project design.  They are linked to your needs and your solutions, and they play a prominent role in the evaluation section. It is definitely worth the time to make them as strong as possible.  Here are a few tips to help you out:

  1. Make your objectives SMART. That stands for Specific, Measurable Achievable, Realistic (I’ve also heard Relevant used here, but I prefer Realistic) and Time-bound. 
  2. Use measures that are available to you. Unless there are specific measures that are required by the funding source, write your objective with measurement tools that you have available at your site.  While you should use existing assessments whenever possible, this might be the opportunity to add new assessments you have been considering using anyway. Just be careful not to commit yourself and the organization to the implementation of a new battery of assessments in addition to the implementation of a new program.
  3. Make sure each objective has all its parts. The most effective outcome objectives are written as standard behavioral objectives.  Each should have four parts:
    1. What will be measured?
    2. When will it be measured?
    3. How much growth do you expect?
    4. How will you know that the objective has been achieved?
  4. Distinguish implementation objectives from outcome objectives. Implementation objectives define your targets for implementing the program (e.g., Fifty program participants will be enrolled by June 30, 2011, as measured by intake records.) and outcome objectives define your ultimate achievement targets (e.g., Forty students will complete the program each year, as measured by achievement of a passing score on the XYZ exam.). Think of it this way: the achievement of an implementation objective proves that you are implementing the program (doing what you said you would do).  The achievement of outcome objective proves that the program works.
  5. Review the formal evaluation requirements of the funding source before finalizing your objectives. Since you will be required to demonstrate the degree to which you have achieved your objectives and you will be required to provide specific data to the funding source as part of a national, state, or organizational (if you have a private funding source) evaluation, it makes sense to try to tailor your objectives to the data that will be required for the formal evaluation.  Not only does this streamline your planning and help with implementation, it also demonstrates your understanding of the needs and requirements of the funding source.

———————————–

For more grant writing tips, check out the Grant Writing Resources at GrantGoddess.com or download our Grant Tips iPhone App.  You can also text the word GRANTS to 313131 to receive grant writing tips 2-3 per week on your mobile phone (Tips are free, but standard text message rates from your mobile carrier may apply if you don’t have an unlimited text plan.).

Grant Writing Secret – The Power of Language Mimicry

The persuasive power of mimicry has been well established in the fields of sales and marketing, yet professionals in education and the social services rarely use the strategy to get an advantage.  It can be a very powerful tool for success in grant writing.

Language mimicry in grant writing is all about using the same language of the scoring criteria in your responses to the criteria. I’m not talking about merely restating the criteria, but using the exact language of the criteria somewhere in your response.

Here’s a very basic example: If the scoring criterion is, “The degree to which the applicant identifies and addresses gaps in services,” you would not discuss “services that are missing.” You would specifically use the language “gaps in services.”  You would also claim  that your project “addresses these gaps in services to a very high degree,” or that it represents a “superior approach to addressing gaps in services.” Of course, the detail is important, but using the language of the criteria signals to readers that you are focusing on those criteria.

Unfortunately, what many people do instead of mimicking the language is to simply restate the criteria. “Our project has identified gaps in services and addresses them,” is an example of simply restating the criterion.

There are several reasons why this strategy gives you a leg up:

  1. Grant readers become fatigued after reading several grants. Fatigue begins to set in with the third grant read in a sitting.  As they become fatigued, they start to look for key words.  What are those key words?  The key words in the scoring criteria. the later in the day your proposal is read, the more important those key words become.
  2. Not all grant readers are experts in the disciplines of the competition. This is most commonly seen in the area of evaluation.  The criteria may include a requirement that your evaluation use both qualitative and quantitative data, and you may have given examples of both qualitative and quantitative data.  However, most grant readers are not evaluators and I have seen examples of readers not being able to identify listed data sources as qualitative and quantitative.  You need to write “The qualitative data we will collect for evaluation purposes are…..” and “The quantitative data we will collect….”
  3. In federal competitions, readers from other states may not understand programs in your state. For example, the criteria may say that the projects must include services for youth in schools going through a program improvement process.  Your state may have a particular name for that process that does not include the words “program improvement.”  You cannot assume the readers will just know.
  4. The psychological research in the area of mimicry tells us it works. When you mimic the language of the scoring criteria, the readers view you as more professional and more responsive to the RFP, in the same way that physically mimicking the person you are talking to in a meeting gives the impression that you are more interested and focused on that person’s needs.

Language mimicry is not the only thing you need to pay attention to in the grant writing process.  It is not even the most important thing to remember. However, it is one of those secrets that separates a good grant writer with a moderate level of success from the great ones with phenomenal success.  Which one do you want to be?

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

Grant Writing Secret – The Power of Language Mimicry

The persuasive power of mimicry has been well established in the fields of sales and marketing, yet professionals in education and the social services rarely use the strategy to get an advantage.  It can be a very powerful tool for success in grant writing.

Language mimicry in grant writing is all about using the same language of the scoring criteria in your responses to the criteria. I’m not talking about merely restating the criteria, but using the exact language of the criteria somewhere in your response.

Here’s a very basic example: If the scoring criterion is, “The degree to which the applicant identifies and addresses gaps in services,” you would not discuss “services that are missing.” You would specifically use the language “gaps in services.”  You would also claim  that your project “addresses these gaps in services to a very high degree,” or that it represents a “superior approach to addressing gaps in services.” Of course, the detail is important, but using the language of the criteria signals to readers that you are focusing on those criteria.

Unfortunately, what many people do instead of mimicking the language is to simply restate the criteria. “Our project has identified gaps in services and addresses them,” is an example of simply restating the criterion.

There are several reasons why this strategy gives you a leg up:

  1. Grant readers become fatigued after reading several grants. Fatigue begins to set in with the third grant read in a sitting.  As they become fatigued, they start to look for key words.  What are those key words?  The key words in the scoring criteria. the later in the day your proposal is read, the more important those key words become.
  2. Not all grant readers are experts in the disciplines of the competition. This is most commonly seen in the area of evaluation.  The criteria may include a requirement that your evaluation use both qualitative and quantitative data, and you may have given examples of both qualitative and quantitative data.  However, most grant readers are not evaluators and I have seen examples of readers not being able to identify listed data sources as qualitative and quantitative.  You need to write “The qualitative data we will collect for evaluation purposes are…..” and “The quantitative data we will collect….”
  3. In federal competitions, readers from other states may not understand programs in your state. For example, the criteria may say that the projects must include services for youth in schools going through a program improvement process.  Your state may have a particular name for that process that does not include the words “program improvement.”  You cannot assume the readers will just know.
  4. The psychological research in the area of mimicry tells us it works. When you mimic the language of the scoring criteria, the readers view you as more professional and more responsive to the RFP, in the same way that physically mimicking the person you are talking to in a meeting gives the impression that you are more interested and focused on that person’s needs.

Language mimicry is not the only thing you need to pay attention to in the grant writing process.  It is not even the most important thing to remember. However, it is one of those secrets that separates a good grant writer with a moderate level of success from the great ones with phenomenal success.  Which one do you want to be?

End on the Last Page

This is my one of my favorite grant writing secrets – not because it’s brilliant, but because it always brings a quizzical look to peoples’ faces.

Here’s the deal. If you are allowed 25 pages of narrative for a grant proposal, you need to end your proposal on the 25th page. Everyone else will.  If yours is shorter, the readers will notice that you didn’t use all of the space allocated to you and that everyone else did.  Then the readers will start flipping through your proposal trying to find what you left out.  Once they start looking for something missing, you’re done – because they will find something missing, some detail that isn’t clear enough.

So, if you find that you are finished with a grant narrative and you haven’t ended on the last page, go back and add more detail to your proposal. Where could data make your case stronger?  What element of your program design could be described more fully?

Add enough detail so your proposal ends on the last page.

End on the Last Page

This is my one of my favorite grant writing secrets – not because it’s brilliant, but because it always brings a quizzical look to peoples’ faces.

Here’s the deal. If you are allowed 25 pages of narrative for a grant proposal, you need to end your proposal on the 25th page. Everyone else will.  If yours is shorter, the readers will notice that you didn’t use all of the space allocated to you and that everyone else did.  Then the readers will start flipping through your proposal trying to find what you left out.  Once they start looking for something missing, you’re done – because they will find something missing, some detail that isn’t clear enough.

So, if you find that you are finished with a grant narrative and you haven’t ended on the last page, go back and add more detail to your proposal. Where could data make your case stronger?  What element of your program design could be described more fully?

Add enough detail so your proposal ends on the last page.

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

Top 10 Lessons I Learned from My Grant Writing Mentor

I have had several mentors in my life.  They have all taught me many valuable lessons. My grant writing mentor taught me some great lessons about grant writing.  While he didn’t teach me everything I know about the work, he helped me understand the importance of many things that I might have overlooked or not taken as seriously as I should have.  To be honest, some of the things I learned from him were things NOT to do, but that’s ok. A lesson is a lesson, right? Here are the top 10 lessons I learned from him (in no particular order):


1- Whenever possible, add detail. For example, describing a plan for parenting classes is not complete unless you have provided as much detail as possible – the curriculum to be used, how often it will be offered, when it will be offered (days and times), how many will be served, how success will be assessed, etc.


2- Don’t write for free. People will often ask if we’ll write the grant for the right to the evaluation contract.  Not only is that unethical, but it doesn’t make sense.  Grant writing and evaluation, while related, are completely different disciplines. Also, the evaluation is a job in itself, so writing the grant for the evaluation contract is essentially writing the grant for free.  If I want to donate the service, that’s one thing, but doing it because a client has given me no choice is another.  Besides, what other professional works for free on a regular basis?

3-  It’s ok to turn away work.  If you’re good, there will always be a demand for your services. Never take on a project out of desperation. If the project doesn’t have a good chance of success, it’s ok to walk away.

4- Don’t be afraid of competition. If you’re good, you have nothing to be afraid of.  The only way to get better is to stretch yourself, challenge yourself, jump into the deep end of the pool with the big boys and swim. My mother expressed it by saying, “No guts, no glory!”

5- Listen.  The first thing to do when talking with a client about a new project is to listen.  Listen carefully.  Listen for what they are really saying.  Listen for their real motivation. Listen to what they really need.

6- Don’t let failure slow you down. If you don’t succeed with a project, reflect on the failure only long enough to figure out what went wrong and what you can learn from it.  That’s all.  Don’t let failure steal a moment of time from a current project.


7- Work better than everyone else.  For some, that may mean working longer hours (showing up early, staying late).  For others it means following a particular successful procedure or organizational structure.  Whatever it is, just remember that you can’t be better than everyone else in your field by doing things exactly like everyone else.  You have to set yourself apart, and once you do, don’t stop doing it.


8-Tell the truth.  The temptation to exaggerate in grant writing is strong.  Resist it. You will regret dishonesty. It always seems to come back to bite you.

9- Respect the people who help you do what you do. The very best grant writers are not loners. Whether you have a support staff that helps you or a support system of colleagues and friends who help, respect them and realize how important they are to your success. You need them, probably as much (or more!) as they need you.


10- Walk away from the work to keep your writing sharp. Don’t work all the time.  Take time for family, friends, reading, hobbies, and faith. Contrary to what you may think, more time at work doesn’t necessarily make your work better.  This is particularly true for writing. You have to keep your mind fresh by walking away from the work sometimes.  And never forget what really matters – faith, family, friends. Balance in your life not only makes you a better person, but it also makes you a better writer.

Top 10 Lessons I Learned from My Grant Writing Mentor

I have had several mentors in my life.  They have all taught me many valuable lessons. My grant writing mentor taught me some great lessons about grant writing.  While he didn’t teach me everything I know about the work, he helped me understand the importance of many things that I might have overlooked or not taken as seriously as I should have.  To be honest, some of the things I learned from him were things NOT to do, but that’s ok. A lesson is a lesson, right? Here are the top 10 lessons I learned from him (in no particular order):


1- Whenever possible, add detail. For example, describing a plan for parenting classes is not complete unless you have provided as much detail as possible – the curriculum to be used, how often it will be offered, when it will be offered (days and times), how many will be served, how success will be assessed, etc.


2- Don’t write for free. People will often ask if we’ll write the grant for the right to the evaluation contract.  Not only is that unethical, but it doesn’t make sense.  Grant writing and evaluation, while related, are completely different disciplines. Also, the evaluation is a job in itself, so writing the grant for the evaluation contract is essentially writing the grant for free.  If I want to donate the service, that’s one thing, but doing it because a client has given me no choice is another.  Besides, what other professional works for free on a regular basis?

3-  It’s ok to turn away work.  If you’re good, there will always be a demand for your services. Never take on a project out of desperation. If the project doesn’t have a good chance of success, it’s ok to walk away.

4- Don’t be afraid of competition. If you’re good, you have nothing to be afraid of.  The only way to get better is to stretch yourself, challenge yourself, jump into the deep end of the pool with the big boys and swim. My mother expressed it by saying, “No guts, no glory!”

5- Listen.  The first thing to do when talking with a client about a new project is to listen.  Listen carefully.  Listen for what they are really saying.  Listen for their real motivation. Listen to what they really need.

6- Don’t let failure slow you down. If you don’t succeed with a project, reflect on the failure only long enough to figure out what went wrong and what you can learn from it.  That’s all.  Don’t let failure steal a moment of time from a current project.


7- Work better than everyone else.  For some, that may mean working longer hours (showing up early, staying late).  For others it means following a particular successful procedure or organizational structure.  Whatever it is, just remember that you can’t be better than everyone else in your field by doing things exactly like everyone else.  You have to set yourself apart, and once you do, don’t stop doing it.


8-Tell the truth.  The temptation to exaggerate in grant writing is strong.  Resist it. You will regret dishonesty. It always seems to come back to bite you.

9- Respect the people who help you do what you do. The very best grant writers are not loners. Whether you have a support staff that helps you or a support system of colleagues and friends who help, respect them and realize how important they are to your success. You need them, probably as much (or more!) as they need you.


10- Walk away from the work to keep your writing sharp. Don’t work all the time.  Take time for family, friends, reading, hobbies, and faith. Contrary to what you may think, more time at work doesn’t necessarily make your work better.  This is particularly true for writing. You have to keep your mind fresh by walking away from the work sometimes.  And never forget what really matters – faith, family, friends. Balance in your life not only makes you a better person, but it also makes you a better writer.

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