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Why Don't I Ever Seem to Win Grants? As a grant writer you may feel you are pumping out grant writing application after grant writing application, and having no success. It sure can be disheartening and being given the task of grant writer for an organisation comes with expectations that are often hard to fulfil. With competition for grants at an all-time high, it’s important that your grant writing hits the mark every time. In fact, you should assume that every time you write a grant, you are competing with hundreds of other organisations and/or individuals for the same money Is it any wonder that many grant proposals get shelved without a second look? To ensure that your grant applications don’t land in the reject bin every time, here are some of the most common grant writing mistakes that you must avoid:
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What am I Doing Wrong?
1. Not Doing Your Leg Work
3. Careless Editing
2. Failing to Follow Directions
4. Sums that Don’t Add Up
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Not Doing Your Leg Work All funding bodies have their own set of objectives and interests. No matter how great your project idea might be, if it does not fit within the grant’s interests or objectives, then as a grant writer you are really trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. In fact, chances are, your grant proposal won’t even be reviewed if it doesn’t match the funder’s guidelines. In your haste to acquire money, don’t make the mistake of applying and writing grants that don’t fit your vision and objectives. Instead, spend some time researching available grants and understand their mission and goals. If the grant doesn’t line up, don’t waste your time trying to massage your proposal to match their objectives. Funders publish their interests for a reason, and they will not change their areas of interest based on a good project idea.
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Failing to Follow Directi ons A sure-fire way to land your grant proposal in the waste-paper basket is to not follow basic directions. This is one of the most common mistakes grant writers make, but also the easiest to avoid. Funding bodies receive thousands of grant applications and one way they sort out the grant writing amateurs from the grant writing professionals is to see who follows the directions. So, if they request a detailed, three-year budget, then give them one. If they give you a word limit, stick to it. If they ask you not to put staples in your document, then don’t. Ignoring simple instructions guarantees a rejection for your grant application. So, make sure to follow them down to the letter.
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Careless Editi ng Spending several hours doing careful proofreading might not be your idea of a good time. Spelling, punctuation and grammar don’t come naturally to everyone. But, when it comes to grant writing, it pays to pay someone to do it for you, especially if you don’t have the gift yourself. In fact, getting someone to take a second look over your work makes perfect sense. Chances are, if your grant proposal doesn’t make sense to your editor, then it won’t make sense to the funders. Get your work checked!
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Sums that Don’t Add Up Since a grant application is all about acquiring money, the budget section of your proposal is perhaps the most important. Yet, it’s amazing how people can skip over this section, approximating numbers with no research or quotes, forgetting that money is the entire point of your application. Proposals that arrive with math errors undermine an organisation’s credibility. Do your numbers make sense? Does your budget match the picture that the rest of your proposal is trying to paint? If the funding body is receiving hundreds of similar grants, with similar budgets, they will know if you are trying to fudge the numbers. So, don’t pad the budget with unnecessary or inflated costs. Research past grants that the funding body has made to similar organisations to yours to ensure that you are not asking for too little or too much. Why not involve your business or finance manager in the grant-writing process? Don’t put together a great proposal and then blow it with a terrible budget. PA G E 7
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