The Secret to Writing a Compelling Grant Application





Do you get jealous about the fact that every other grant writer seems to be having more success than you? Has it been a while since you’ve had a grant application writing success?  Great grant application writing doesn’t just happen.  The best grant applications are those that are well-planned, researched and written with great attention to detail.   Here are the secret tips that other grant writers don’t want you to know.  

SECRET NUMBER 1: Grant Writing is Storytelling
Grant application writers may feel that their grant applications must be matter of fact and straight-to-the-point.  However, when funding bodies receive hundreds of grant applications that are all pretty much the same, it makes for eye-wateringly boring reading.  To make your grant stand out, it’s important to think of grant writing as storytelling.  Think about it!  Who doesn’t like hearing stories? We all know the feeling of being unable to put down a good book.  Your ‘story’ should effectively set the scene (explain your context), introduce characters (key stakeholders), have a complication (some issue or need), a hero (that’s you), and a resolution (a solution to the issue that only the hero can deliver).  Seriously!  How much more interesting would grant writing be if we all took this approach! 

SECRET NUMBER 2:  It’s not about you
Believe it or not, your funding body has its own mission, set of objectives and values.  So, spend some time researching the funding body.  No matter how great your project idea might be, if it does not fit within the funder’s interests or objectives, then you are really trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.  In fact, chances are, your proposal won’t even be reviewed if it doesn’t match the funder’s guidelines.  Funders publish their interests for a reason, and they will not change their areas of interest based on a good project idea.

SECRET NUMBER 3:  Think Outside the Box
Funding Bodies receive hundreds of applications and you can bet that many of them offer the same kind of solutions to the same kind of problems.  If you want to stand out, then think outside the square.  Funders are looking for innovation.  Funders prefer to try something new than to constantly fund the old.  Show the funding body that your solution is distinct, that it’s unlike anything they have seen before.  Great grant application writers think outside the box!  
SECRET NUMBER 3:  Keep it Simple
Don’t make your proposal more difficult to read that it needs to be.  Sometimes, in an effort to sound authoritative, we can be tempted to use big words and complex technical jargon.  Sure, we all want to be taken seriously and be respected as a grant writer, but using unnecessarily flowery language, won’t do that.  If your grant reviewer has to use a thesaurus to understand what you’re saying, your application is more likely to end up in the bin.  No one cares about your attempts to bewilder your readers with your eloquent and boundless vocabulary.  The best grant applications are simple, straightforward and easily understood.

SECRET NUMBER 5: Use a Grant Writing Service  
It’s a fact!  Engaging a grant application writing service can increase your chances of grant writing success. If you’re a grant writer, consider getting some professional help.  Red Tape Busters are specialist in grant and tender writing and can help your organisation or business win grant funding or achieve successes with tenders. Visit http://www.redtapebusters.com/  for more information. We are specialists in providing the following services:
· Lobbying;
· Tender Writing;
· Grant Writing;
· Resumes/Job Applications;
· Organisational/Business Development.

Please also “friend” or “like” us on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/RedTapeBustersShaneBowering, follow us on Twitter – Red Tape Busters or check us out on YouTube just search for Red Tape Busters.  

Popular posts from this blog

Tender Writing – The Top Three Qualities of an Effective Tender Writer

Tender writing can be a very challenging process but the effective tender writer will have a personality, a skill set and an approach that sets them apart from the run of the mill tender writer. I believe the really important qualities that a tender writer needs to possess are an ability to stay calm under pressure; an ability to org anise other people within the organisation and to organize resources, information and supporting documents or material and an ability to develop the strategy and approach that pitches the organisation in the right light to win the attention of those assessing the tender response. I will now discuss these qualities in further detail. Calm Under Pressure Tender writing can be a very pressurized situation. There are deadlines to meet. Responses need to be submitted by a specified time, in a specified format and in a specified way. Sometimes tenders need to be hand delivered, sometimes they need to be electr...
Read more

Avoid Tender Rejection With This Expert Advice

Image
The experienced tender writer finds it hard enough to get their tender considered after applying and following the guidelines, ensuring that the lodgement time is met and that they have crafted a decent tender response. Tender writing requires some skill to prepare a great application yet a lot of writers ensure their tender response is rejected at the first review by making some simple errors. Here are some of the pitfalls you need to avoid to ensure your application is not rejected without first being serious considered. Remember the assessment panel on first review of all the responses will be seeking to reject as many as possible initially to get down to a manageable number and to make the task easier. Following are the mistakes that will almost certainly see your response put into the NO pile. Failure to answer every question or tick every box on the application form This might seem just plain ridiculous. How can anyone fail to fill out the application form completely? W...
Read more

Tender Writing – Should you pursue every tender opportunity?

Applying for or responding to tender opportunities is a vexing question in the tender writing world. Should we apply for all, some, which ones, which ones should we steer clear of these are all important questions for the tender writer. The skilled tender writer will ensure they carefully analyse each tender, analyse the direction of the organisation, analyse the goals of the organisation both long and short term goals and ensure that if successful in winning the tender that :- 1. They can deliver fully on the requirements of the tender  2. That winning the tender will support the overall organisational objectives 3. The tender will be financially viable. In arriving at answers to these issues the grant writer should consider the following in some detail :- Capacity and Resources One of the key issues to be considered is does the organisation have the capacity and resources required to deliver the requirements of the tender in full. That means – do we have...
Read more