Read Previously Funded Proposals

Read previously funded proposals or abstracts for the agency to which you are submitting your grant. The National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts offer complete sample applications of previously funded proposals on their websites. Knowing what a good grant looks like helps in crafting your own grant application.

Read the Guidelines

Carefully read the application guidelines. They contain valuable information, including how to assemble your grant, the review criteria, types of activities supported, and all the necessary details that need to be followed in order to be funded. Many grants are eliminated during the first phase of the review process simply because the guidelines were not followed.

Know the Audience

Know the audience for whom you are writing. Are the reviewers specialists in your field, or are they familiar with your area, but not necessarily experts? Will panels be interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary? Will the funding agency send your proposal to individual outside experts or will the review take place in-house? Knowing your audience is key to knowing how to write your proposal.

Talk to the Program Officer

Contact and ask questions of the Program Officers at the funding agency. Often, they will review a two or three page concept paper of your proposal and give important advice. These should be submitted at least six weeks prior to the grant deadline, so that the staff will have time to reply, and you will have time to make any necessary alterations to your project.

Address Four Key Questions

A proposal should clearly answer four main questions: 1. What are you going to do? 2. How will you do it? 3. Why is it significant? 4. Why are you the right person to do it?

Plan the Work

A clear plan of work gives the readers a sense of where you have been, where you are now, and what you plan to accomplish. If you received previous grants to support your work- mention them. The fact that other funding agencies feel your work is important gives strength and credibility to your project.

Think Big

It is important to think big. Emphasize the forest, not just the trees. Speak of the larger themes and methodologies and avoid getting lost in the details. Clarity and conciseness are important. The reviewers should not have to dig through a mass of details or a discourse that seems impenetrable. At the same time, your grant needs to maintain a strong focus. Think carefully about what you can accomplish in the grant period. Your project should be ambitious, but it should not be unrealistic. If you promise too much, the reviewers will notice.

Convince the Reviewers

Explaining the significance of your grant is very important. Clearly articulate what contributions your work will make to scholarly and humanistic knowledge. Here is where it helps to think big. Explain why anyone should care about your project. Can it pass the “so what” test? What difference will it make? Don’t assume the self-evident importance of your research. There may be various projects similar to yours during a particular grant cycle. Why is yours better than the others? You need to explain why your project deserves the grant.

Showcase Your Expertise

Clearly demonstrate that you are especially qualified to do this project. Do you possess unique skills essential to conducting your project? Showcase your expertise. If you have a strong publication record, let the reviewers know. A strong track record on other projects offers good evidence that you will complete the work in a timely fashion. Explain what function your project is likely to play in your professional development.

Being Persistent is Important

Funding agencies have a limited amount of funds to support grant requests. Often, some excellent grants are not funded because of budgetary limitations. If your project does not receive funding, it is important to contact the Program Officer and find out why it was rejected. Knowing why you were not funded will help strengthen your application for the next deadline. Persistence is key.

No magic formulas exist, but a successful applicant knows that there are specific steps that need to be followed to increase your chances of being awarded the grant. The steps listed above will certainly help increase your probability of success.

The post How to Write a Successful Humanities Grant appeared first on Grant Training Center Blog.

Certain important qualities in a business plan make it far more likely to find financial backing. Here are some of those qualities which are equally important for grant proposals as well.

1. It fits the business need

You have to start with whether or not the plan is going to achieve its business purpose. Some plans will sell an idea and a team, others will sell a research plan, and yet others will sell a service that will be undertaken for constituents. A good business plan fits the business need. Equally, your grant proposal should parallel the institutional mission. It should achieve the objectives or the goal in systematic and measurable increments.

2. It’s realistic and can be implemented  

You do not get points for ideas that cannot be implemented. You may have a brilliantly written and excellently researched business plan for a grant. However, if it does not have a management plan or team to manage implementation, it will not get funded. This proposal will not fare well with the donor, and the lack of feasibility may be the fatal flaw that will get it rejected.

3. It’s specific – you can track results against the plan

Measurable objectives are driven by outcomes and can be tracked against your goal. They will keep you on track to achieve your tasks, deadlines, budgets, and evaluation. Good planning requires specifics about who, what, when, and how much. Your plan of operation will include activities, timelines, personnel, outcomes, evaluation, and budgets. In other words, it will be specific and all the pieces will fit together like a puzzle.

4. It clearly defines responsibilities for implementation

You have to be able to identify a single person who will be responsible for every significant task and function. A task that doesn’t have an owner isn’t likely to be implemented. In a good business plan or a grant proposal, you can distinguish a specific person responsible for implementation at every point.

5. It clearly identifies assumptions

Since a proposal and a business plan are both guessing the future, they must clearly show assumptions and discuss alternative plans. Not thinking about the unexpected may lead to failed plans along the way. You will need to identify assumptions and outline alternative paths, in case the original plan does not unfold as initially envisioned. This demonstrates that you have projected into the future and developed plans that will lead to your ultimate goal, which is the effective completion of the project.

6. It’s kept alive by a regular review and follow-up

The evaluation process must be ongoing and measure the effectiveness of the activities at various stages. It has to bring the planning process with it, meaning regular review and course correction. This demonstrates that accountability will take place during all stages of the proposed plan. A large percentage of your success depends on regular review.

A plan that is simple, easy to read, and reflects the above qualities can sell even the most complex research grant ideas. The common denominator for both grant requests and business plans is that they are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. At the end of your proposal, you should ask the following questions: Is the plan realistic? Is the budget reasonable? Are the milestone dates feasible? If the answers are yes, then you have created a proposal with a sound and cost effective business plan.

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