(This is a post from Tonya Pennie, a grantwriter with 18 years of grants administration and writing experience. She’s sat on both sides of the funding table, and also coordinates the nonprofit job club with me. I am very lucky that she agreed to do a guest post!)
As a grantwriter and grant panelist I’m fortunate to have experience on both sides of the grantmaking process. Here’s my list of the Top 10 grantwriting mistakes people make, plus one bonus one!
1. Blind submission. In this current economic climate it will save you time and energy to find out about any application submission changes. Funders are addressing economic cutbacks in various ways, including suspending funding new applicants, postponing deadlines, etc. Do your research beforehand to ascertain if there are any limitations or restrictions given in this current financial climate…or if the funder even accepts applications!
2. Ignoring directions. This one is tragic. Heed the directions and use them as a guide in developing your narrative answers to review criteria, page and font restrictions, required supplemental materials, levels of funding, and submission deadlines. It’s critical to pay attention and follow the directions so that you have enough time to collect and package required materials, carefully and succinctly answer the review questions/criteria, and submit the completed application by the deadline.
3. The proposal doesn’t match the funders’ objectives. Don’t assume that just because a funder gives generously there’s support available. Do your research and find a funder aligned with your project idea, and tailor your application to meet the funder’s review questions/criteria.
4. The narrative is written as if everyone knows your organization. The narrative should be written so that someone not familiar with your organization can easily understand it. The reader could be from another city, or even another state, and not know a single thing about your organization.
5. Saying much without saying much. Be clear, concise, and to the point. Make sure that your proposal has substance and clarity, and that you explain what you mean. Avoid over-using jargon and acronyms. Organize information, use paragraph breaks — don’t submit multiple pages of text sans any breaks…just don’t.
6. Answers to funder’s questions/review criteria lie buried within the narrative, like a treasure hunt. Don’t make this a mystery! Identify how clearly you meet the funders’ criteria and goals. State your case and use headings so that the reader can successfully navigate throughout the narrative without getting lost, or worse, frustrated. Another good idea is to answer the review questions/criteria in the order the funder lists them. You can also try re-wording the questions/criteria, uniformly bolding headers, or even centering or off-set spacing headers.
7. Style is emphasized over content. Here, the focus is on presentation and style, rather than actual content, i.e. the nuts and bolts of the project. Give the reader details about the project’s intent and design.
8. Inadequate or insufficient cost analysis/Budget mistakes. I bulleted some points below:
§ Ask for what you need, and be sure that the budget backs up your requested amount.
§ Make sure your budget accurately reflects the costs of the project’s activities, including cash and inkind.
§ If the funder requires a cash match this should be reflected in your budget.
§ Double check your budget to confirm that revenue and expenses balance.
§ Prepare your budget in Excel, don’t use a word processing document. Additionally, Excel has formulas and function keys that you can use to help prevent user-generated math mistakes.
Where appropriate, for line items include a brief budget detail to describe how expenses were determined, i.e. Project Dir./Instructor pay: $120 x wksps (4) = $480
9. Forgetting that funders fund people — True, it’s a grant request full of information, but this doesn’t mean your request needs to be sterile or devoid of personality. How boring is that?…real, real boring. Don’t be shy about emphasizing relevant qualifications. Give details and emphasize your organization’s greatness.
10. Poor grammar, spelling errors, or factual errors. Invest in the time to make your proposal look professional. Use spell-check and print out your proposal for review — proofreading the hard copy
somehow helps catch mistakes that tend to be overlooked on-screen. Also, ask someone else to read over your proposal to see if it makes sense to him or her. Also, double check your stats and facts.
11. Illegible/sloppy presentation, materials or information omitted. If your proposal is disorganized or hard to read, this communicates an inability to properly express your idea, and that won’t get you funded. Things to remember:
§ Follow the directions — if you need to, make an application checklist or photocopy guidelines, and mark items off.
§ Clearly and concisely tell your story, use the funders’ review questions/criteria as a guide.
§ Follow page formatting and font size guidelines.
§ Include all the required attachments and info requested.
§ Use adequate white space so the proposal isn’t overly wordy.
§ Make sure your budget makes sense, and includes all project costs and expenses.
Ms. Pennie has gotten one organization’s entire budget financed by grants earlier this year. She will get you results. You should really hire her.
Great tip and technique advice.