I frequently hear from foundation administrators and grants panelists who bemoan the dry and incomplete grant requests they receive…lacking the spark and storytelling you might expect from organizations focused on creative expression. But then when you look at their grant guidelines — dry and dull, sequential and uninspiring — it’s a bit easier to spread the blame.
Which is why I’ve often returned with fondness to this particular set of grant-writing tips from the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission, which are friendly, clear, and suggestive of positive steps toward a successful grant. Two favorite tips:
5. If your proposal is easy to understand, it will be easier to approve for funding. Describe your activity in a simple, straight-forward style. Leave pretentious language to art critics and catalog essayists. We prefer plain English–and, in fact, we know of no funding source anywhere that wants it otherwise.12. Little gold stars are reserved in heaven for those applicants who file their proposals early. Frequently, the grants go to them as well. Most unsuccessful applicants concede that their proposals were casualties of last-minute scrambles. Yours, of course, will be prepared weeks in advance, the result of thoughtful planning, consulting, writing and editing. Good for you!
By modeling good behavior, they may receive requests that are ever so slightly more pleasant and useful than the average — at least I would hope so.
