12 Grant Writing Tips

by Steve Glauber

Over my long career, I have lost many nights and weekends writing grants with the plan to either add programs or enhance existing programs in health centers, social service agencies, research programs, and various other nonprofits. I hope the grant writing wisdom I have included below will provide to you some ideas to make your grant writing process more productive.

As a quick confession, I have, at times, forgotten to follow my own advice—which brings me to:

Most important tip – Don’t write grants during family events. My wife decided that we should take advantage of a Marriage Encounter weekend and I thought it would be a great time to write a Community Health Center grant. Well, we got the grant, but years later I am routinely reminded about my lack of focus that weekend!

Here are more helpful tips for grant writing:

1. Remember grant writing is not a game; it is hard work that requires planning and research.
2. Do not limit where you look for grants. Grant opportunities can be found in the Federal Register; by contacting various trade associations; working with philanthropic clearing houses; and requesting to be included on mailing lists of foundations and charitable organizations in your field.  Don’t forget local resources!
3. Become a collector of data. Being able to quickly add the teenage pregnancy rates or the number of clients without health insurance in your county is critical to successful grant writing.
4. Read and study other successful grants – many funding sources provide samples. But please just read and don’t think about plagiarizing.
5. Do not waste your time or the grant maker’s by writing grants that do not fit the grant requirements. Read and fully understand all of the requirements.
6. Start building relationships instead of wasting time writing grants for organizations that you don’t know you.
7. Do not use a scatter gun approach to grant writing; determine your focus and write to the focus.
8. Manage the grant due dates; note many require a letter of intention before the application is due. If you miss a date in the grant process, contact the grant maker before proceeding with the grant application. Also, set up a grant approval cycle before you waste staff time on grants that are not submitted.
9. Contact the grant maker before starting the process. Create a series of questions that have not been answered in their request for proposal, most are happy to help.
10. Never write a proposal if you have not first fully developed the project.
11. Write persuasively and watch page limits – you’re selling your organization and this is not a term paper. Most grants have page limits for both individual sections and the complete grant. However, remember many funding sources will allow you to send supplemental information, such as: building plans, affirmative action plans, and other boiler plate information.
12. Do not cheat on margins to meet page requirements, rewrite to make it fit. Do not write sentences that sound really good but actually say nothing.

Many times we hear “think outside the box.” With grant writing, make sure that the grant makes sense and is not just another project. Grant makers are looking for organizations that can accomplish the project and are not just good grant writers. Remember your mission.

Good luck and keep your debits on the left.