Follow Those Guidelines!

I recently finished two very long and time intensive grant applications. Within the next week, I will start another Federal Grant application. Actually I already started working on that application last week. I eagerly downloaded the application instructions the first day the agency made it available online. I have been combing through the pages of instructions making a to do list of important information that must be either included or done to complete the application. These things include: the due date, the number of copies that must be sent with the proposal , margins, font type and size, required number of letters of collaboration, and/or letters of support and so on.

It is essential to make reading the grant proposal guidelines a part of the grant writing process. These guidelines give special instructions like those mentioned above and sometimes will give more clues as to the funders preferred area of funding, and special initiatives.

Typically, the larger the organization the more complex their application requirements will be. Federal and State agencies require more time intensive, exhaustive information with their proposals. Corporate and family foundations tend to be less strenuous in their application requirements. Of course there are exceptions.

I have found that the more complex instructions can be dissected page by page and a timeline of needed materials established very early in the process. This timeline can be given to department heads or other team members to complete with very specific due dates.

If the application won't be released for several more months and you are chomping at the bit to get started, reviewing the prior years application is helpful to understand what the organization may require in future funding cycles.

I like to try to find out as much as I can about funding priorities or special areas of interest that organizations hold so that I can slant the proposal in that direction to appeal to their interests. Larger applications will often include a rubric or point system the organization will use when scoring the application. Try to write toward the highest score in each category while remaining honest about what the program will be able to offer. Grant application instructions often hold the key to getting your project funded or just remaining another great idea.