Saturday, October 14, 2006

What about the "Writing" in Grant-Writing?

Grant Proposal writers know that they wear at least two hats when writing for their organizations or clients. Writing and fundraising are two of the more relevant duties that a grant proposal writer performs.

The fundraising portion of a grant writer's responsibilities can often overshadow the need for excellent writing skills. As grant writers, we need to be able to follow funder’s guidelines precisely while telling a great story about the non-profit organization and the people it serves.

Funders want to know the facts. Each proposal must include quantitative data and the fiscal history of the organization to help funders determine if your organization will be a good steward of their funds. They also want to hear from you at a more human or personal level. This is where your excellent writing skills come in handy.

Put yourself in the place of a funder who is trying to decide whom to give its money. Read the following paragraphs. Which might look or feel more heartwarming to you as a funder?

Our program can help 50 women gain necessary job skills that they need to turn their lives around and be productive citizens that contribute to their families’ needs and society as a whole. Many of these women have had troubled pasts including drug addiction, prostitution, and abusive living situations.

OR

Our program will help 50 women from disadvantaged backgrounds to enhance their life skills. Women like Patricia, who lost her eyesight in her left eye due to an abusive husband's frequent beatings. Patricia came to us with two small children and one small suitcase, which contained everything that she was able to escape with. She feels fortunate to have gotten out of her abusive situation alive. Over the past six months, Patricia began working through the issues that brought her to our center. She sincerely desires to move forward, provide a stable home environment for her children, and learn the skills she will need in order to live a healthier lifestyle and provide for her children. Our center will continue to offer shelter, counseling and job skills training for Patricia and the dozens of other women like her.

The first paragraph does state important information, but the second paragraph grabs at the heartstrings. You want some of both in your proposal. You want to show the problem and how your organization's services will help the population you are targeting. In addition, you want to show how it will make a difference in the life or lives of others.

As grant writers, it is important to gain skills in writing as well as fundraising. To continue building your writing abilities, take a writing class at your community college or online. Last week I attended what was billed as the first ever-online writer’s conference. Much of the material covered was fiction related, but I still learned a lot and had a lot of fun in the process. You can also look for writing resources at your local library. Join a writer’s critique group that will review your non-fiction proposals.

Funders appreciate well-written proposals that are clearly within their funding focus.