How to Win Grants: Grant Writing Blogs (Part 2)

In 2020, diverse blogs share insights about writing grant proposals and winning grants. They discuss how to seek, find, get, and keep a grant award. They also describe how to write a grant proposal and how to steward a grant once a funder awards it. The blogs differ greatly in longevity, source, style, scope, depth, and quality. Each blog rewards a visit or a tour.

 

Here we explore some blogs about how to find and win a grant. We look at Logic Models; Planning Tools; Prospect Research; Success Factors; Sustainability; and Technical Reviews. A separate post samples the same blogs. It looks at: Assessments of Need; Career Paths; Choice of Voice; Collaboration and Networks; Development Process; Goals and Objectives; and Grant Writing Myths. The context of both posts is the United States of America. Reader comments are welcome.

 

 

Logic Models

 

Logic models are versatile tools for program design and project management. A particularly inspiring and reassuring post on the Grants4Good Blog, by Margit Brazda Poirier, presents some of the roles of logic models in developing grant proposals. An elegant post about the power of using logic models, by Barbara Floersh, appears on the Grantsmanship Center Blog. Another related post on the Grant Training Center Blog, by Mathilda Harris, also argues for the utility of logic models in project planning. This blog has an eight-part series about many aspects of using logic models in writing proposals and in implementing funded projects.

 

Planning Toolkits

 

Grant proposals require extensive planning and coordination. In a helpful post on the Grant Training Center Blog, Mathilda Harris examines the potential role of a seven-component grant design chart in planning a proposal and getting it funded. In the Foundation Center’s Grant Craft Blog, a thought-provoking post by Aimee Hendrigan describes the uses of RACI matrices as a tool for fostering collaboration among grant recipients. This blog presents a toolkit for grant seekers in an ongoing series about Gantt charts, PESTLE analysis, SWOT analysis, Red Team reviews, meta-analysis, root cause analysis, and several other tools for developing grant proposals.

 

Prospect Research

 

Knowing where to find grants is essential for grant seekers. Affiliated with the Foundation Center, famous for its comprehensive foundation directories, the GrantSpace Blog provides a helpful overview about finding funders in an applicant’s geographic area. This blog presents an eight-part series covering state directories of grant makers, organized by geographic regions (e.g., New England, Midwest, Southwest).

 

Success Factors

 

Applicants may or may not get a grant for many reasons. The Grant Writing Basics Blog Series provides a wealth of insights about winning and keeping federal grants, not the least of which is its post about verifying eligibility. On the Grant Training Center Blog, Mathilda Harris identifies 20 ways that a proposal may fail to win a grant. Similarly, on the Let’s Talk Nonprofit Blog, Laura Rhodes offers tips about how some foundation grant makers make funding decisions. This blog provides a six-part series about some reasons why grant proposals may fail to get funded (e.g., readiness, choice of opportunities, applicant attributes, proposal content).

 

Sustainability

 

The question of sustainability is pivotal for many grant makers. On the Grant Helpers Blog, in an instructive post, Michelle Hansen presents five key elements for a sustainability plan. A penetrating post about the elements of sustainability also appears on Barbara Floersch’s Grantsmanship Center Blog. Over time, this blog has posted several tips for developing sustainability plans for grant proposals; it has also posted seven strategies for developing sustainability plans.

 

Technical Reviews

 

Expert panel reviews make or break many grant proposals. On the Grant Writer Team Blog, a particularly informative and insightful post by Elaine Rose Penn explains what grant reviewers look for in proposals (e.g., partnerships and sustainability). The Grant Writing Basics Blog explains peer review panels and the application review process. On the Seliger+Associates Grant Writing Blog, Jake Seliger encourages grant seekers to write foremost to satisfy the needs and expectations of grant proposal reviewers, not other audiences. This blog presents several posts about analyzing federal requests for proposals (RFPs) and becoming a peer review panelist for grant programs.

 

 

How to Win Grants: Grant Writing Blogs (Part 1)

In 2020, diverse blogs share insights about writing grant proposals and winning grants. They discuss how to seek, find, get, and keep a grant award. They also describe how to write a grant proposal and how to steward a grant once a funder awards it. The blogs differ greatly in longevity, source, style, scope, depth, and quality. Each blog rewards a visit or a tour.

 

Here we explore some blogs about how to find and win a grant. We examine Assessments of Need; Career Paths; Choice of Voice; Collaboration and Networks; Development Process; Goals and Objectives; and Grant Writing Myths. A second post samples the same blogs. It looks at: Logic Models; Planning Tools; Prospect Research; Success Factors; Sustainability; and Technical Reviews. The posts’ context is the United States of America. Reader comments are welcome.

 

 

Assessments of Need

 

Among grant seekers and grant makers alike, evidence of need is a springboard for action. On the Professional Grant Writer Blog, a post offers four ways to improve statements of need in grant proposals. The Grant Training Center Blog also presents a post by Mathilda Harris about how to craft a compelling statement of need. This blog offers 16 tips for presenting an assessment of need, as well as tips for other common elements of proposal narratives.

 

Career Paths

 

Grant writing is a peculiar occupation. On the Grantsmanship Center Blog, Barbara Floersh explains how and why “grant writer” needs burial as a job title, since it is the grant maker that writes the check for a grant award, not the grant seeker; the position is more aptly called a “proposal writer”. In an engaging post on the Seliger+Associates Grant Writing Blog, Isaac Seliger explores work styles and writing habits as occupational facets of developing grant proposals. This blog describes what grant writers do and common career paths as two posts of a series about grant writing as a career.

 

Choice of Voice

 

As acts of writing, grant proposals must persuade as well as describe. On the Grant Writers’ Seminars and Workshops Blog are several useful reminders about the importance of voice and word choice in persuading makers of scientific research grants. In an eloquent post on the Grant Training Center Blog, Mathilda Harris presents five aspects of writing style that improve the odds of winning a grant award. An incisive post by Holly Thompson about the power of consistency in proposals, on the Grantsmanship Center Blog, is also apropos. This blog has a post about choice of voice (formal/informal, technical/non-technical) in writing grant proposals.

 

Collaboration and Networks

 

Collaboration often helps position grant seekers to win grants; networking among grant seekers fosters collaboration. On the Grant Plant Blog, an eye-opening post describes the challenges and benefits of collaboration among nonprofits. In a persuasive post on the Grant Helpers Blog, Roland Garton presents how inter-agency may collaborations may stimulate partnerships and lead to more grant awards. Isaac Seliger, on the Seliger+Associates Grant Writing Blog offers an entirely different take on the merits of collaboration in grant seeking. On a related topic, this blog presents a series about creating and sustaining networks of grant seekers.

 

Development Process

 

Creating a grant proposal entails far more than writing. On the Grant Helpers Blog, Roland Garton explains how developing a proposal entails research and planning as well as writing. An illuminating post in the Let’s Talk Nonprofit Blog depicts writing grant proposals as having three legs (research, writing, and review). Similarly, this blog offers a post about the four dimensions of developing grant proposals (research, communication, budget, and writing).

 

Goals and Objectives

 

In writing a program design for a grant proposal, a goal is the completed marathon, and objectives measure what it takes to complete it. On the Grant Professionals Association Blog, Lisa Sihvonen-Binder distinguishes between objectives and goals and explains why they are not the same thing. This blog offers glossaries of proposal development, budget development, and evaluation plans, which define goals and objectives and distinguish between them.

 

Grant Writing Myths 

 

Myths about grant making and grant seeking abound. As an example, the Grant Geek Blog provides a cautionary tale about several myths surrounding the ease of getting grants for businesses and individuals. A brief post on the Professional Grant Writer Blog delineates five frequently encountered grant-writing myths. In a discerning post on the Grant Training Center Blog, Mathilda Harris describes eight grant-writing myths that confront grant seekers from the get-go. This blog provides a 12-part series about the Myth of Relationships and 11 other myths in grant writing.