Grant writing can be stressful!!! Today is Thursday, and on Tuesday afternoon my boss gave me a grant application that I had to have completed by this evening before I left work. It wasn't her fault or anything, neither of us knew that the grant was due by Friday morning, but it left us with both a lot of work. She wrote 2 or 3 grants in the time frame, and I wrote one. I couldn't work on the grant yesterday because I have students come on Wednesday nights, and this morning I had a staff meeting and a webinar I had to attend. So...around 3:30pm, I started writing the grant. I finally left work at 9:00p.m.
I wasn't writing that ENTIRE time, but it still took forever. Don't let this happen to you! lol. Here are some suggestions to help you with grant writing...
1. Know when grants are due. Check out your diocese's website to find out about available grants, or talk to others in your field, and find out how you can apply. Don't just assume someone will tell you about them; sometimes you need to search for them yourself. If you think it's too late to send it...maybe you could fax it and it could be there on time?!?
2. While writing your grant, any time you can quote a priest, bishop, pope, or Jesus go for it. Also anytime you can quote something that was published is good too. For example, my diocese did a study about young adult ministries and published their findings. So, when I write a grant in a few weeks about a young adult program at our church, I will quote some of the statistics from their findings. This will show you are educated on your topic, that you spent some time researching your ministry's needs, etc.
3. If time allows, write it, save, but don't send it quite yet. Let it soak in overnight, and come back to it the next day, and make changes to make it sound better. Having a clear mind can make anything sound better.
4. Make sure you are meeting all the criteria or qualifications of the grant. Also make sure you read all the fine print. Sometimes grants can be very picky, so before you spend a lot of time writing the grant, make sure you even qualify. If you have questions about the grant, there is often a number or someone you can contact for more information.
5. Have co-workers proofread it. Sometimes I don't always say things the way I want to say them, and it's nice for someone who knows our program to get their feedback on word choices and phrasing.
6. Have a non-co-worker proofread it. Best to have someone who is excellent at grammar. This way they can double check for mistakes, and they will let you know if it makes sense to an outsider or someone who isn't that familiar to your program.
7. Be honest. If your program is suffering because you lack the funds...tell them. Don't beat around the bush. They know you need money, that's why you're applying for the grant. Tell them straight out answers.
I think that's all I got. I hope this helps, and good luck!
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