Grants and Relationships
The whole point of writing a proposal is to create a relationship between a grantmaker. It has money and wants to give it to people who will use it wisely for a good cause. The grant writer represents an organization that needs money and wants to use it wisely for a good cause.
What’s the best way to encourage this bond? Like running a dating service, or at least hooking up two of your friends, you must convince at least one of them, and ultimately, both, that they have common interests, values, and goals, and that getting together would be great for both of them. Analyze the characteristics of both parties that make this a good match.
Let’s say your organization (or you, the grant writer) has done the research and believes a specific grantmaker is Mr. or Ms. Right. Your job is to create the communication piece (the proposal) that will get attention and make the grantmaker in turn feel that perhaps your particular organization is also its Mr. or Ms. Right.
Let’s be honest, most relationships start out by being about what WE want, not what the other party wants. You already know what YOU want. So stop to think, what do THEY want? Focus on learning all you can about that.
What are some good writing strategies for helping grantmakers feel a solid connection to the organization requesting funds?
First of all, I love the dating analogy — it’s very fitting!
Secondly, this post brought to mind a guest speaker that visited the grant writing course I took in my undergrad. From what I recall, the guy used to write grants for the Girl Scouts of Wisconsin. He explained that while writing one particular grant, he researched his chosen funder’s employees, made a note of how many had children enrolled in girl scouts, and mentioned that fact in his grant proposal.
This clever method stuck with me as a perfect example of how to find that connection between a funder and an organization. Grant writers must know their organization inside and out, but also should brainstorm clever ways to tie the funder to the org, especially if the connection isn’t obvious. Weaving in employees, community, shared values and goals all help to create a strong bond between the org and the funder.
Thanks, Kate. I think the dating analogy helps writers more clearly envision their role in the grantmaking process. The speaker you are recalling is Matt Richter, who wrote grants for one of the Girl Scout Councils in the area. He also was a grant writer at UWM for some time; I hear he is now in law school.
I agree that Matt’s approach was quite clever, and I imagine it was very effective. Although we submit a written proposal to an organization, the process really isn’t clinical. People give to people. Remembering that helps us make the human connection in our writing, which ultimately is what grant writing is all about.
The best writing strategy that an organization must us to build the connection for the grantmaker is to be honest, truthful and thorough. By providing every piece of information a grantmaker needs to know within the various proposal documents allows the grantmaker to understand the organization. The information an organization provides must be thorough so that the grantmakers are not left asking questions after reading a document. If the information about the organization is minimal that could leave many questions for the grantmaker and might even show weakness within the organization whether in the organization themselves or in the need they are trying to fulfill.
An organization must also be honest and truthful. Lying in the proposal about anything is harmful to both the relationship between the organization and grantmaker and the credibility of the organization. An organization needs to truthfully present every piece of information. Even if this information could throw out a potential grant opportunity it still may build a relationship between the grantmaker and the organization. For example many grant opportunities I have seen have requirements that the organization cannot be run or affiliated with a religious organization. If the organization is affiliated with a church and wants to try for this grant they should present this information within their documents. By being up front and admitting the affiliation would be better than lying and hiding it. Because if the grantmaker finds out on their own about the affiliation that could destroy the relationship and bond between the two.
Jessica, you’re right about being honest, thoughtful, and truthful. These are hallmarks of excellence in technical and professional communication.
You noted that an organization affiliated with a church may “still want to try for a grant,” even if the grantmaker has requirements that the organization does not meet. I would not recommend this. The first step in the proposal review process is “due diligence,” wherein the grantmaker reviews the applicant’s eligibility and so on, following a checklist of requirements that includes match with mission, interest areas, etc. Such an application would be thrown out at this first step. Determine eligibility and mission match first, then strive for excellence in the proposal.
Audience analysis is an important part of prep-work for writing tasks. Just about every writing task imaginable — except writing in your own diary — is undertaken with the intent of reaching an audience other than yourself. Appealing to that audience will require you to first, discover their values. Language in the “about us”-type sections of the grantmaker’s website, any advice, instruction, or guidelines given to grant-seekers and the language used in the proposal request should offer some clues to these values.
If you discover that the grantmaker’s values and goals are a good match for those of your organization, begin to use similar language to sell your idea. To continue with the dating metaphor, it’s like a scene in “When Harry Met Sally,” when Harry and Sally try to set each other up with the other’s best friend on a double date.
(Stop rolling your eyes and bear with me! There’s a relevant reference to language for us, I promise.)
The relationship between Bruno Kirby’s and Carrie Fischer’s characters sparks when she quotes an article he wrote for New York magazine. “Nobody’s ever quoted me back to me before” he says. “I’ve never quoted anything I read in a magazine before” she says. And they ditch Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, and the rest is history.
Incorporating the grantmaker’s words into your proposal can be powerfully persuasive, but I believe that balance between telling your own organization’s story and telling them what they hope to hear will be the best approach. Calculated, though it may be, the use of those words has to sound genuine, or it’s just empty compliments and a passing attempt at flattery. You want to show that you really “get” them.
Kim, that’s one of my all-time favorite movies! (And not just because my name is Sally.) You’re absolutely right that the use of words that match the grantmaker’s language must be sincere. I tend to employ familiar synonyms that convey the same idea. Any savvy grantmaker will recognize the uncritical use of their own words coming back to them in a proposal. But judiciously using those terms in a way that shows you truly understand them, and that they genuinely apply to you and your project, does show them that you really “get” them.
This is the “art” of grant writing. A fun challenge, in my humble opinion!
Sally
First impressions count in dating and grant writing. It’s not just about setting yourself apart from the competition, it’s really catching the grantmaker’s eye.
Looking at everything the grantmaker has written that you can find can tell you a lot about them. Most grants are going to use a common style, but matching the one used by the grantmaker will make your document more pleasing to their eye even if they don’t realize it.
Also, we’ve talked about keywords in the past when it came to searching for grantmakers. Those keywords can come into play with the grant proposal as they are going to be things the grantmaker is likely going to be looking for in proposals.
And look for anything other information that may set you apart. The devil is in the details as they say.
Fred, the devil indeed is in the details. Anything that sets your agency apart from the “competitors” will catch a grantmakers’ attention. And that is even more important in the highly competitive social sector – with available funds shrinking, needs deepening, and the number of nonprofits growing – grant writers can’t afford to leave any stone unturned in their attempts to attract funding.