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When asked how to write a grant, I first look at identifying the grant writing process. The first important thing to remember when starting a grant writing project is there is no rule that you have to do it alone. Even if you are the person who has to handwrite the grant, you can also establish small teams to tackle different portions of the grant.
When establishing these teams, start by electing a great organizer to keep the project running smoothly. If the organizer also happens to be a great writer who knows how to put words together, then it is even better. Once the organizer has been established, consider the other parts of the process, such as the budget and other number figures. If there is not a team member who specializes in accounting, perhaps a local accountant can be persuaded to help with that section of the grant. When submitting a grant proposal, there are also a number of documents that need to be attached. You might want to appoint one person to be in charge of gathering and organizing the necessary documents.
It is important to keep in mind that the team you establish to work through the grant writing process also has deep understanding about the charity or organization for which you are seeking the funding. Grant makers are going to be asking some very detailed questions during the process and you need to be really prepared to give them exactly the information they are looking for about your organization. Grant makers establish certain eligibility criteria and it is critical that you stay within those guidelines while you construct the proposal. Any deviation from the set guidelines could result in the instant rejection of your proposal without the grant makers so much as reading a sentence of your proposal. You may have created the most perfect submission and have the most wonderful charity but if you submit 6 pages rather than the required 5, your proposal may not even be opened.
When you are seeking grant makers, it is important for your own sake that you read the requirements and criteria for each company, otherwise you may end up wasting your time on creating a proposal to someone who does not provide funding for your type of organization. As you work through the process, you will soon find that patience and persistence is key to producing successful a proposal. There is a lot of competition for funding and you should be prepared to approach a number of organizations for funding.
If you find that you have to go it alone, using a tool like the Ezy Grant Writer allows you to stay on task and work through the different sections in an organized way. In the event you do have to approach other organizations with different criteria, the program allows you to tweak the basic information in a way that meets the new requirements of a different grant maker. The best advice I have for people wanting to know how to write a grant is that remaining persistent and positive will be half of the process and if you can stay on top of things and do it with a smile, you will eventually find the results you are looking for during the grant writing process.
