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Tuesday, 14 April 2015

How Grant Writing Lessons Can Improve Access To Funding

By Joanna Walsh


As people like to say, money doesn't grow on trees. This is a common statement in everyday society. However, many necessary or advantageous activities in society require sponsorship, and sometimes the amounts involved are relatively large. There are people and institutions in the community who are willing to sponsor the latter, but they need to be sure that the money is going to be spent wisely. Submitting requests for funding can be made more successful through grant writing lessons.

Some people may not be amenable to approaching others for funding. They may see the submission of requests as an admission that their organization is not making ends meet, or they may not, personally, be enthusiastic about what they see as begging. Charity is an entrenched societal phenomenon, but the other objection, namely that the organization should not be seen as insolvent, is harder to counter.

Another consideration is the nature of the request. Asking outside entities for money is an extremely serious process (naturally, since it is a request for financial assistance). The latter may in turn ask for extensive and detailed private information, or they may impose such stringent criteria that the requester is disqualified entirely. An entirely above-board, transparent request may be rejected purely because, in the opinion of its recipient, the activities of the underfunded organization are useless or in conflict with its own.

Writing requests for grant funding is therefore a process that requires proper attention and the necessary sensitivity to relevant issues. People who are not experienced in the composition of such material, or who are ignorant as to how one seeks sponsorship from other entities, may fail in their attempts to secure the money or even the interest of others. The following are a few basic guidelines in compiling grant requests.

Firstly, the material should be entirely reliable in its content. Any information supplied should be absolutely accurate and even verifiable. As stated before, a request for money is extremely serious, and massaged facts or untrue data will not only cause the application to be rejected but may also result in prosecution. Trying to make one's case more persuasive through the use of interpretations of facts or the introduction of misleading information can simply cause the application to be summarily thrown out.

Secondly, the request should be just that - a request, and nothing more. It is not appropriate to try to coerce or "hustle" the recipient into providing the funds. A more polite approach is suitable, and one that does not attempt to manipulate the recipient into releasing the money, or stridently demand that they do so. The latter may receive many requests for funding on a continuous basis, from different entities, so an excessively insistent or "hard sell" missive is not going to be received very well.

Speaking of style, the language used should be free of any errors whatsoever, and the formatting of the documentation should be pristine. A request for money that is badly produced is going to create a negative impression or may even be investigated for fraud, as a poorly formulated application is sometimes an indication of incompetent criminal authorship. The reader may consider whether they themselves would be interested in such a request for their own money.

Unfortunately, paperwork and requesting sponsorship is part of the activities of many worthwhile organizations. Through simple grant writing lessons, those involved in these processes can submit their requests more easily, and recipients are better able to assess the latter.




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