Grant Basic Blocks
You get the list of questions you will use, in one way or another, from the funder's guidelines. Sometimes guidelines are literally a list of questions. For example, the grant application may be a form you need to fill out or a list of inquiries you are required to address in order. This provides a strong structure for your writing, whether you like it or not.
In other cases, such as when a funder asks you to address certain issues in a freeform narrative, or when the funder's guidelines are vague ("Send a letter proposal"), then the funder's inquiries to you are implied. To make progress writing this looser kind of narrative, you can create your own list of questions to outline the text, such as the list we use in the following example, which is designed to show the question-and-answer method of narrative writing in action.
Below you'll find a series of questions (which come from Exhibit A.5 in Resource A). Beneath each question, we'll show you text that begins to answer the question. To see the full text of each answer, and see how it all flows together into a seamless whole, read the narrative of the complete sample grant in Resource B.
1. What is our specific grant request (the amount and for what project)?
OEMR respectfully requests a grant of $15,000 from the American Psychiatric Association.
2. Who is our organization? What are its mission and brief history? Whom should the funder contact, and what is that person's phone number, mailing address, fax, and e-mail?
OEMR is a non-profit organization dedicated
As a Williams Art Foundation program officer, Mary Ryan heard repeatedly from applicants on two points: they needed to continually grow their audiences and reach out to new people, but they also needed to minimize their overhead expenses. In .1990 Ryan left her post at the Williams Foundation to establish the Port City Partnership for the Arts to address these concerns. . . .
3. What is the community need that our organization, and specifically our project, addresses? What statistics and stories can we use to substantiate that need?
Although they have seen hours and hours of television, over a quarter of all Port City elementary school students have never seen a live play. . . .
4. How does our proposed project address the need? What methods will we use? How many people will we serve or involve?
Project 21C will develop the next generation of art supporters and patrons in Port City by engaging young people new to arts attendance in a low-cost, year-long program of arts education, events, performances, and social interaction. . .
5. What are our measurable project goals or outcomes?
Our goal is to create new interest in the arts among a young and vital segment of our population. We project that by the end of the first operating year..
6. What is our timeline and work plan? Have we included everything from planning to evaluation?
November 2001, Identify participants..
7. Who are the key volunteers and staff on this project, and what are their qualifications? How much of their time will be spent on this particular project?
Project 21C was created and is driven by a twelve-member volunteer Leadership Team, headed by Wendy Branch. Wendy is. .
8. What is our projected cost and what are our sources of revenue? How will the project be sustained after the grant period, if applicable? (You can refer to an attached budget in this section.)
The first-year cost for Project 21C will be $275,000; a project budget is attached as per your request. A large portion of this budget is for. .
9. What other organizations in the community are providing similar programs or projects? How is ours different? How do we work together with the other providers?
In Port City, PCPA is a unique organization. In fact, within our five-state region, we know of only one other. . . .
10. Why is ours the right organization to launch this program, buy this item, or whatever it is we are proposing?
Our eight years of experience in a field we essentially created makes us the one and only organization with the experience, mission, and existing partnerships to successfully carry out this program.. ,
11. How will our program be evaluated, how often, and by whom? What will the evaluation process do for the program—will it help us adjust the program, replicate it in other cities, or plan in other ways?
It is crucial that a new program make a real difference for people, and the PCPA has three levels of internal review, , ,
12. Who and how many will benefit?
A vital and active arts community is crucial to any healthy city. According to the Research in The Arts institute (RITA), participation in the arts increases self-esteem, problem-solving skills, and imagination at all ages, thereby benefiting. . .
13. Why are we approaching this funder at this time?
The Thurston Family Foundation has been and continues to be a crucial supporter of Port City's cultural community. .
14. How can we best thank the funder for their generosity and consideration?
Thank you for your focus on the arts, and thank you for your consideration of this request. . . .
15. What attachments will we be including?
Organizational Resume, Project Summary Sheet, Board List. . „
These questions should seem familiar because they are almost exactly the same ones you asked your CEO and program director in Step One, when you invested time in learning about your organization and program. Rather than struggling to simply meet the requirements of the proposal, you'll be able to spend your time on expressing your case in a concise and compelling way.
This was adapted from "Demystifying Grant Writing".
