Once you managed to soak your hands in the difficult and often complicated business of writing proposals, you might wonder what style funders exactly want. Well, every one of them has a different preference, so we’d rather have the best of both polar characteristics that they’re looking for. If you want to strike a balance yet become effective on your proposals, here are some tips on how to become a grant writer.
Expert Tips on How to Become a Grant Writer
1. Passion and Discipline
Passion is what moves your reader, but discipline is what will make him believe in you.
One of the most common mistakes that new grant writers make is thinking that the desire to complete a project is enough to convince people to fund you. Unfortunately, all passion and no discipline make it difficult to trust a potential benefactor. If you really want to convince people, you have to work hard and be disciplined. Start by following deadlines and instructions.
2. Opinions and Facts
You have to be clear what statements are from your own opinion and what statements are your supporting facts.
Remember that the people who will evaluate your proposal are not always the biggest fans of your cause. If they are, they will still read your prose with a grain of salt. So when you’re going to state something from your conviction, always make sure that you balance it with cold hard references. Proposals are a literary art and technical writing fused together. Blend it well.
3. Stories and Statistics
As much as people love to read about real stories, they also need statistics to prove that your story is not a single isolated case. Sure, some drama will break the ice or introduce the readers to the problems you’ll solve, but it’s still the survey results that will reinforce your credibility.
If you want to prepare your reader for your data, you might want to start with a single common case. Conversely, if you want them to really believe your story, show the demographics.
4. Vision and Skepticism
What makes people move with you is a shared vision; what makes people join you in the first place are your honesty and realism.
You can’t recruit other people to share your vision by being too Quixotic (though we admit, some amount of romanticism will help). People buy ideas that are honest, realistic, and can be justified despite the odds.
There is no concrete way on how to become a grant writer because funders may have varying preferences. However, it is almost impossible to resist a proposal that is balanced in every aspect. If you want to hit success and make your vision come true, always think of balance— the higher you want to soar, the deeper you must keep your knowledge and understanding.
