Seven Secrets Grant Writers Dont Want You to Know

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Seven Secrets Grant Writers Dont Want You to Know

• Presentation to the
• National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
• September 24, 2009
• Monica L. Wendel, Dr.P.H., M.A.

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Personal introduction

• Background in English, communication, and public
  health
• Co-director of prevention research center at
  Texas AM School of Rural Public Health
• 11 years grant writing
• Little formal training
• 60 percent hit rate
• Over 27 million

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Todays presentation

• Principles of grant writing is the focus.
• Read the RFP carefully.
• Follow it explicitly.
• Beyond that, grant writing is about strategy
• For choosing grants
• For planning
• For writing
• For thinking about implementation

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Secret 1

• Always make a deliberate decision about the value
  of investing resources in writing a particular
  grant.

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Be wise about investing time

• Careful selection of grants is more efficient and
  more effective
• Better return on investment
• More focused funding strategy
• Better odds (and subsequently, hit rate)

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Secret 2

• Know how the review works.

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Strategize your proposal for review.

• Funding preferences are there for a reason.
• Organizations that meet the funding preference
  will often go to the top of the pile.
• If you dont meet the preference criteria, its
  usually not worth applying.
• Know your competition.
• Know if your legislator was involved in the
  appropriation.
• Know who the reviewers are likely to be.

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Secret 3

• Always organize the entire process before you
  write one word.

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Develop a systematic approach that works for you.

• Map out entire proposal.
• Identify partners, needed letters of support.
• Identify writers/contributors to the process.
• Have one coordinator for the process.
• Make internal deadlines with enough time for
  review and KNOW the review criteria.
• Planning well from the beginning removes the
  need for all nighters, freaking out, and
  post-submission crash.

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Secret 4

• There are two ingredients for a successful
  proposal a good idea and great marketing.

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Its all marketing.

• The quality of your marketing can compensate for
  the quality of your idea. The reverse is NEVER
  true.
• Find a hook that works for you and emphasize it
  as often as you can.
• Repeating key themes throughout your proposal
  helps a reviewer remember what you want them to
  think is important.

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Secret 5

• Anyone can answer the questions.

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We like to call it the bikini rule.

• Anyone can wear a bikini, but that doesnt means
  it looks good.
• Anyone can answer the questions in an RFP, but
  that doesnt mean theyre going to be
  competitive.
• If all you do is answer the question, grant
  writers like me have you beat from the beginning.
• Remember its all marketing.
• Take time to train yourself to think
  strategically and incorporate marketing into your
  narrative.

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Secret 6

• Your budget should match your proposed
  activities. If you cut in one, cut accordingly
  in the other.

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Good news, bad news

• If your budget and activities dont match, its
  usually NOT in your favor youre usually
  under-budgeted for an ambitious work plan.
• This usually makes the project more work than
  its worth to the organization.
• If each project stretches you thinner and
  thinner, eventually, something has to give.

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Secret 7

• There is a psychology to grant review. The way
  your proposal looks is as important as whats in
  it.

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Shhhdont tell anyone else.

• As a reviewer, you spend relatively little time
  on each proposal trying to find the important
  information as quickly as you can.
• When you write, you should use formatting to your
  advantage knowing this
• Make the proposal easy to read
• Make information easy to find
• Leave the reviewer happy

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Questions??
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Contact information

• Monica L. Wendel, Dr.P.H., M.A.
• Co-director, Center for Community Health
  Development
• Texas AM School of Rural Public Health
• [phone]
• mwendel_at_tamu.edu

The Center for Community Health Development is a
member of the Prevention Research Centers
Program. Support for this presentation was made
possible, in part, through cooperative agreement
5 U48 DP000045 from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.