If you're bored, how do you think your grant reviewer feels? The key to grant writing is to compel the reader to fund your proposal. Remember the distinction between program design and grant writing. The program design is complete when you know what you're delivering, how you will deliver it, when and where it will be delivered, and, most of all, why you are delivering it. It needs to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound.
Here, you are specifically focused on writing the narrative sections of the proposal. You do this through a mixture of storytelling with client successes, statistics, financial soundness, and your organization's, program's, and team's uniqueness. When you get to the end, you should be in such awe that you would fund the program out of your pocket if you could.
Six Keys to Better Writing:
Articulate how your Program Design ties directly to your mission and vision;
Be crystal clear about your uniqueness. Show how your program is different than the rest;
Highlight data results. What numbers show your results;
Showcase your organization's expertise;
Expect the 990 and Audit Report to help you in telling the story.
Use an outside professional reviewer to give you an honest and unbiased critique of your proposal.
