Everyone involved in reviewing a grant request brings a set of built-in beliefs and biases to that process. But you can take steps to prevent these from sinking your proposals. The article, "Understanding the Human Side of Grantseeking" (Local/State Funding Report, November 9, 2009), notes that people believe what they want to believe, logic cannot overcome bias, and bias may prevent reviewers from accepting the premises in a proposal. To overcome these problems, the article recommends that you:

• Understand the possible biases reviewers may have
• Imagine the reviewers’ conscious and unconscious objectives and wants
• Make sure the funder’s priorities figure prominently in your proposal
• Make sure the facts and statistics in your proposal are unchallengeable
• Avoid words that may trigger emotional responses
• Make sure your arguments are logically sound

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Although most local businesses have giving programs, nonprofits sometimes overlook these resources. "Nonprofits need to be knowledgeable about what type of corporate giving is available locally, and continuously pursue it," says Ray Sweeney in "Nonprofits Benefit from Local Biz Outreach" (Federal & Foundation Assistance Monitor, December 14, 2009). He recommends maintaining and continuously updating a list of local businesses and their grant programs, because these funders are the most likely to respond quickly to requests. Learn about their giving programs through Internet searches or direct inquiry. Once you know how they want to be approached, follow their directions. To build and strengthen your organization’s ties with a company, you might also provide volunteer opportunities for its employees.

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Some grantseekers seem to have a better grasp than others of the factors most likely to influence a federal grantmaking agency’s funding decisions. The article, "Get A Leg Up: Volunteer as a Grant Reviewer" (Local/State Funding Report, November 16, 2009), suggests that many of these applicants gained their expertise by acting as grant reviewers. Obviously you can offer your services only for grant processes in which your organization is not competing. You must also demonstrate significant expertise in the arena where the grants are being made. If you can meet those conditions and are accepted as a reviewer, you’ll get invaluable insights into how the decision-making process works and how to avoid common errors that eliminate proposals from consideration.

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The competition for federal grants continues to increase as other funding sources--foundations, businesses, and state and local governments--keep cutting back. If you’re applying for a federal grant, ratchet up your chance of success with Stacie Harting Marsh’s comprehensive list of steps to take at each stage of the grants process ("Securing Federal Grants: Best Practices from Proposal Planning through Award Notification," CharityChannel, December 9, 2009). Some highlights from her advice:

Before the Request for Proposal (RFP) is issued:

• Begin your planning as early as possible
• Find out which organizations have received grants previously from the agency
• Retrieve past proposals for the program area
• Examine the RFP from the previous cycle
• Identify potential partners
• Register on Grants.gov

After the RFP is published:

• Assess your chances of receiving the grant based on the number of projected awards and your previous federal grants experience
• Try to learn who else from your area is seeking the same grant, and see whether a partnership would make sense
• Establish an inclusive proposal development team to meet with weekly
• Get a commitment from an external evaluator for the project
• Set up a proposal development calendar
• Participate in any opportunities the agency provides for learning more about the application process
• Ask the program officer if they will review a concept paper

When preparing your application:

• Develop a proposal outline that follows the RFP and review criteria before you begin to write
• Involve people from the constituency to be served by the project in the proposal development process
• Demonstrate the unique qualities of your organization
• Clearly establish the need for the project in your geographic area and for your constituency
• Be aware of specific grantee characteristics that the funding agency tends to favor
• Write so a stranger will understand your request
• Demonstrate institutional commitment and community support

Finally use an external proofreader, and submit your proposal before the deadline.

[Full article can be accessed only by CharityChannel subscribers.]

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Although I’ve written a fair number of grant proposals over the years, I started out as a newspaper reporter. As a reporter, I quickly learned that telling a story is one powerful way to show how things work.

Jane (not her real name) had been to the emergency room at Central State Hospital three times with intense leg pains. The emergency room doctors were sympathetic and helpful. They made sure her pain didn’t represent a life-threatening illness. They gave her medication to address the pain. They suggested she see her primary care physician in the morning. But Jane did not have a physician. Not until she went to the local clinic for the uninsured (staffed by volunteer physicians and other health professionals) was she tested for and told that she had diabetes. With proper medication her pain was controlled, and with the help of clinic volunteers, Jane began to address her serious chronic illness.

This story personalizes a national problem. We have all read in news reports that tens of millions of people are without health insurance, but stories like this one help us understand who has the problem. The story also explains why emergency rooms are not good for primary care, and it shows how the clinic was able not only to address the immediate problem (pain) but also to identify and act on a chronic illness with severe consequences if left untreated.

Grant reviewers often work in the same field as the grant applicants. Many are highly committed to these issues. They are sympathetic. While some may want "just the facts," others welcome evidence that the applicant understands the human element in the problem. It’s a serious mistake for an applicant to assume reviewers don’t care about the human side or will discount proposals that include examples of the problem.

Some guidelines to follow when using stories in a proposal:

• Stories are not a substitute for strong local data about the nature of the problem and who is affected.
• Stories are not a substitute for a well-documented analysis of why the problem is happening.
• The point of a story is not its shock value. Use stories that are examples of typical situations to illustrate the community and its problems.
• Stories should be factual, but they should never violate anyone’s privacy. The privacy of the person described in the story must be guaranteed unless you have secured their permission to identify them.
• Stories should never be cute or funny—what’s cute or funny to one person may be trite or off-putting to others.

A story is typically used either to explain the problem or to illustrate the solution. A story that describes the nature of the problem and its complexities belongs in the problem statement. A story that demonstrates an organization’s success usually belongs in the credibility section or history; it helps define the organization’s impact both on its community and on individual people.

It’s sometimes effective to tell before and after stories. They may both be true, or the "after" story may be a hypothetical story of how the problem would be addressed. The "before" goes into the problem statement. The methods section may include an "after" story which describes how the story might have been different had a specific program been in place.

Stories can also include quotes that allow clients to speak directly about the problem.

A woman came to a breast cancer screening clinic in rural Wilsonville. She arrived with an open lesion on her breast from a tumor. The clinic staff could see that the woman was in pain and probably did not have long to live. When asked why she had not seen a doctor, the woman said, "I couldn’t afford to be sick. My family would have been wiped out."

This proposal used supporting data from a large study to show that the response of the woman who came to the clinic was representative. Studies indicated that women, in particular, will postpone their own health care to ensure the well-being of their family members.

Chuck Putney has been a consultant trainer for The Grantsmanship Center for more than 20 years. He has worked extensively on successful federal grant proposals funded by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Education, Labor and Housing, and Urban Development.

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