In my previous life, I managed a multi-million dollar donations budget for a major Canadian corporation, and every year I reviewed hundreds of requests for funding. I read grant requests for as little as $100 and as much as $10 million. Sometimes a small project was approved. Another time we approved a big-ticket item.
The common factor in all of the approved requests was that they met the giving criteria and that the proposal writer had put effort into writing the submission.
Documentary Heritage Communities Program
Your genealogy society may be thinking about submitting a proposal to Library and Archives Canada’s Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) for the funding cycle, 2017-2018. You have two-and-half months left to do so. The deadline is January 27, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
For the third year, LAC will invest $1.5 million to help increase the ability of local documentary heritage institutions to sustain and preserve Canada’s documentary heritage — and that includes genealogy societies.
The funding is intended to support the development of Canada’s local archival and library communities and their professional associations by increasing their capacity to preserve, provide access to, and promote documentary heritage.
Let’s hope the genealogy community and organizations who can help further our research step forward to apply.
While I do not know what will guarantee an accepted grant proposal at Library and Archives Canada or elsewhere, after years of reviewing, approving, and declining proposals, I do know what will help increase the chances of your proposal being considered.
21 ways to write a better grant proposal
Here are 21 ways to help you write a better grant proposal. Following these tips does not guarantee your non-profit organization will receive a grant, but they may keep your proposal in the Maybe pile.
Do your homework. Read the grant criteria. This may seem obvious, but some grant proposals look like they were written by someone who ignored the criteria.
Funding history. Look at the type of initiatives the organization has funded in the past. Determine what it is about those initiatives that appealed to the funder.
Learn about the funder. Visit the company’s/organization’s website to learn about them and what they stand for. What is important to them? Do they like environment-protection initiatives? Children’s programs? Health care? Heritage? Who is their target audience in the community? Do they reach out to parents, seniors, educators, children, health services, or others? Read their news releases that are relevant about community initiatives.
Develop a project. Avoid submitting a funding request for equipment. Donations budgets rarely support the purchase of a piece of equipment. Even fewer support bricks and mortar initiatives just for the sake of giving your organization more space. Develop a project. Broaden your request for equipment so that it is part of a larger project that will benefit the community. For example, if you want a scanner, create a scanning project where records you own can be better preserved and shared with the public on your website.
Be unique. Look for an initiative that is unique to your community and that only your organization can do.
Benefit the community. Find a project that benefits the community at large, not just your members and patrons. Funders do not support members-only initiatives, such as an online database in the members section of your website.
Community outreach. Provide evidence that you are involved in your community, that you give back. Write briefly about existing and past community outreach programs.
Partnerships: When appropriate, write about your partnerships with other community groups.
Do not force a square peg in a round hole. If your proposal does not meet all the criteria, write only about the aspects that do. Don’t force your project to be something it isn’t. Don’t promote what you can’t deliver.
Paint a picture: Help people to see what your initiative will look like when finished, how people will use it.
Specific goals: Clearly state the goals of your initiative.
Measurable benefits. In tangible terms, explain how your targetted audience will benefit and how many people are realistically expected to use your product, visit your website, and benefit from the initiative.
Be realistic. Don’t oversell the benefits of your initiative. Make sure you can deliver on what is proposed and the delivery dates.
Keep it simple. Use simple, straight-forward language. Pretentious prose does not help sell your proposal. If you can use a simple word, instead of a flowery one, do so. Avoid overly long sentences.
Provide recognition opportunities. Explain how you will recognize the funder’s donation. In the case of non-government organizations, they want to know how, when, and where their donation will be announced and promoted.
Size does matter. If you can tell your story in two pages, do so. A lengthy grant proposal is not better because it is longer. In fact, lengthy proposals are often filled details and background info that are not essential to selling the initiative.
Listen. If you are fortunate to talk to the person who reviews grant proposals, listen to what they say. Ask what type of initiatives they support. Ask what level of funding you should request. Discuss your initiative with them. Pay attention to their comments. While it is often next to impossible to reach these people by phone, if you do, listen to what they tell you and what they don’t tell you. I can’t tell you how many times I practically told non-profits what to write in their proposal, including how much to ask. Most didn’t listen.
Work hard. Put effort into your proposal. Grant proposal reviewers can easily spot a lazy grant writer. Correct all spelling and grammatical errors.
Format. Deliver in the format requested. If you are asked to submit your proposal in PDF by email, do not send it by mail. If you are asked to fill in an online form, do so.
Meet the deadline. Deliver your proposal on time. A late submission is unprofessional and may not be considered.
Try again. Don’t give up. If your proposal is not accepted this year, try again next year with a modified proposal. Sometimes, it is all about the timing. They may have already reached their annual funding limit for the part of the country where you live.
Details about applying for funding from Library and Archives Canada’s Documentary Heritage Communities Program is available here.
This is brilliant. One would think if you follow these 21 steps, you’ve got a good chance of obtaining a grant. How very generous of you Gail for your effort and work to help non-profit’s organizations.