Grant Writing Lessons For Those Seeking Sponsorship

By Joanna Walsh


There is an established sentiment in business and society generally that money is not easy to come by. Yet the fact remains that meaningful and beneficial activities require funding. Interested benefactors are prepared to provide money in the form of grants, but then they first need to be persuaded that the activity or organization requesting the money is a valid concern. Grant writing lessons can assist the latter in requesting funding successfully.

To begin with, asking other people for money is not easy for everyone. Many people are not comfortable with the process, either because, on principle, they are averse to approaching others for money, or because they do not want to betray the fact that their organization is struggling financially. The first objection is easier to resolve, but portraying an institution as financially sound seems to negate the possibility of asking others for assistance.

Another consideration is the nature of the request. Asking outside entities for money is an extremely serious process (naturally, since it is a request for financial assistance). The latter may in turn ask for extensive and detailed private information, or they may impose such stringent criteria that the requester is disqualified entirely. An entirely above-board, transparent request may be rejected purely because, in the opinion of its recipient, the activities of the underfunded organization are useless or in conflict with its own.

In the next few paragraphs, some rules of thumb have been explained which may assist in the compilation of more persuasive, successful grant requests. Inappropriate grant paperwork may be rejected simply because of the impression that it creates, without even considering the nature of the request. Those who put such paperwork together should therefore respect the important related issues in the request process and stay with the established methods of handling it.

Firstly, the material should be entirely reliable in its content. Any information supplied should be absolutely accurate and even verifiable. As stated before, a request for money is extremely serious, and massaged facts or untrue data will not only cause the application to be rejected but may also result in prosecution. Trying to make one's case more persuasive through the use of interpretations of facts or the introduction of misleading information can simply cause the application to be summarily thrown out.

Turning to actually copy writing, the language, style and layout should be as professional as possible. Overselling the situation or insisting that the money be provided is not polite and may even irritate the recipient to the extent that they treat the request as spam or arrogant. Think in terms of an aggressive beggar on the street. No-one appreciates their approach or gives them anything. There are government offices who receive literally hundreds of requests for funding. It is therefore important to be as polite as possible, and to stay neutral at all times.

The paperwork should also be immaculate, in terms of its linguistic content. No spelling mistakes or errors in grammar should be present. The layout should be sound, too. A poorly written document, or shoddy, presentation, is suspicious and is unlikely to elicit approval. It is not reasonable to expect that anyone is going to give money to an unprofessional requester.

Unfortunately, paperwork and requesting sponsorship is part of the activities of many worthwhile organizations. Through simple grant writing lessons, those involved in these processes can submit their requests more easily, and recipients are better able to assess the latter.




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