Top 5 Grant Writing Mistakes
Quote
“Fundraising should not be solely about accumulating wealth, but about promoting equity and empowering those who have been historically marginalized.”
Yes, the ultimate goal of fundraising is to obtain funds, but the work goes much deeper than that. This is another realm that often seems to be stacked against us, unwelcoming at times. However, development work is birthing a path towards access, empowerment, and growth.
I’ve been a grant consultant for roughly 5 years, and my first year was the HARDEST but also the most beneficial. It was very humbling and I gave myself the space to mess up, screw up, f**k up, and learn what not to do next time. There were many lessons learned, but these are the top 5 mistakes I made when writing a proposal and how I learned from them.
Mistake # 1: Leaving out the credentials.
Mistake #2: Not doing enough homework on the funder.
Mistake #3: Focusing on “what” instead of “why”.
Mistake #4: Chatting for no reason.
Mistake #5: Lacking facts and stats
Let’s get into it (click the image below):
Resource : Coursera
I am always looking to further develop my skills as a Grants Consultant and Philanthropist. With the ever-growing world of philanthropic work, there is always something to learn or improve. So, when I want to know more, I tend to turn to Coursera.
Coursera is an online course provider collaborating with universities and other educational facilities to offer knowledge to anyone who seeks it. Many offered courses and classes are free, but there’s also a paid option for advanced classes, certifications, and degrees. Along with grant writing, there are plenty of other skills you can strengthen that are essential to becoming a successful grant seeker, such as financial management, organizational leadership, and storytelling.
Of course, I’m going to give you all the good stuff, but even a guru has more to learn.
Action : Catch the Common Mistakes
Imagine you're a funder looking for organizations/businesses to donate to. You support spaces that provide programming and other services to youth and young adults, ages 16 to 25, to foster their growth and development. You receive information from 3 different organizations/businesses and are reading through to determine if they made any of the top 5 mistakes.
