Funders and Foundations

Grant DOs and DON'Ts

Some tips on writing grant proposals

DO your research.

This might sound like plain common sense, but you would be surprised how many applicants overlook important details.

Most granting agencies have information online about their funding criteria and applicants who have received grants from their organization in the past. This research will give you a better idea of whether this grant is right for you. The major granting bodies (Canada Council, CALQ, CAM, Canadian Heritage etc.) employ full-time officers who will be happy to answer your questions. If in doubt, pick up the phone and call.

Doing research saves valuable time. If you realize the grant isn't for you, you can invest your energy in more appropriate funding opportunities.

DO have a well-articulated vision of what your project is, or will be, and how your project is unique.

Make sure your ideas are well thought out, that they have some long-term relevance to your development as an artist and explain how your project makes a contribution to the field. You may not be used to explaining your ideas this way, because as an artist in a particular discipline, your community of artists and peers support you and understand the obvious relevance of your work. But a committee of arts from different disciplines or different traditions may not.

For example, if you are a poet and you are writing a new series of poems on birds, show why doing so is important to the field of poetry, and why the theme is something that the committee should want to support. Moreover, how is your treatment of this theme exploring new terrain in modern verse? If you are applying for a grant from a federal granting agency in the arts, heritage or culture, how will your poems about birds answer to the cultural yearnings of the nation or demonstrate the specific voice of a particular region in the country, and why is this important?

DO get others to read your grant proposal, including non-artists.

Because your vision is different from other people, you have to make sure that your unique way of looking at the world can be comprehensible to artists from other disciplines, and from other walks of life.

Try to get people from different arts backgrounds to read your grant proposal. If they don't understand something you are trying to say, or need clarification about an idea, you can learn from their questions and use them to re-word your proposal. If they don't understand something about your proposal, chances are that the committee who will look at your grant won't understand it, either.

DO choose references carefully.

If the grant that you are applying for requires references and/or reference letters, choose your referees very carefully. Leave lots of time before the deadline to contact your referees and provide them with a copy of your project/grant proposal.

Choose mentors or employers who know you or your work well. Share your proposal with them, so that they have as much information as possible about your project. If they knew you at a specific time during your studies or training, but have not kept up-to-date with all of your accomplishments since then, give them a copy of your C.V. This will help them write an effective letter on your behalf, and contribute to demonstrating how well prepared you are, and how determined you are to see your project come into fruition.

DO use the funder's checklist.

Using the application form's checklist, ensure that all the required material is at hand and complete. Make sure the grant proposal addresses the program evaluation criteria. Write clearly and precisely—avoid "art speak" and respect the word count. Read your text carefully—several times and edit the text if necessary. Avoid spelling mistakes. Make sure the support material is in order—do not send originals of any kind, and mail the package in a solid envelope or box by the deadline date, at the latest.

DO apply, despite the odds.

If you are an emerging artist, you may feel discouraged about the fierce competition for grants. Let's face it: it is very competitive. But if you have done initial research on a grant opportunity and you know you are eligible and meet all the minimum criteria, you should apply! Don't let the competition scare you away. You won't stand a chance if you decide not to apply at all. Besides, you never know if your idea may stand out in this year's competition, or strike a chord with a committee member who thinks your idea is exciting and innovative.

Many successful grant recipients in the arts have had many proposals and grants rejected. In the process, however, they learned from their mistakes and discovered things that could be improved for the next grant application. Grant writing is a skill that improves over time and with practice.

DON'T stray from the application guidelines.

You waste a funder's time when you do not follow the application guidelines. It can be tempting.

If you are a photographer and the program asks for a portfolio with a maximum of six photos, don't submit 20 because you think your creativity and productivity will impress the grant agency or committee. It won't.

Sending more than required may disqualify your application and annoy the people who have been asked to review your application/portfolio. On the other hand, sending less than is required may possibly land your application on the rejection pile. Follow the guidelines.

DON'T get lost in the detail. Be concise and simple.

You should have a well-articulated vision of what your project is, or will be. You should also have a well-balanced proposal that shares enough detail to demonstrate to a grant committee that this is a project that is viable and planned carefully. Too much detail, however, may bog down the reader in information that they don't necessarily need to know in order to fund your project.

If you are a costume designer and you need money to purchase a special type of silk for period costumes for a specific theatre production, you should explain the reasons why this is necessary. But you don't need to include a two-page explanation of silk making and its history during antiquity.

DON'T include costs in your proposed budget that the funder does not permit you to include.

If the grant is for travel, limit your proposed budget to projected travel expenses. Including potential operational costs may baffle or confuse the granting committee or make your project look too expensive. If the grant is strictly for research, don't include costs unrelated to research. These expenses may exist, but including them will not help your application. Give the financial costs and expenses that have been asked for. No more, no less.

Bibliography

Grant Writing Jane C. Geever, Guide to Proposal Writing. The Foundation Center (2004).

Useful links

Montreal's Centre for Community Organizations (COCo) has an excellent Website with useful information and further links on grant writing ideas. While some of their information is geared toward fundraising, or grant writing for groups, such as non-profit organisations, there is a lot of essential information that can help you get started with your individual grant writing.

Information from the Canada Council for the Arts

Information on the application process (Very good FAQ section)

The Do's and Don'ts of Submitting Digital Support Material to the Visual Arts Section of the Canada Council.