Online grant proposals are here to stay. They are frustrating, exasperating, and daunting. Still, we often must present our case for support in 2,000 characters (~350 words) or less. Writing tight or to the point while getting the attention of the grant reviewer has never been more crucial.
Although brevity is key, grant makers still want engaging narratives that state the issue or problem succinctly while providing evidence that your organization will achieve the proposed outcomes. Knowing what to say and how to say it in a short grant application is the focus of this workshop. The techniques discussed will help you construct successful paper and paperless proposal narratives.
This is a fun, dynamic session that combines lecture, discussion, and hands-on exercises. Attendees will be able to use the slides in the handout as a guide to help them prepare grant proposals in the future.
The learning objectives are as follows:
- Identify key elements that will grab the attention of grant reviewers
- Use simple, direct language to make your point
- Understand the nature of online grant proposals from the reviewer's point-of-view.
Presenter
Diane Gedeon-Martin is a nationally recognized grants consultant, instructor, and lecturer in the area of grants and grant seeking for nonprofit organizations. She started her company The Write Source, LLC in 1993 and has a current roster of over 280 nonprofit clients in 26 states and Washington, DC. Diane helps her clients achieve their goals by winning grants ranging from $5,000 to $5.0 million. In fact, she specializes in preparing government grant proposals.
Based in Connecticut, Diane is a nationally recognized speaker and trainer reaching over 20,000 people through her grant-seeking workshops and conference sessions. Her dedication to the field is evident in the way she speaks about the grant seeking process; her enthusiasm is contagious! In 2015, she retired after 14 years as an adjunct faculty member of The Fund Raising School at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University where she taught and co-authored the curriculum for their Grant Proposals course. She frequently presents at regional, national, and international conferences including those hosted by the Grant Professionals Association (GPA), Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Massachusetts Nonprofit Network and other statewide resource centers, and a number venues hosted by nonprofit organizations. In 2010, she became a certified Master Trainer through the AFP Faculty Training Academy.