Listen up, ambitious change-makers! If you’re ready to secure that sweet, sweet funding for your groundbreaking project, you’ve come to the right place. Forget everything you thought you knew about grant writing – we’re about to show you how to dominate the application game. Here are our top 10 tips that’ll have grant funders throwing money at you faster than you can say “innovative research proposal.”
1. Time is Your BFF
First things first, procrastinators – ditch that last-minute rush. Successful grant applications aren’t whipped up overnight like your university essays. Give yourself a solid two months to craft a masterpiece that’ll make the reviewers fall in love with your innovation and ambitious plans. Trust us, your future self will thank you.
2. Choose Your Funder Like You’re Swiping Right
Don’t be that desperate applicant who applies to every funding opportunity out there. Be picky! Find a funder whose interests align with yours like a match made in innovation heaven. Slide into their DMs (or, you know, official communication channels) and get the inside scoop on what makes them tick, or maybe do some research on what they’re doing it all for from their strategies.
3. Network Like a Boss
Create a collaborative squad that’d make the Avengers jealous. Seek advice from mentors, colleagues, and anyone who’s been in the grant-winning trenches, particularly potential grant application partners. Remember, teamwork makes the dream work – and increases your chances of scoring that sweet funding.
4. Assemble Your A-Team
Speaking of squads, make sure you’ve got the right people on your project. We’re talking in-house experts, university innovators, and subcontractors who can deliver results that’ll knock the funders’ socks off. Show them you’ve got a dream team that means business.
5. Know Your Audience (and Make Them Love You)
Your reviewers are smart cookies, but they’re also drowning in applications. Make their lives easier by crafting a proposal so clear and compelling, that they’ll want to fund you just for the joy of reading it. Hook them with a narrative that’s part blockbuster movie, part scientific breakthrough.
6. Impact is Everything
Don’t just tell them what you’re going to do – show them why it matters. Paint a vivid picture of how your work will change the world, cure diseases, or maybe even make sliced bread look boring. Make them believe that funding you is the best decision they’ll ever make.
7. Back It Up with Cold, Hard Facts
Got preliminary data? Flaunt it like it’s your best feature. No data? No problem. Use published work to support your approach and show those funders you know your stuff. Remember, in the world of grant applications, evidence is sexy.
8. Tell a Story That’d Make Shakespeare Jealous
Forget dry, academic prose and confusing jargon. Craft a narrative so compelling, that reviewers will be on the edge of their seats, rooting for your success. Identify your hook, use plain English, and deliver a story that’ll leave them wanting to fund your game-changing project.
9. Plan for the Worst, Hope for the Best
Show those funders you’re not just an optimistic dreamer – you’re a pragmatic visionary. Acknowledge potential pitfalls in your project, and then wow them with your brilliant contingency plans. It’s like bringing an umbrella to a picnic – they’ll appreciate your foresight.
10. Polish That Baby Until It Shines
Before you hit that submit button, give your application the royal treatment. Proofread it, spell-check it, and have your smartest friends review it. A polished application shows you mean business – and that you respect the funders’ time and eyesight.
There you have it, future grant-winning game-changers! Armed with these tips, you’re ready to take the funding world by storm. Now go forth and conquer – those groundbreaking projects won’t fund themselves!
Okay, so what’s next?
Sign up for this online grant-funding course that you’ve never seen the likes of before.
https://productinpractice.co.uk/programmes
This has been designed and is led by Dr Chloe Sharp, the founder of Sharp Insight who delivers training and workshops through Product in Practice. This is for founders, entrepreneurs and product people, to gain skills to validate concepts, fund product development and build innovative products customers love.
By Author
Dr Chloe Sharp
As the founder of Sharp Insight and author of “Make Products That Matter,” Chloe is on a mission to help entrepreneurs, product managers, and UX professionals understand and meet customer needs effectively. Chloe helps sustainability businesses innovate through strategy, commercialisation, UX research, grant + bid coaching, and product management.
