CATHY DAVIS '05 PH.D. IN HEALTH SERVICES

Apply Selectively. The grant you apply for should be a good fit for your organization. It helps if your goals are similar. When I applied for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Aligning Forces for Quality grant, I knew that our organization was already doing the kind of work the grant supported: health care quality improvement, consumer involvement in health care choice, and public reporting of physicians following best practices. That was an advantage for us.

Find a Mentor Who has Won Grants. When I found out about the grant, I called a friend who has experience writing grants. I asked him, “Is this doable for us?” He reviewed the application and said yes. I could not have completed the application without him.

Follow the Grant Application's Word Limits. Grant applications often have space limitations that require applicants to write concisely. This takes effort and practice. For one section, we were limited to 1,800 spaces, including numbers and the spaces between words. You have to make each word count.

Expect the Unexpected. A few things about the process surprised me. First, I figured we would have more room to describe our organization. However, our project narrative was limited to 10 pages, including supporting material. Second, I assumed the application would be in hard copy form, but it was online, a format that was new to us. Instead of seeing these as obstacles, we saw them as challenges to be overcome.

Allow Plenty of Time. You will need it. We had six weeks to complete our grant application, and we worked up until our deadline, even though we had much of our factual information in the beginning.

Embrace the Editing Process. To meet the space requirements and turn in a polished application, you will have to revise. Everyone does. We wrote and rewrote several parts of our application many times. Cutting extra words without taking away from your meaning is an important skill.

Proofread. Remember, just because you think a paragraph is well-written and has good “flow” doesn’t necessarily mean other people will agree. No one enjoys having their writing critiqued, but asking a knowledgeable colleague to review your grant application for clarity will pay off in the end.

Look for More Opportunities. Even if you get the grant you applied for, the funding won’t last forever. Start looking for other funding opportunities.

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