Recently, more and more organizations and individuals are faced with the need to write applications for grants. Fresh ideas require funds. Funds announce competitions, winners of competitions receive grants. A grant is financial means donated by a grantor to a non-profit organization or an individual for specific work. Unlike loans, grants do not need to be returned. The process of obtaining a grant is quite complex and time-consuming. A successful fund’s receiving presupposes a painstaking work associated with the development of the project and the belief of the fund that this project deserves attention and implementation at the expense of the grant.
Challenges That Can Be Anticipated During Grants’ Writing
After choosing the most promising potential sources of funding, the next step is to apply to funds with suggestions. Some funds require submission of a full application, corresponding to a given form. Many funds prefer to meet or talk on the phone with potential applicants. A considerable part of them prefers to first receive a letter of inquiry with a summary of the project and applicant’s description (Minnesota Council on Foundations, n.d.).
A request letter is the most common and reliable form of application. On the one hand, it forces the applicant to formulate the essence of the project, on the other hand, if the letter is followed by the call to the fund or its office visit, the basis for a constructive dialogue is already laid. The letter of request must be signed by the head of the Council of a non-governmental organization or the head of the state institution, in addition to the project manager, which confirms that the organization management supports the project, and this is essential for obtaining a grant.
The request letter should be brief, approximately one or three pages are maximum. At this stage, no one will read a long letter to the end. It should contain an explanation of the application to the fund. The letter must comprise clear, preferably in one phrase, explanation of the need for the project and the essence of the problem; it should contain clear information about the tasks, expected results, methods and cost of the project with a convincing explanation of the organization ability to execute such a project. Description of the activities, achievements, and qualifications of members of the organization also should be mentioned. The request letter should be finished with the explanation of the expectation from the request consideration (Flavin, 2014).
After acquaintance with the request letter, the fund can ask for a meeting, or ask you to send a full application for funding, or send a polite refusal. If the rules of the fund do not prohibit this, it is possible to find out about the results of the request by calling the fund or visiting it after a while (from a week to a month) after receiving the letter. The applicant should be ready, sooner or later to write a full application for financing the project.
Indian Creek Foundation as Potential Applicant for the Grand
Indian Creek Foundation has been supporting the adults and children with mental and physical disabilities for more than forty years. The employees of the fund help people with peculiarities to find their place in society. The main purpose of the fund is to provide a comfortable social environment for living and understanding people with peculiarities of their uniqueness and importance for the society. (Indian Creek Foundation, n.d.). Unfortunately, many trustees of the fund need not only moral support but also an expensive treatment or improvement of living conditions due to physical disabilities. However, the fund’s resources do not allow helping everyone. In such cases, the only way out and rescue can be a grand. From the correctness of applying for a grant the life of these people with peculiarities depends.
References
Flavin, R. (2014). Tips for Writing a Winning Grant Proposal. Tech Directions, 74(1), 18-19.
Indian Creek Foundation (n.d.). Web.
Minnesota Council on Foundations. (n.d.). Nonprofit resources. Web.