Grant reviewers want applications that:

1. Meet the goals of the funding.2. Attend to the sections of the

narrative3. Are written well.4. Are easy to understand.

Grant writers should therefore:

1. Read the RFP (“request for proposals”)

2. Use the language of the RFP (and suggested headings)

3. Draft, revise, rewrite4. Simplify/clarify (rinse, repeat..)

Guarantees of failure

• Begging/Threatening• You must, must, must fund me because I have no money and it will

be just awful/you’ll be sorry if you don’t.

• The “Everest” approach • “We have previously isolated and sequenced a particular protein

from human, rabbit, sheep, rat, mouse, gerbil, duck, chicken, frog, zebrafish, Drosophila, Aplysia, and yeast, but we haven’t yet done this for hamster.”

• Information without argument

• “Proteins are made of amino acids. Amino acids are made of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur. Elements are made up of subatomic particles such as electrons, protons, and neutrons. Electrons, protons and neutrons are made up of quarks such as up, down, top, bottom, sleepy, and grumpy. E=mc2. The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain. E pluribus unum, with liberty and justice for all, in sickness and in health, tastes great but less filling.”

Making it too personal• “I am a third grade teacher at New Frontier School in Oxford. This is our fourth year

being opened in a low-income neighborhood. As you know, beginning in third grade students start taking the Ohio Achievement Tests. This is my second year as a teacher and I am trying to find different assessment tools that work to support my student’s achievement. I have found a technology assessment tool that would engage my students and enhance their learning. While furthering my professional development, I attended a Technology Conference and observed the data that proved this tool works. These turning point response card sets are interactive and aligned to the Ohio Standards. This kit gives 32 response cards, the guidelines and set up manual, and a Pro-Ohio questions bank aligned to the standards. This system works best when you have a smart board, which I already have. The teacher makes up questions, graphs, time lines, ect. and then the students each have their own response card to answer the question on. The response is recorded on the smart board and then the teacher can immediately go over the answer with the students and see the results. This innovative assessment tool provides educators with the ability to record and assess student achievement in many different ways.”

Good alternative• “Project Turning Point has three objectives: 1) increase 3rd grade math

performance; 2) improve student math assessment using a rubric-based assessment tool; and 3) improve the alignment between instructional goals, instructional methods and assessment. Turning Point is a mathematics software tool that includes response card sets that are interactive and aligned to the Ohio Standards. This kit gives 32 response cards, the guidelines and set up manual, and a Pro-Ohio question bank. The Turning Point system will integrate with an existing classroom SmartBoard system. The teacher makes up questions, graphs and timelines. Students have individual response cards to answer questions. Student responses are recorded on the SmartBoard. The teacher can immediately review the answer with the students and show the process that produced the correct answer. This innovative assessment system will enhance teacher ability to record and assess student achievement.”

Really good example• “The toxin isolated from the Asian Pygmy Cobra is the deadliest

poison known. It is rapidly absorbed through the skin and then slowly affects the nervous system, causing an extremely painful death approximately five years after ingestion. Surprisingly, little is known about the specific mechanism of action of the toxin, which is essential for the development of an antidote. Our proposed research on the Asian Pygmy Cobra toxin will reveal the mechanism of action and lead to the development of an antidote. This research is especially timely as the grant application you are reading has been impregnated with the toxin and by the time you’ve read this page, you have received a lethal dose. Your only chance of avoiding an agonizing death in five years is for us to develop an antidote, which we can only do if this application is funded.”