One of the best decisions I ever made was to
exercise my charity's right to read the winning grant application in an
Orange County grant program.
I remember that I felt like Bob Woodward
the day I read through all the applications for a $400,000
program designed to serve foster care youth.
I'll never forget the experience of seeing the
successful application face-to-face. It was filled, for
example, with unneccessary but really beautiful color charts and
graphs.
It had a level of slickness and
perfection that I did not even think would be normally expected of a
struggling non-profit charity.
Over the years, I have learned other lessons
from looking at real world examples of grant writing success. Ironically,
I have learned that grant proposals do not need to be perfect to
succeed. Sometimes, incredible needs in your community are so
great that the foundations appear willing to "throw money" at a
problem, even if the proposed grant project is not the best possible
solution.
All of this reminds me that appearances matter in the world of grant
writing - even though the highest rewards still go to those willing to take
action, no matter what.
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