Small Business Grant Writing Faux Pas
A Home Business Article Contributed by Sharon Hill
What Not to Do When Writing a Small Business Grant
There are several small business grant writing mistakes that could cost you not only the grant award, but, if you're writing for others, the client as well.
While the first, failing to solicit the help of a proofreader, might not immediately cause your application to be rejected, it will lessen your chances of being considered professional. It is always best to set aside your completed proposal for twenty four hours, then reread it yourself. After that ask at least one other knowledgeable person - two is better - to look over the application with an eye to misspellings, typos and inaccuracies.
Assume the small business grant funding agency has little or no electronic capability. Avoid CD's, cassettes and any other electronic devices for your small business grant proposal. Rely instead on your written documents. Make sure these documents are attractive and professional looking - no ragged margins, faint print, smudges, font and point size changes and missing or incorrect page numbers.
If a prior proposal has been rejected do not assume the rejection is as simple as submitting it to the wrong small business grant funding agency. Assume instead that something critical to success is missing. While you may not get them, ask for a copy of the grant reviewer's comments. Federal and state agencies allow you to write or call for reviewer comments.
The U.S. Freedom of Information Act legislates your right to request and obtain copies not only of the comments by the grants reviewer but also the scoring for each section of your grant application. The material you receive back should contain the name of the funding agency, the contact person with telephone number and perhaps the numerical tracking code that is used by that agency for any further referral of your grant application.
You should also have an experienced successful grant writer peruse the rejected proposal.
Based on these observations and insights rewrite the proposal before resubmitting it.
Verify all contact and eligibility information each year. Do not assume that because you have last year's small business grant eligibility information the funding agency will have no changes year to year.
Small Business Grant Writing is an Ongoing Process
One very important point that you must keep in mind if you are awarded a grant is that your work is not over. While you have one year of funding, you actually only have approximately six months before the grant proposal writing process begins again. Awarded or not, your search for funds should be an ongoing task.
Small Business Grant Writing for Others
If you are writing for others, make sure that your proposal includes obvious input from the folks who are hiring you. Bring together a collaborative team periodically, seeking their feedback, input and approval. Interject material in the small business grant writing proposal that shows clearly that key administrators have contributed to and are buying into the project for which you are submitting the grant application.
