Does the Project Fit the Grant?

You’ve done your grant prospecting and found a grant and grant maker that seem to align with your project and organization.  This does not mean your work in this area is over.

The grant application must clearly show that the project fits the goals and objectives stated in the grant NOFO.  The trick here is that you cannot assume the grantmaker will make the same connections that you do with regard to your project aligning with grant and grant maker values.  It always takes more hand-holding than you think.

Luckily, the answer is in the grant NOFO.  Don’t be afraid to use wording gleaned from the NOFO to describe your project and its outcomes.  Look at the specific criteria and hit each of them specifically within the body of the application.  You can use the criteria and parameters presented in the NOFO as an outline and then fit your project structurally into it.  

Think of a grant application as a conversation that began with the NOFO.  This is a dialogue between writer and reader.  No one likes to be talked over, no one likes their point of view to be dismissed, and no one likes a one-sided conversation.  Remember, the grantmaker is TELLING YOU what they want to fund, what they want to see in a proposal, and how they want the project pitched to them.