VersaQuill

And now, a freebie: Worksheets for Grant Proposals is available without charge from the VersaQuill site.

Will filling out its pages guarantee you a $2 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation? Nope. If it did, I’d be spending this year researching foie gras consumption in Paris.

Here’s what these worksheets will do, step by tiny, manageable step:

• They will help you clarify the goals and objectives of your project.
• They will help you determine the time and money you need to achieve those goals and objectives.
• They will help you specify why you are best qualified to carry out this project.

Once you have all this information at hand, you’ll find it faster and less stressful to submit grant proposals. More importantly, your proposals will be more persuasive—they will clearly demonstrate your goals and qualifications.

Worksheets for Grant Proposals is based on the same technique used in the VersaQuill Copywriting Workbook:

• Systematically search for the relevant facts and write them down, so they’re not careening about in your head.
• Choose which facts are most important your audience. What do they need to know in order to invest time and money with you?

Incidentally, if you know Ayn Rand only as a novelist or as a proponent of laissez-faire capitalism, you may be surprised to hear that this technique relies heavily on her writings on that arcane but vital branch of philosophy known as epistemology. (How do you know what you know? How do you learn more?) Further comments in an upcoming post.

Are other people or organizations competing with you for funding? Have a look at the worksheet on assessing the competition, a free sample from the VersaQuill Copywriting Workbook. Although that worksheet was written with businesses in mind, most of the questions can be asked of any competing organization—just replace “product” with “project.” In fact, much of the material in Part 1 of the Workbook will be just as useful for grant-seekers as for those selling products and services.

Did you find the Worksheets helpful? Did I miss any important questions? Feedback welcome, on this blog or at Dianne@VersaQuill.com.