The Highs and Lows of Grant Applications
I’m extremely fortunate to have a social network full of people who are giving with their time and plentiful in their skills. When it came to writing grant applications, this fortune held true.
I’ve been well engrained in the music scene in SJ, however never actually a musician. I also have a solid circle of friends who are heavily involved with the theatre community in Newfoundland, even though I’ve never participated in theatre productions myself. It’s because of the first that I even realized I could apply for grants (thanks Ian!), and due to the second that I successfully received a City of St. John’s Arts Grant (thanks CL!).
If you’re new to writing, the criteria to be deemed an artist by the City of St John’s is vastly different than that of ArtsNL. If you’re planning on completing any grants - pay attention to these things in advance. It was only because I had already been awarded the CoSJ grant that I was able to apply for ArtsNL. This is due to the ArtsNL criteria - in my case the city grant checked the option to have received money from my art (otherwise since my first project isn’t in stores yet I hadn’t received any pay) and it meant I had been evaluated by a jury of peers and deemed an artist.
I wasn’t successful in receiving an ArtsNL grant this year, which would be that ‘lows’ part of the blog title. I spent hours collecting all the required information and compiling the application, and then didn’t get the financial support I was hoping it would provide for my second book. It sucks, but I’ll learn from it and try again in the next application cycle.
So that’s my advice: Check the eligibility criteria well in advance. Along with the normal things to know like deadlines, etc. But I was given MANY tips by the aforementioned CL, so I went back to her for this blog post. Here’s C’s top 3 grant writing tips:
1. Add in a contingency! Things often don’t go according to plan, so factor in some money to help you deal with unexpected changes. 5% of your total budget is often a good starting point.
2. Find out if there’s a minimum award - some grants guarantee a percentage of your ask if you’re successful. Knowing what that number is can help you plan, especially if you’re applying to multiple grants.
3. Read through the application form & required documents early! We’ve all waited until the due date to write the bulk of an application (pressure can definitely be a good motivator for some folks), but some grants may require additional documents (for example, letters of support, documentation from involved artists, samples of work, financial statements, etc.) The folks you may be relying on for this info are likely writing their own grants, so know what you’ll need to gather and get it well in advance. Some applications may also require creating an account, and sometimes those need to go through a validation process before being able to start an application.
I hope her advice helps you the way she helped me.
xo RG
Now, C’s a superstar, so she actually gave four BONUS tips too:
4. Ask for help, particularly if you’re new to grant writing, ideally from someone in your discipline or who has grant writing experience. Most established artists have had their share of successes & failures and are generally willing to review your application - but again, make sure you ask in advance, because they’re probably busy writing their own applications as well!
5. Familiarize yourself with industry standards in terms of costs & timelines. Know what the project is worth and what it will take to achieve - your grant will be assessed by pros in the field, and they’ll know what’s reasonable or not.
6. PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD. Print it off and read it out loud. Ask a friend. Hire an editor. You know the project so well that your brain might not catch any missing pieces.
7. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Granting programs can be highly competitive, and sometimes there just isn’t enough money to go around - it doesn’t always mean that your project isn’t worth funding! Ask for feedback from the jury to help you write a better application the next time. Usually, juries want to see projects succeed!
