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Success in Grants  

This section of the website aims to help you think through why you might apply for funding, and gives you tools to do so successfully. 

The Grants Mindset: Why Apply?

 

The first thing to know—and believe—about grant writing is that success is not defined strictly by the award of a grant.  The creation of a grant proposal is a key way of working on your project.  It forces you to refine your sense of your audience and in turn refine your project. Winning a grant is the ideal outcome and it will be the ultimate outcome if you are tenacious.   But grant-writing is best understood as a dimension of your research work, not a side project that you might pursue if you ever find time.

Not only does the submission of a proposal move your project forward conceptually, it also yields several other key benefits—again, even if the application isn’t funded. First, sending out a good proposal is like publishing an article for a small but pertinent audience.  The grant review committee likely includes at least one or two scholars in your field who will be glad to know of your work and who may then operate as a channel of dissemination.  Second, since you usually need to send your work to colleagues who will write supporting letters, your project also reaches this audience, and these colleagues can both disseminate and offer advice on your work.  Third, some funding institutions, such as NEA and NEH, will send you the reviewers’ reports, so you can write a more effective proposal next time.  Finally, one grant often leads to another, since it will be noted on your CV by future selection committees, or it may allow you to leverage matching funds.  Keep in mind by the way that this is also a reason to apply for smaller summer or archival grants: if you win them, they indicate promise and establish your ability to develop and promote your work.

Model Proposals

We encourage you to follow this “sample successful proposals” link for examples of good proposals.  In some cases, we have included two versions of the same proposal to illustrate the need to adjust for audience. 

Tips

Finally, here are some best practices for grant preparation and writing. 

  • Share your work with potential recommendation-letter writers long before you plan to apply.  And eventually choose recommenders who understand your project and can explain it to others; have a reputation in the field; and are from a range of institutions that ideally include one or more prestigious ones.

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  • Put “apply for grants” on your list of to-do’s, and make room in your schedule to follow through.

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  • Visit websites and get a sense of grant deadlines and requirements well in advance.  Plan to apply for several grants using different versions of your proposal as needed.

 

  • Consider applying for internal grants and smaller grants earlier in the project, to gain grant-writing practice and to sharpen your presentation of your project.

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  • At the time of application for larger grants, ideally 1) you will be well into your project so that your plans are convincing, and 2) you will have published one or more pieces of it, to establish that there is an interested audience.

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  • Frame your project in a way that will appeal to a broad scholarly audience, and adjust your language for readers outside your field. Use less technical or highly conceptual language and shorter sentences than you usually would.  In establishing the strength of your record and project, be straightforward. Don’t hesitate to mention all honors and accomplishments.  Write with clarity and verve.

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  • Share your proposal with colleagues who have been awarded grants—in time to absorb and apply their good advice.  Click here for the contact information of CHFA faculty who have offered to give advice on proposals.

     
  • Check in with campus grants officers, as needed, to review your grant plans.

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