Ep. 171: 6 Hacks to Score High on a Grant Application That Will Surprise You

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1. Get the FOA/RFP First you need to download the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) or Request for Proposal (RFP). These are usually for federal grants, state grants and contracts, and certain foundation grants. This is basically where the funding sources publish directions and guidance about the grant program. The grant funding sources also put in technical requirements (such as font size, margin sizes, number of pages allowed, and so forth). 2. Convert the FOA/RFP from a PDF to Word Doc PDFs can be really hard to work with! Especially if you copy something from a PDF and put it into a Word document. It might copy really strange and into a weird font or it might not even let you copy it. By converting the PDF file to a Word document you can work with the FOA/RFPs so much easier and it only take a few seconds to convert! 3. Copy the Scoring Criteria Section and Paste it Into a New Word Doc Now that the FOA/RFP is in a Word document you will want to go to the Scoring Criteria in the FOA/RFP. Copy that and put in a new Word document. I know, another Word document, but you will thank me. Ta-da! Now you’re not starting with a blank page! 4. Turn the Criteria Sections into Headers (Header 1, Header 2) What do I mean by this… well, make the criteria actual headers. Make the main scoring criteria (for example, Needs Section) a Header One and then any questions under Needs Section into a Header Two. 5. Put in a table of contents at the beginning (if you have space allowed) Go to the beginning of your Word Document and go to Reference Tab in the Word document and click on Table of Contents. This is nice to include in your cover page or in the top of the first page. This is of course, if you do have room. Why is this important? It shows there is a flow to the grant. 😊 6. Respond to the Grant Scoring Criteria Now you have all the questions formatted and you no longer have a blank page. Plus you will be responding directly the Scoring Criteria. This is super important because grant reviewers are real people who have to score according to the grant scoring criteria. Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨