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- Use strong language. Don’t be afraid to use strong and powerful words when you write a report or grant application. Strong words convey confidence, competence, and the promise of meaningful results. The tendency for most people in writing reports and applications is to use eloquence rather than directness. But eloquence is not so reliable in this situation. Here are some examples of strong words: provide, demonstrate, obtain, effect and add. And these words are stronger if you do not temper them with words that increase their eloquence but do not add to the effect, for example: instead of Will try just use Desireinstead of collection plan, Tell Will collect
- Don’t be too verbose. Too many words can be perceived as propaganda for a lame idea or program. Often you are limited in how many words you can include in a grant application or report. The reason for the limit is to ensure that the author is concise. Weak words almost always result in extra words. Using too many words in a grant application makes you appear hesitant or unsure about the endeavor/organization you are seeking funding for. Because of the wordiness in a report, it won’t be read (length and boredom factor) or it will sound like a “sales job” rather than a presentation of information, or worse, both. If you use strong words (see resolution #1), there is little chance that you will be too verbose.
- Keep your commitment to the researcher, report writer and grant writer. Whether you hire someone or use staff to do research, write a report or apply for a grant, you need to do what you promised to do. Some typical things you may be called upon to do: Provide names and contact information for people to interview, Alert key stakeholders that they will be contacted, Encourage participation in a survey. The things you have to do are important to the project. If you fail to do them or don’t do them by the agreed upon time frame, you make it more difficult (perhaps even impossible) for your advisor or employees to do their jobs and meet deadlines .
- Don’t confuse activities with results. (carried over from 2018) Actions are the things you do, results are the things you accomplish. Talking to groups, conducting classes, providing materials, counseling families are all activities. The results are things you can measure such as: helping 20 individuals improve their credit scores, helping 5 families qualify for home loans, or reducing the number of obese children between 5 and 7.
- If you are not compatible then divorce your partners. If your partners don’t deliver on their commitments, don’t meet deadlines and deadlines, don’t represent your organization or anything else that keeps you from producing your results, don’t be “married”. Stay Make sure you clearly incorporate the expectations in your contract or memorandum-of-understanding and make appropriate statements to facilitate dissolution of the partnership if commitments are not met as per the agreement.
- Don’t bite into anything that will suffocate you. Be careful not to run after money that has requirements attached to it that take you away from your goals or primary purpose. Avoid funding that forces you to do things that are worth spending more time and/or money on. Don’t try to fit your round peg into the square hole of the funder.
- Reply to email on time. It is very important that you respond promptly to emails (and phone calls) from your grantees and research advisors/staff, a report, a grant application or an evaluation. Not responding right away makes them wonder if you got the email, are ignoring them or don’t know the answer/don’t have the information. Worse, they may think you don’t value the project and this could result in all kinds of repercussions. Responding in a timely manner is not only respectful and polite, but also efficient. If you don’t answer you will either block someone else’s work or put them in a position to guess/guess and move on.
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