Tips for Successful Grant Writing

In December I’ll be giving two grant writing seminars.

December 7, Arts Council of Rockland, Garnerville, NY. Grant Writing: Beyond the Basics, will explore specific ways to create strong proposals that are competitive in today’s economic climate.

December 14, New York Foundation for the Arts, Brooklyn, NY. Introduction to Grant Writing, includes all the aspects of the process of creating a grant proposal from initial research to follow up after submission.

Both seminars are open to individual artists and arts organizations. Contact the specific organizations about registration.

Never before has there been so much interest in federal grants. With the economic recovery program promising to distribute billions, the possibilities seem endless. But even with all that money available, there will be intense competition for those grants, which when distributed to all 50 states, may really not be all that much. As an example, a small part of the recovery program was $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts, 40% of which was for the 50 state arts councils to use in making grants. That’s an average of $400,000 per state: not a tremendous amount, especially for the larger states.

When applying for an economic recovery grant, it is particularly important to make sure you follow directions and apply ahead of time. You can find info on all federal grants at www.grants.gov. To apply for one, you have to go through a lengthy registration procedure that can take days, so don’t wait until near the deadline to start the process.

Your tax dollars make federal grants possible, so don’t be shy about applying, just realize there are many others chasing the same finite amount of money.