Last week, I participated in a grant webinar about the psychology of grant funding. The impressive panel discussed a vast number of topics.
One topic stuck out for me.
One speaker talked about how one simple mindset shift led to her winning more grants. A grant funder on the panel agreed with her.
I scribbled down lots of notes.
As grant writers, we assume that our job is to provide information about our organization and convince the grant committee that we are worthy of the grant. And, that is part of our job.
However, shifting our mindset from the organization to the community can make all the difference in the success of our grants.
Grant funders aren’t invested in making our organization successful but in affecting community change.
How can we shift our grant writing more toward community impact?
One panel member suggested spending more time talking about how the grant funding will help the organization affect change in the community at large. For example, when you see the grant question that asks, “How will this grant impact your program?” expand beyond your organization and include the impact on the community. For example, “This grant funding will enable us to teach 1500 adults in our small, rural community to read, effectively reducing the community illiteracy rate by 5%.”
Another panel member suggested including at least one goal or outcome focusing on the community. For example, if your organization serves children with cerebral palsy and you partner with a local children’s hospital for referrals, you could say, “We will provide services for at least 50% of cerebral palsy patients at XYZ Children’s Hospital.” Shifting the objective from within the organization to within the community stands out to grant funders.
If you decide to implement this mindset change, let me know how it influences your grant success.
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants