Friday, March 5, 2010

Is Grant Writing Success Really Just About Luck?

As a successful grant writer, I've actually had people say to me, "Wow! You sure are lucky!"  My first thought is, "Gee, that luck sure did take a lot of work!"

I'll admit it.  There is a certain amount of luck in the formula of grant success, if you define luck as the impact of factors over which you have no control.  There are many things you can't control in the process. You can't control the readers.  You can't control if your readers are well informed about your field or not.  You can't control if your readers are tired, alert, happy, sad, cranky, or enthusiastic when they read and score your proposal.

In spite of that, there are many things you can control. The better your proposal, the more likely you are to be "lucky." And a better proposal is all about skill and hard work. The more you refine your skill, the less vulnerable you are to luck.
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About Creative Resources & Research

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Woodland, CA, United States
Creative Resources and Research is a consulting firm specializing in grant writing, grant seeking, program evaluation and professional development training. We have worked with hundreds of clients including public and private schools, school districts, universities, non-profit organizations, and social service agencies throughout California, securing over $155 million from federal, state and private foundation funding sources over the past decade. Our primary grant writers and program evaluators have over 50 years of combined experience in the education and social services fields. At CRR we prefer a personal approach to the clients we work with; by developing long term relationships, we are better suited to match client’s needs with available funding sources. We provide a variety of services to help assist you, including grant writing, evaluation consulting, professional development opportunities, and workshops.