Many people believe that
grants are just “free money” which is essentially what it is, but they are also
so much more than that. They require a lot of preparation if an organization
wants to receive one, and grants allow people to pursue projects they wouldn’t
have the chance to pursue otherwise. Writing grants give organizations a chance
to improve their facilities, provide educational opportunities, social
programs, research, and so much more. For example, Darrell R. Jones submitted a
grant proposal to the Ohio Office of Criminal Services (OCJS) trying to
increase the public safety of the City of Summerville by improving the overall
physical fitness of the officers of the Summerville Police Department. The
Summerville Police department is experiencing a high incidence of
cardiovascular and musculo-skeletal problems among its sworn officers,
resulting in fewer officers on the street. The use of official style is evident
throughout this whole proposal where it starts with a slow sentence opener as
well as it continues to us passive voice. “It is proposed that a fitness center
be developed where Summerville officers can regularly exercise” (Summary) Throughout
the grant proposal it talks about what the problem is, the objectives they wish
to complete, the project description, and their budget so that the funder can
dictate what their organization is about. The use of passive voice is crucial
so that that there is no emotional connection between the grant writer and the
reader so that the main points of the argument are clearly stated.
Some important advantages that
a grant provides are that they are an investment when other sources of capital
are unavailable to initiate or expand programs, products, or services.
Additionally, unlike loans, grants do not have to be repaid and it enhances
brand prestige, visibility, status, and credibility. In the objectives section
of the proposal they used a lot of jargon so that the writer seems more
credible to the topic as well as showcase the overall necessity to pay
attention to the issue at hand. If the
City of Summerville receives the funding, they are asking they will complete
the following objectives: Reducing the use of employee sick leave for
cardio-vascular problems by 20%, reducing the use of employee sick leave for
musculo-skeletal problems by 40%, and lower the average resting pulse of unfit
employees by five beats per minute. If they succeed in receiving this grant it
will increase the health and fitness level of the officers as well as reduce
their time off of work which is inevitably good for the department and
community.
Unfortunately, many businesses
do not end up getting funded. Common mistakes that organizations make are value
inflation, no go-to-market strategy, the grant is too long or too technical,
etc. As far as value inflation, investors will judge whether your organization
is valuable. They want you to lay out the facts such as the problem, your solution,
the market size, how you will sell it, and how well you will stay ahead of
competitors. When it comes to not have a market strategy it could inevitably
doom your organization all together. Investors want you to explain the sales,
marketing, and distribution strategy of your company. You must explain how you
have already generated customer interest and how you will leverage this
experience through a cost-effective go-to-market strategy. Investors want to
know exactly who they are giving their money away to and determine whether they
have a plan. Lastly, investors are very busy and they read multiple grant
proposals a year. They favour grant writers who demonstrate the ability to
convey the most important elements of a complex idea in the least amount of words
possible. Also, grant proposals are typically filled with technical details and
investors only care about technology when it solves a big problem that people
will pay for, can be implemented on a reasonable budget, and can be protected
through patents or other means. So, using this information the Summerville
police department used a lot of jargon as well as complex sentences to help
them seem credible to the investor.
The Summerville police
department did not get funded because of the magnitude of the project that they
were asking for. However, the funder can fund the maintenance of the project
once the major objectives have been accomplished. In consequence of not
receiving funding to help increase the health of the Summerville police
officers the chance of illness increases as well as the chances of criminal
victimization increases when the officers are off work. Another possible
consequence of being understaffed for health-related reasons is that the
remaining officers at work are less likely to be able to handle the assigned
calls causing the community to be in danger. One Study (Fisk, 1988) shows that
the response time for police-relate 911 calls is significantly longer when
shifts are staffed at below recommended length. In the most extreme cases, this
could even be an issue of life or death.
The real point of grants is to
rally the necessary resources to help an organization fulfill its purpose. A
grant is a tool organization’s use to address issues within the community.
While grants impact the organizations they disperse to, they will more
significantly affect community as a whole. The Summerville police department
grant is crucial because it affects the whole community and not just the health
of the police officers. If the grant writer explains that they would be safer
if they received funding, people would be less likely to be scared to leave
their homes. Grants are an important tool that could benefit any organization
and even impact the whole community. When written correct grant proposals could
provide educational opportunities, improve facilities in the community, and
even help communities be more prepared in emergency situations.
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