Tips & Tricks - Volume 2 - Issue 4 - Silly Questions First, there is no such thing as a silly question. If there is one reoccurring theme in this bulletin, it is the importance of asking questions. The only stupid questions are the ones that go “un-asked.” So this week with some help from our friends at the Association of Idaho Cities here are some tips on questions to ask before chasing after a grant opportunity.
Questions to Ask Past Grantees -
- Did you call or visit the funding agency before writing the proposal?
- Who at the agency did you find particularly helpful?
- Did you use any special advocates on your behalf?
- What materials were helpful in writing the proposal?
- Did you submit a draft application for review?
- Could we have a copy of your successful application?
Questions to Ask Past Reviewers -
- How did you become a reviewer?
- Did you follow a particular scoring system?
- What were you told to look for?
- What were the most common mistakes you saw?
- How much time did you have to review each application?
- If presentations are required, what worked and what didn’t?
Questions to Ask the Program Officer -
- Does our proposed project fall within your agency’s current priorities?
- Are there certain pieces or parts of our project that would better fit your agency’s priorities?
- Are there other agencies or programs that are better suited to fund our project?
- What is the budget for this grant? Do you expect any change next year?
- Is match required?
- If so what is allowed?
- How should we value our soft match?
- Of the projects funded over the last two years, what was the average match and were did those matching plans come from?
- Are awards made on the basis of special criteria, such as geography, population, type of project, consultation with other agencies or type of organization?
- What is the anticipated application/award ratio?
- What are the most common mistakes you see in grant applications?
- What would you like to see addressed in a proposal that other applicants might have overlooked?
- Would you review our draft pre-proposal?
- Could you provide a previously funded proposal for us to read for format and style?
- Who is responsible for reviewing the proposals?
- Should the proposal be written for reviewers with non-technical backgrounds?
- Could you provide a copy of the application evaluation form?
- May we have sample of your agency’s grant assistance agreement form or contract?
- Are you interested in making a site visit?
- Do you prefer $10s or $20s? ( Hey, just kidding!)
Next: Volume 2, Issue 5 - Dazed and Confused about Federal Assistance