#projectgrant

What Entails Grant Proposal Writing

Proposal writing is both an art and a science. Whereas everyone can learn the “science” of proposal writing, the “art” part may seem a bit difficult. Writing a grant proposal is an exercise in logic. A winning grant proposal is one written that follows the rules set by the funder and/or in a manner that makes sense to the reviewers.

What a Winning Grant Proposal Does

The key to success is in creating a proposal that is well thought out, and the argument must flow rationally through the proposal’s various sections, building the impression that funding of the proposed project is reasonable, sensible, and desirable. Therefore, a winning grant proposal:-

• Identifies a problem;

• Explains the project’s intent to resolve the problem and sets measurable markers of success;

• Describes steps that will be taken to reach the objectives;

• Introduces the individuals who will carry out the activities;

• Outlines procedures for measuring the project’s success in meeting its objectives; and

• Estimates the funding needed to complete the project as proposed (Budget).

Component of a Winning Grant Proposal

ABSTRACT (OR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY): Usually at most a one-page (or less) summary of the core concepts presented in the proposal. It appears before the narrative and gives the reader a clear idea of what is coming. An abstract must be clear, concise, and compelling. The abstract identifies the applicant organization and gives a sense of its ability to implement the project.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: The proposal should include a brief (no more than one page) table of contents, following the abstract, which outlines its sections and cites page numbers for each.

INTRODUCTION: The introduction serves to acquaint the reader with the applicant. The introduction should provide background information the reader needs to understand the proposal and lead directly into the need statement, taking the reader from the general to the specific. To be most effective, the introduction should be brief so it doesn’t wear the reader out too early; to the point so it doesn’t lose the reader in miscellaneous, unnecessary facts; and interesting so it captures the reader’s imagination.

NEED STATEMENT: The need statement is the most important part of any proposal. Unfortunately, it is also often the most poorly written section. The need statement has two purposes: to explain how your needs meet the funder’s interests and priorities; and to establish the specific problem the proposed project will address.

OBJECTIVES: Objectives are simply the intent of the project. They indicate what the project will achieve and the time it will need to reach its goals. Objectives should be concise, specific, measurable, and relate directly to the need. As an extension of the need statement that described the current situation, the objectives statement, describes what the situation will be after implementation.

ACTIVITIES: The section outlining project activities (commonly called the methodology section) is simply an explanation of how the project will reach its objectives. The description of activities should focus on the aspects of the project that will resolve or prevent the problems identified in the need statement by obtaining the results promised in the objectives. A project should undertake only activities that will move it toward the objectives. The rule of thumb for activities is, if they are not necessary for reaching the objectives, omit them from the proposal.

PERSONNEL: The personnel section of a proposal should show that the persons who will be assigned or hired to implement project activities have the skills and experience necessary for a successful program.

EVALUATION: Funders want to know that their money will be well spent and who will benefit from the project and to what extent. Evaluation should be important to grantseekers as a means of showing funders that they are capable, reliable, and can be trusted with future grants.

BUDGET: The budget should reflect the costs of the items and activities described in the project narrative portion of the proposal. If an item is not described and justified in the narrative, it should not appear in the budget. The converse also is true: If an item is listed in the narrative, it should show up in the budget. The relationship between the budget and the project description should be so tight that a reader can determine what the project is by simply reading the budget.

APPENDIX: If the RFP allows an appendix, keep it brief and remember that it should support the rationale and logic of the entire proposal. Keep in mind that readers have limited time to review and score proposals and do not have time to read every item that is included in the appendix.

DISSEMINATION PLAN: Occasionally, funders require grantees to develop plans for disseminating project results so the project can be replicated in other locations. Check the budget section of the RFP to see what, if any, dissemination costs are allowable.

SUSTAINABILITY: Often, funders want to know how a grantee will continue a project after grant funding runs out. Funders are not interested in best intentions and dreams for the future; they want a specific, credible plan that shows where funding and resources will come from after they are out of the picture.

Maria Dunn, 2020. Photo Credit: David Williamson

Maria Dunn is a true preserver of the spirit of folk music. The twice Juno-nominated singer-songwriter is often compared to Woody Guthrie for her keen social awareness and unvarnished melodic songs about ordinary people. Her seventh album Joyful Banner Blazing (2021) — created with the of support of a large Artist Project Grant from the Edmonton Arts Council — celebrates resilience, grace, gratitude, solidarity, joy, and the love that fires our actions to make the world a better place.

Over the course of the last few years since the release of her album Gathering (2016) Dunn has had plenty of time to build up a reservoir of new material to share with her audience. As a practiced purveyor of stories, many of the songs from Joyful Banner Blazing draw inspiration from Edmonton’s history, paying tribute to Edmonton’s workers and community advocates — a thread that has run through Dunn’s music over the course of her 22-year career.  

Through song, Dunn masterfully tells the stories that connect us to the past, searching out real-life stories that are often overlooked. One such example is the song “Waltzing with the Angels” that tells the story of the Métis Ironworkers who helped build Edmonton’s CN tower in the mid-60s. Dunn was approached by Indigenous rights activist Muriel Stanley Venne to write the song after she and other members of the Alberta Labour History Institute had interviewed these workers in 2018 about their experiences as young men.

This type of collaboration  is not an uncommon practice for Dunn. “Heart in Hand” and “Secondhand Skates” were originally part of a multimedia project called Packingtown, inspired by the people who lived and worked in Edmonton’s historic meatpacking industry of northeast Edmonton. Dunn worked with three collaborators: videographer/historian Don Bouzek, historian Catherine C. Cole, and community advocate Janice Melnychuk, on telling the story of Packingtown. For Dunn, working on these projects have taught her to see past the historically dominant colonial narrative of our city, province, and country. “There is so much work to be done in our world for racial equity, decolonization, social justice and inclusion of all people,” says Dunn. “It is more important than ever to tell stories about the countless people working for social justice, local and global, who inspire us with their persistence, their hope and their courage.”

“I was raised on a tradition of folks songs that tell those kinds of stories and so it was natural for me to start to write songs that would carry that tradition forward,” adds Dunn. “My own writing about history initially came out of learning about and writing songs about stories from my own family history. That was part of getting to know who I was. From there, I became interested in stories of other people that sparked an emotional reaction in me — stories of real people, living history, getting through difficult times; the beauty of stories of compassion and solidarity where people lift each other up, where people work together to make their lives and the lives of others better.”

In addition to documenting moments of Edmonton’s past, the album carries a strong personal theme of gratitude and love for family. “Ontario Song”, a song written 20 years ago and recorded before the COVID pandemic, speaks of staying connected across the vast distances of this country — a song made even more relevant today with the continuing travel restrictions. The importance and impact of family also resonates with the title track “Joyful Banner Blazing.” “The song was written in tribute to my late aunt, Sister Cecily Dunn, a lifelong community advocate for young people in London, UK,” says Dunn. In 2015 while on tour in Ireland, Dunn was able to meet up with her aunt and enjoyed a precious couple of hours of deep conversation. Following her passing six months later, Dunn heard the story about her funeral and how the people in her community lined the roadway as the funeral car passed and sang one of the folk songs she was known to sing — “She’ll be comin’ round the mountain.” “I knew that I wanted to share that story in song and share her beautiful motto: "You are young, you are precious, you are loved.”

Cover art from the album Joyful Banner Blazing by Maria Dunn (2021).  Designed by Jeff Sylvester, Cut+Paste Design Inc.

Like many artists, creating new work during the last year presented its own unique set of challenges. “The recording phase was completed in January 2020 but the lockdown in March did affect the final phase of our mixing process,” recalls Dunn. “We had to finish mixing without myself, producer Shannon Johnson and engineer Terry Tran being able to meet together in the studio, so that slowed down coming to a consensus on the final mixes. We all had to listen in our own homes and confer by phone and email on various tweaks.” And while the pandemic may have affected many factors that come along with an album release, Dunn was kept just as busy with the promotion and logistics for the release. “Even without a live tour, there is much work to be done to properly launch an album!”

When it became clear that the initial album release at Festival Place was going to be postponed from the original May 31, 2020 date, Dunn decided to put the album release on pause and dedicate more time to creation, focusing on songwriting, playing some physically distanced outdoor shows and Zoom concerts, and pre-recording videos for online festivals.  

While tours have been postponed yet again, Dunn is excited to be able to share the album with listeners through physical CD copies and on all digital platforms. “We will celebrate with a live concert when that is possible,” says Dunn. “And in the meantime, I’m delighted that Joyful Banner Blazing has been well-received by the folk music community thus far and that songs from the advance copies of the album are already wafting over the radio airwaves on CBC Radio, CKUA, BBC Scotland and countless campus/community radio stations around the world.”

2020 Solidarity Film Camp participants. Photo by Nanc Price Photography. 

Writer, director, producer, and editor Andrea Beça is passionate about changing the world through film. With a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Alberta, and a M.Litt in Playwriting and Dramaturgy from the University of Glasgow, Andrea operates abeça productions and is constantly working to break down barriers and make the film industry a more inclusive space.  

In 2019, Andrea’s project, Solidarity Film Camp (SFC), received funding through a Cultural Diversity in the Arts project grant. Created and produced by Andrea, SFC is a multi-weekend film camp that aims to educate, empower, and inspire marginalized youth in Edmonton to share their stories. SFC is grounded in the belief that it is crucial to empower those who are often voiceless to speak up, to move towards a goal of equality and diverse representation in film and TV. In this context, “marginalized youth” refers to female, trans, non-binary, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA2S+ identifying youth, as well as disabled youth, between the ages of 14-24.

We caught up with Andrea to learn more about her experiences of working on this iteration of Solidarity Film Camp, and where she hopes the project and the industry will go in the future.  

Solidarity Film Camp participants. Photo by Nanc Price Photography.

Q: What motivated you to start this project and focus on working with marginalized youth?  

A: I have been in leadership roles in theatre and film for the last 15 years, and as a fat queer woman, I have always experienced major pushback. Unfortunately, these industries are most highly populated – and often gate kept – by cishet white men, and that lack of diversity and representation creates so many barriers to entry for anyone who doesn’t fit into that same demographic. As a result of years of facing blatant sexism (among other things), I decided to use the privileges I do have as a white woman to open as many doors as I can for others, and work actively to improve representation in the film industry starting right here in Edmonton. I’ve always focused the stories I tell on creating social change and on hiring as many women, IBPOC folks, queer folks, and disabled folks as I can, but I wanted to go further than just what I can do myself by empowering others with the skills and confidence to tell their own stories, too. We need under-represented voices telling stories in film and TV and all other media.

Q: What was one of your biggest learnings/takeaways from this project?  

A: I learned so much, it’s difficult to pick just one. January 2020 was the first iteration of Solidarity Film Camp. It was very much a grassroots project, created by just me. While it was amazing and I am incredibly proud of it, I am also very aware of the limitations of the camp being created and run by just me, as a cis white woman. The conversations I had throughout the camp with the participants, who represented so many different intersections, were priceless, and I learned so much about how to make future iterations of the camp even more inclusive, even more diverse, and even more accessible. That’s what I’ve been processing and working on as I start to envision and dream of future years.

Photos by Nanc Price Photography. 

Q: What was the best part of the camp for you?  

A: Watching the participants beam with excitement and confidence as their projects started to come together is a feeling I don’t know if I can even put words to. Watching them listen to actors rehearse lines they wrote and being able to feel the energy in the room was unreal. What they accomplished in two weekends was no small feat. The fact that they all showed up for one another, focused, and worked long days for one another – it still makes me tear up just writing about it! And now I get to see them on social media, staying in touch, collaborating and supporting one another. It’s just beautiful.

Q: What are changes within the film industry that you think would make it more accessible for marginalized youth?  

A: There are a lot of changes that need to happen in the film industry to make it accessible for anyone who isn’t a cishet white male. This isn’t just about youth! The fact that in Canada, only 27% of TV directors are women – with 5% of those being women of colour and a staggering 0% being Indigenous women – is just one small piece of a giant, disturbing picture of representation both on and off screen. The quickest way to start making change is simple: start funding women, IBPOC folks, LGBTQIA2S+ folks, and disabled folks to tell their own stories.

Q: Do you think you’ll do the camp again? If yes, what are your dreams and aspirations for future of Solidarity Film Camp?  

A: Yes, I sure hope so! Right now, with the pandemic changing everything, it’s hard to say when the next Solidarity Film Camp will happen, but it will happen at some point. My dreams are to make it much bigger, to have a whole team of folks from all intersections developing the camp curriculum, to have an even more diverse group of workshop leaders, and so on. I want the camp to feel like home to all intersections of people who are completely left out of the film & TV industry. It's my dream that we can all learn, feel confident, and work together to change the world.