That's right, it's just common sense based out of experience.
Why people still need me - even after I can give 'free advice' like the above - is the stuff I have flowing through my blood and brain that others just don't. Grantwriting is a constant creative process. The 'source' of all my tricks I've collated is what I can produce, on-the-fly, in any new situation in the future. You have to have the personality. And I among others like me do. I'm not unique, but it's a pretty uncommon set of attributes you need to have. Obsessiveness and attention to detail (in every aspect of the job), sense of vision, empathy, sense of justice, your grammar and writing prowess, the willingness to jump through hoops (that's grants 101, I have stories to tell about that psychological requirement), hyper goal-based brain - that's all me. A lot of people would rather eat cardboard than go through all that.
So it's my niche. I thrive in this environment.
> Have you spent much time on the grant reviewer side of the equation?
I've spent some - it's not as fun as the challenge of applying to grants though - and it's been enough to know that everything I learned through years of being a grantwriter was confirmed when being a grants assessor.
People see through your cracks immediately. You really must be real (with what you say and in giving them what they want) if you want to have high chance of being funded.
But then every grantmaker type (corporate, govt, private philanthropic, club) has other factors, e.g. granting for 'PR' reasons instead of merit based on the guidelines. Certain private philanthropic bodies will have extremely specific attitudes and goals compared to others. It's a wide world. (Thankfully.) And there's a lot of money.
That's right, it's just common sense based out of experience.
Why people still need me - even after I can give 'free advice' like the above - is the stuff I have flowing through my blood and brain that others just don't. Grantwriting is a constant creative process. The 'source' of all my tricks I've collated is what I can produce, on-the-fly, in any new situation in the future. You have to have the personality. And I among others like me do. I'm not unique, but it's a pretty uncommon set of attributes you need to have. Obsessiveness and attention to detail (in every aspect of the job), sense of vision, empathy, sense of justice, your grammar and writing prowess, the willingness to jump through hoops (that's grants 101, I have stories to tell about that psychological requirement), hyper goal-based brain - that's all me. A lot of people would rather eat cardboard than go through all that.
So it's my niche. I thrive in this environment.
> Have you spent much time on the grant reviewer side of the equation?
I've spent some - it's not as fun as the challenge of applying to grants though - and it's been enough to know that everything I learned through years of being a grantwriter was confirmed when being a grants assessor.
People see through your cracks immediately. You really must be real (with what you say and in giving them what they want) if you want to have high chance of being funded.
But then every grantmaker type (corporate, govt, private philanthropic, club) has other factors, e.g. granting for 'PR' reasons instead of merit based on the guidelines. Certain private philanthropic bodies will have extremely specific attitudes and goals compared to others. It's a wide world. (Thankfully.) And there's a lot of money.