| Author | Message | ||
     Scottorious |
So I am looking into starting a small farming business of sorts and saw in my most recent "Mother Earth News" magazine, that there are grants available for beginning farmers. I have never written a proposal for a grant and wondered if anyone here has and has tips for me. | ||
| Whatever |
Check out USDA.gov that is probably your best bet... I can also proof a proposal bc I have some federal grant writing experience. Good Luck ! | ||
| Cityxslicker |
watch your style formatting and objective goals, they are sticklers for it more so than the content of your proposal, the feasibility of your program, or the matrix of viability. DAMHIK | ||
| Scottorious |
cool, thanks guys! I am not the most linguistically inclined. However I do live with someone with a degree in English. I had not checked the USDA website before. Lots of good info on it! | ||
| 86129squids |
I can help, I've always been a cunning linguist. Seriously, Char is probably your 1st ace here- I used to have a regular monthly column published locally, so for spelling/grammar/syntax in general I can be of assistance. Good luck! BTW, Mother Earth News is a good'un, but you'd be wise to blow some time at your local bookstore and library. | ||
| Fahren |
For grant writing, pay very, very close attention to what the point of the grant is, and answer directly to what the grant is about. Grant proposals get weeded through and thinned down to a narrow selection of finalists very quickly, so if you want to make the cut and have a chance, then be very sure to address what the grant is about. This sounds really basic, and it is, but it is surprising how quickly people can go off on a tangent, and not give the grant-giver what they are asking for. | ||
| Whatever |
Exactly... I always take the RFP, if it is in PDF, convert it to word... and then discuss objectives point by point in a cookbook style manner... that way it is thorough and to the point... and it is easier for the reviewers to follow... | ||
| Whatever |
Also, check out US Fish and Wildlife grants as well for placing property in conservation status... there are simple things you can do such as a 'scrape' to create/ restore a wetland... eradicating invasive species such as reed canary and planting native grasses and flowers which can give you a tax break and can also improve the stormwater filtration properties of your land... | ||
| Kyrocket |
GET HELP AND LET SOMEONE ELSE DO IT. Well, at least the hard stuff. Working for local gov. I've seen grants longer than all the papers I did in college. I can't speak for Il. but in Ky. we have area development districts. Ours is Gateway Area Development District and they have someone on staff that that is all they do, write grants. If you have something like that they'd be worth their weight in gold as far as I'm concerned. Online research is good but I'd much rather talk with someone about precisely what I was after. Good luck. |
