A few hints about writing your grant ...

Grants are only available to artists, non-profit organizations, community groups, schools and units of government that are in Region 2. The five-county Region 2 area includes Beltrami, Clearwater, Hubbard, Lake of the Woods and Mahnomen counties.

Once your grant application is submitted, it is essentially in competition with many others. You are responsible for double-checking the accuracy and completeness of your application before you mail it in.

I’m eager to work with you in putting together your application before you submit it, but remember that your request for help must come well in advance of the deadline date. I work part-time, and often have meetings scheduled in or or out-of-town.

To ensure that your application has the best possible chance at being funded, read and follow the directions in the Application Instructions.To help you, here are some of the most common errors that I see on grant applications:

• There are no calculations justifying where the budget figures came from.
• The budget figures don’t add up correctly; budget figures are not rounded off to the nearest $5.00.
• The applicant doesn’t understand that “INKIND” means “no cash has traded hands.” Inkind means donated things, time, services.
• The application is not typed or is typed with a bad ribbon. When it is copied for the R2AC Board, they have a really hard time just reading the words on the page.
• The project proposal is not understandable. (Before you submit the grant, get a friend to read it to see if they can understand it.)
• Applicants list a Fiscal Agent, if requested and applicable to the grant application, when they don’t need to have one.
• One or more questions are left blank on the Application Form.
• Applicants don’t include work samples from the artists involved in the project. This means that there’s no way to evaluate the artistic merit of your project. You must include slides, brochures, video tapes, audiotapes, promotional material ... something that points to the artistic quality of the artists involved in your project.
• Applicants don’t include resumes for the principle people involved. You must submit a resume for your project director, as well as for any artists who are getting paid. Other people significant to your project should also submit resumes.
• Remember to include the RAC Data Collection Form when you submit your application.
• You can download your grant application into MicroSoft Word, and fill it out online. Remember that if you delete or add lines, you may change the page format and it will not print out as you see it on the screen. Applications can not be submitted on-line.

Remember, if you are taking the time to write a grant, take the time to do it well. DOUBLE-CHECK EVERYTHING ON YOUR APPLICATION.

Good luck and be sure to call me with your questions.

Terri Widman
Executive Director