Over the last several weeks I have worked heavily with teachers on applications for small grants known as teacher grants. This was my sixth year helping with this specific project. It has helped me identify a lot of the common pitfalls people run afoul of in writing their narrative content.
These tips apply to all grants, big or small.
Answering questions – clarity is key
Clarity is significantly more important than big words and shiny prose. A lot of first-time grant applicants seem to think their narrative needs to be a literary miracle, written to the highest possible vocabulary level and stuffed with the latest industry buzzwords. This is one of the worst things you can do. Your goal with the narrative is to explain your project so the reviewers or review committee understand exactly what you plan to do with the money. Don’t assume the reviewers will be familiar with your field or your project. So many grants score poorly because the reviewers could not understand the project.
Do not fall into the trap of trying to psychoanalyze the questions. Instead, take the questions totally at face value and answer as directly as possible. Use the word or character count maximum as a guide for how much detail the funder is looking for in each answer. Your first draft answers could just be bulleted lists with only the most necessary information. Once you have what feels like all the details, you can flesh your answer out with proper sentences, grammar and transitions.
Answers to narrative questions should be direct and to the point without any extra information that could muddy the waters. Dramatics come off as unseasoned and unprofessional.
Answering questions – actually answer them
The single most common problem I’ve run into (after helping with hundreds of applications) is answers that are not for the question they are paired with. Pay close attention to the questions and reread your answers to make sure they answer the question. Providing lots of great information on your project without answering the question will not get you the grant.
A what question is looking for a thing, a service, a product. The answer to, “What are you going to buy with this money?” would include a list of things you plan to purchase to make your project happen. It could be transportation, books, or a guest speaker. Do not cave to the temptation to answer or include why you will purchase the things on your list until you are asked to do so.
A why question is looking for an explanation. The answer to, “Why will you purchase these items or services?” would include your reasoning. Using the examples above, your answer could be to get to a park with a natural wetland for science class, to provide high-interest books that reflect our diverse student population, or to bring in an expert to help navigate a situation better.
A how question is looking for a description. These usually have longer word or character count limits than what and why questions. The answer to “How will you use these items or services?” would provide a basic description of your plan to use what you plan to purchase. Using the first example above, transportation to a park with a natural wetland, your answer could be: Students will be brought to the wetland on a field trip that includes all classes of fifth graders. There, they will observe the ecosystem, making notes on what they see and hear. They will be directed to collect samples to study back in the classroom.
Don’t use Chat GPT or other AI to write your answers
I worked with at least one teacher who had used Chat GPT for her answers on a third attempt at her narrative. What she ended up with was beautifully constructed word salad. I actually had less of an idea of what her project was about than the prior two attempts. This is the opposite of the clarity you need.
If you don’t know the answers, what you feed into the AI will not provide answers. It’s a bit of a garbage in, garbage out situation.
Jargon has no place here
Industry terms, jargon, and acronyms should be avoided if at all possible. These are constantly changing moving targets, and your reviewers may not be members of your field. Jargon will confuse them, which is, again, opposite of clarity. If a term or acronym is truly needed, because sometimes it is the easiest and fastest way to repeatedly refer to something, define it on the first reference (or the first reference in each section on really long applications).
Keep identifiers out of the picture
Many, but not all grants require anonymous applications. This will be clear in the directions. If this is required, it is essential to avoid including any identifying information. This would include the applicant’s name, the name of your organization (school or district, art or dance studio, theater), and anything else that would allow the reviewers to identify specifically where the application is from.
The idea is that this helps prevent bias and ensure that grants are awarded to the projects that most clearly meet the goals of the funder.
Note that this does not apply to all grants. Some individual and organization arts grants will ask you to describe your artistic history, in which case some name dropping is inevitable and accepted.
Unique applications only
Like a college essay, it is essential that your application is truly yours. Applications with identical language raise a whole lot of red flags and will be disqualified. I had to disqualify four applications for copying one teacher’s application.
Some grant programs or partner organizations provide sample narratives and budgets. You can use these as examples for the kind of information or message to include, but you should never copy them or any section of them word for word. If you and a friend are working together to apply to the same program (very common in teacher grants), or if you know someone who received a grant from the same program in the past, do not copy another person’s content. You can bounce ideas off each other, proofread for each other, and give each other feedback. But make sure your application is your own.
Funders are looking for unique applications. Plagiarism is unacceptable and could be seen as an attempt to commit fraud.
Working with a grant writer
Many organizations will work with a grant writer for the narrative. If you go this route, you still need to do the project development phase and plan what you want. Expect to discuss this with the writer so they can provide a narrative that describes your project. The clearer you are in this discussion, the better your narrative will be. Plan in advance, as rush projects often cost more.
Narratives are often seen as the most intimidating part of the grant, but it doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Know what you want in advance and then answer the questions as clearly as possible. Give yourself time to be intentional with your writing and your revising. If this isn’t your strong suit, consider working with a writer or editor.
This is a follow-up to An Introduction to Writing Grants. Let me know if there are other grant topics you’d like to learn about, and I’ll see if I can fit it into a post.
Note, this was initially written in 2023, when I was working in the grants office of a major metropolitan school district. It was updated in 2025, after a year of working on grants for a small cultural arts organization.
The Write Mann, LLC 