A simple way to do a good deed

I volunteer at a hospital every Wednesday. This morning, when I walked into the waiting room, I saw the sweetest surprise: a basket full of get well cards and valentines made by school children. What a simple way to make someone's day. If you have kids in your life, you can encourage their class or club to do the same.

Creative Grant Writing Month!

Source: teacherspayteachers.com via JoAnn on Pinterest

As you may know, I'm fairly obsessed with the idea of grant writing as a creative pursuit. In fact, I just created an audio file, Grant Writing for Creative Souls, that celebrates this idea! This audio file includes 30 minutes of grant writing tips, creative writing exercises... and some pretty groovy music to set the mood.

A lot of people think of grant writing as a dry, stodgy pursuit. They think that the more big words you use, and the more boring the format, the more it sounds like a "real" proposal. I say... buck the trend!

In my experience, writing that is more lively, engaging, and creative is more likely to be remembered and more likely to be funded.

Now, that's not to say that you can write any old thing in a proposal and expect to get funded. Proposals should be put together in an organized structure with an impactful message that draws connections between the funder's interests and the needs being addressed. And the proposal is only half of the work - creating connections between the organization and the funder (e.g. foundation's program officer) is a HUGE part of creating lasting funding partnerships. But... I stand by my assertion that dry, boring grant writing does NOT = good grant writing.

Therefore, I have declared February CREATIVE GRANT WRITING MONTH! Every day, I will tweet one tip for creative grant writing, with the hashtag #creativegrantwriting (if I have room!). Hopefully, we will build a community of grant writers and fundraisers who share my belief that grant writing, and fundraising, does not have to be dry and boring - that creativity is actually an asset to fund development.

Please join the online conversation if you agree!