The application you send to the funding agency should be as clear as you can make it, so that the funder knows what you are applying for and will fund your project. There are certain strategies that you have to follow to make sure that your application for the funding is accepted.
1. Make your document .look as professional as possible. The application should be set out well; make sure that it is neat and easy to read (e.g. size of type, clean pages).
2. Think about the persons who will be reading and assessing the application, and choose the type of language that they would understand best. If you use phrases and language styles that are similar to those used in their guidelines, they will be more likely to understand the application.
3. You are writing about something that may be familiar to you, but the audience of the application may know very little about your organization or ideas. It is important to write as if you are teaching them about your organization, but still respecting their knowledge and intelligence as adults. This is why you may provide some detail about certain items in the application, but make sure that it is written in the style of the funding guidelines.
4. You may need to use strong language to strengthen your case (justification) for funding. This does not mean that you are aggressive in the way you write, just that your writing is determined and convincing; e.g. when describing needs, words like 'serious', 'challenging' or 'significant' can help to put a strong case for funding.
5. It is likely that your application will be one of many read by a person and in an office far away from your community or organization. You cannot assume that they know anything about your community. Write things in the application that give as much information as possible, even if you think it seems as if you are stating the obvious. What might be obvious to you may not be understood easily by someone at a distance.
6. Use a lot of de script ive language to try to tell about the important needs and benefits of the project, but also do this in the fewest words possible. The application is not a report or a story; it needs to be concise and to the point, while being clear about how important it is to gain funding for the project.
7. Look at successful applications for other projects, from your organization or other organizations, to help to give you ideas of what has been successful. You should also look at reports that have been written about issues of concern to the community. This can help you to get an idea about the language style that is used by the writers of these documents.
8. It may be useful to show someone who has had experience writing applications or reports what you have written and get them to comment and talk with you about your language.
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