Grant Requests

Granting With Graphics

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Seth Godin encourages social sector organizations to be so great at fulfilling their purpose and mission that people line-up to lend resources and treasure.  The social sector is solving problems that are challenging and take time.  It is easy to get stuck into form and forget function.  What if we concentrate on making our work visible in numerous settings.  Take grant requests as an example.  The historic approach is to submit a letter in a standard business form layout.  It might include a few attached pictures and supporting budget but the body is composed of printed words.  I am encountering more grant requests that arrive in newsletter format.  Content supported by meaningful and impactful graphics.  Pictures, maps, graphs, flow-charts, infographics, and word art are all embedded.   Said differently, what if your grant requests looked more like an annual report?  What if we used a wider palette from which to better capture the story we were telling?  What if we submitted a grant request that made us proud, not just present and accounted for?  How might this resonate with those who are deciding on which initiatives to fund?