Grant Writing

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Definitely request a writing sample. If you're a sensitive person, as I am, you'll learn a lot about grant writer by reading something they've written. This is particularly true if they're proud of what they've written. Some writers have a real gift for language. Others have unusual way of communicating an earnest sense of honesty and commitment to the general welfare that is appealing to the funders. I only need to read about a paragraph.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Dr. Drew is able to be three times more productive than a normal grant writing consultant because of his expertise in using voice recognition software. In addition, Dr. Drew has a Ph.D. in political science from Cornell University which means he is trained in applying the survey research, program evaluation, and measurement tools needed to complete a high quality grant proposal. Dr. Drew has over 30 years of experience in writing grants and scholarship applications. He has raised more than $8.5 million for various charities and educational institutions over his lifetime. The first eight (8) federal grants he wrote all received funding. In 2009, for example, Dr. Drew helped Coastline Community College District (CCCD) win $1.6 million in new government grants including federal funds associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Dr. Drew emphasizes product positioning techniques as part of a larger effort to help new charities break into winning grant money and to revitalize existing charities seeking to get back into the game of creating winning grant proposals. Dr. Drew understands the techniques needed to create clear and compelling arguments in English at a reading comprehension level that appeals to readers working for corporate, foundation and government funders.

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Ideally, the non-profit should have available a copy of its 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) determination letter from the IRS, a copy of its latest IRS 990 tax return, a list of its Board Members and their affiliations, resumes for the Executive Director, Program Manager and Program Coordinator, the most recent audited financial statement, and a list of previous donors and the amount of their gifts to the non-profit organization. Additional information will need to be collected, as needed, to fit the particular requirements of the funders who are the closest match to your charity.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. I have a Ph.D. in political science and I use voice recognition software. I'm able to write quickly about matters of public policies and help define program that make a real difference for clients. Because I use voice recognition software, I'm about three faster than normal grant writer who produces grant proposals by typing them. This comment, for example, was added entirely through the use of voice recognition software. By creating a quick first draft, I empower the individual or the nonprofit charity by providing them with a high-quality source document which provokes their best thinking and gives them an opportunity to help create an extremely high quality in convincing grant proposal.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. What I like most about grant writing is being able to create long and complex technical documents in an extremely short amount of time by using voice recognition software, my intuition and the good work of the people around me.

When I write a grant, I feel like I'm a heart surgeon who needs to get in and out as quickly as possible in order to save the patient's life.

I've honed my lightning fast grant writing skills over the years and I'm proud to share my secrets of success with new grant writers and to challenge more experienced grant writers to improve their speed and productivity.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. Drew & Associates charges about $6,500 for a regular package of grant writing consulting. In that package, Dr. Drew will deliver one model grant proposal, one model letter of inquiry, research on your most likely funding sources through the Foundation Center website, and then assist you in completing at least 10 applications and/or letters of inquiry to your top 10 funders all within 60 days. Normally, Dr. Drew requests half of this fee up front and the other half at the conclusion of his work depending on your complete satisfaction.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. One of the most important things I like to teach in my Lightning Fast Grant Writing Workshops is the suggestion that charities should start working on their project budget right away.

Too often, charities work on their budget at the last minute. They will only focus on the budget after they have written much of the grant which is odd, when you think about it, because the grant writer would have a better idea of what to write if there was a realistic budget to work off of...

Ironically, busy grant reviewers will often skim (or not read at all) the text of the charity's grant application and instead turn to the budget to make an informed decision about whether the charity has a clear enough plan and a realistic understanding of their proposed project. In this context, it is easier to understand why a strong, detailed, accurate budget will always give an agency an unfair advantage over its competition.

One of the best ways to get started on your budget is to work off of a copy of an existing, winning budget. You can obtain copies of a winning budget examples from other agencies, off of the internet, or from your own agency's previous grant applications.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. As I'm refining my ideas about lightning fast grant writing, I'm intrigued by the role that sports psychology plays in training someone to be a highly successful "great" grant writer.

One of the definitions of a great grant writer that I heard from someone else was that a great grant writer can write quickly about something they know absolutely nothing about. The ability to pull this off is important because the rules for writing the grant are constantly changing and grant writers are forced to stay ahead of the competition by understanding the latest developments in their charitable field.

To a certain extent, it helps to have a high level of self-confidence and a certain degree of detachment from what you are writing.

Technically, it also requires some skill in conducting research. The internet, of course, has made this process a lot easier. It is so much more fun to do grant research now when all I need to do is launch a Google search.

There are some other habits I've found helpful in writing quickly about things I don't understand.

First, I always write the grant first and then do the research later. The reason is that I have a tendency to over research if I haven't done my first draft first. If I force myself to go through the grant application questions and answer them to the best of my ability, I end up with a much clearer picture, practically speaking, of what I really need to be researching. Often, the things I thought were important at first, really aren't so important once I fully understand the grant.

Finally, I don't mind relying on my intuition when I create a first rough draft. Even if my ideas are completely wrong, they still provide a framework for the "experts" to tweek and adjust what I've provided as a framework for them. Also, using my intuituion is fun...and it often produces surprising, original, and helpful ideas. This is part of the reason I don't mind writing grants for a living...it give me an opportunity to let my imagination soar.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. I was under a lot of pressure to teach a really high-quality class for undergraduate students at SOKA University of America. I was working with a laptop computer that was already set up in the classroom. I absolutely needed to access to the Internet in order to make my presentation convincing and powerful for the students. No one in the room could figure out how to connect me to the Internet. My intuition told me to press a button on the keyboard that looks like a way to connect to the Internet. It worked. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than smart.