Online Grant Application Tips - Part Two

Special Characters

Many online applications do not allow the use of use bullets or other special characters or formatting you would otherwise use in a proposal sent by mail. Worse, some applications still do not warn you about this feature.

Some applications do not allow the use of apostrophes. In some cases, when the apostrophe is indicating a possessive (i.e. John's dog), you may have to waste those valuable characters with wording that spells out the relationship, if the relationship is critical to reader understanding (the dog owned by John). Replace your bullets with hyphens or asterisks before you paste your copy into the online application.

Charts and Graphs

If you depend on a graphic to present statistical data or your methods, you must often translate the graphic to text. Prepare to do this well in advance of your deadline.

Keywords

Your grant may be initially reviewed by a computer program, in the same way that search engines look for keywords. Include words that are commonly understood to present your mission. For instance, "hungry" is better than food-insecure, "domestic violence" is better than spousal assault, and so on. One clue to look for is the language the website uses to present the RFP or present the grantor's message. One tell-tale sign that your failed this "SEO test" is when you receive an "application declined" message and the submission deadline just passed a day or two ago. I can almost guarantee you no human ever looked at that application, assuming of course that your mission is within the grantor's parameters.

Templates

Some applications give you a link to download a template. You must use the specific template provided. Some templates will allow you to add lines up to a limit, many will not. Be prepared to combine and condense items such as staff salaries. Some downloads in pdf format still do not give you a fillable form, so be prepared to convert it if necessary, using a pdf converter program.

Attachments

Most online applications do not allow you to add anything that isn't already contained in the online application. If they do, it will say so, usually at the end of the application and will indicate what formats are accepted. Convert word documents to pdf if required.

Images, logos and letterheads

In general, online applications can't read them and won't accept them. If your board member list is on a marketing handout or letterhead, cut and paste the pertinent information into a plain Word document, instead of pasting it with an image. Most online applications will tell you what formats they can accept if they are permitted.

Saving the in-process application.

Many applications will have buttons at the bottom of the page that say, "Save and return later" and "next". Always save the page, even if saving it takes you clear back to the login screen. There is nothing quite as frustrating as losing the application you just spent hours assembling because of a server or power glitch.

Review, Review, Review

Review once as you write, once just before you are about to submit it and if given the option to print your applications when you hit submit, review the print format document, copy it and paste it into a word document, and then review that against the document entries you already have. Note it as the submitted version with the date and grant ID number, because many online applications still do not send you a copy of the application.

Save the "as submitted" version

While many online applications will email you a copy of your application, some only allow you to print the document. After you select the Print button, copy and paste the entire text into a clean Word processor document, and add the date and time you submitted it. You can also review it at this time to be sure that nothing was left out. (A common finding at this point is that some language overflowed its assigned text box and is not visible.) Then you can go ahead and submit it.