Maybe you’re new to the grants industry and not sure about the common parlance or what we call things. There’s certainly no shortage of acronyms and buzzwords in our industry, so it’s understandable!
If you’re not sure what I mean when I say “Proposal Review” — or what it could possibly mean for you — I’ll break it down for you now.
WHAT IS PROPOSAL REVIEW?
Proposal review is when your grant application is read over and critiqued. This can be either:
- BEFORE SUBMISSION: Your proposal is reviewed in the draft phase of your writing, preferably by a trusted and objective observer. In this case, you receive feedback that can illuminate how your application is received by an outside reader and still have the opportunity to make revisions.
or
- AFTER SUBMISSION: Your proposal is reviewed by anonymous individuals after your grant application has been submitted. At this stage, your proposal is being “scored” by those individuals, and their scores mean the final acceptance or rejection of your grant request.
If you had a choice, which would you do? Have your writing reviewed BEFORE it “counted” — for or against you? Or wait until the matter was out of your hands, with no more chances to revise, clarify, or strengthen your writing?
Writing grant proposals without the virtue of letting another person offer input is like writing in a vacuum, in an echo chamber.
Getting your draft proposals looked over ahead of your submission deadline — for what is often called “peer review” — is important to you because every writer eventually becomes blinded by their own writing. They get too close to it, too familiar with it, and they stop being able to see how what they’re saying on paper will translate to the reader.
Regardless of what you’re feeling about your draft, getting a second set of eyes on your writing is a smart move. That second set of eyes is what is called a “peer review.”
WHO IS BEST TO DO PROPOSAL REVIEW?
There are helpful peer reviews and there are less-than-helpful peer reviews.
You may get a peer reviewer who is vague in their criticism, or gives sweeping opinions like “it’s pretty good,” without offering any advice.
But when a peer reviewer is forthcoming with useful feedback that shows you where your application could be stronger — and suggests remedies — that is really the ultimate situation for you as a writer.
When their critique is targeted and surgically precise— plus they offer sound reasoning for their advice and leave you with solutions you can use right away — your eyes are opened, and you’ve learned something about yourself, your writing style, the audience you’re writing to, and the pitfalls to avoid next time you write.
But finding that “special someone” can be hard.
The best peer reviewers are the ones that truly mirror what your proposal’s review panel will look like.
They are:
- Familiar — but not too familiar — with you.
- A close friend or relative might not want to hurt your feelings and might say “Your proposal is great! No notes!” just to save themselves from upsetting you.
- A close friend or relative might not want to hurt your feelings and might say “Your proposal is great! No notes!” just to save themselves from upsetting you.
- Familiar — but not too familiar — with your industry.
- Too much familiarity may lead to being blinded by the strength of your particular need and not be able to weigh it objectively against all the other worthy competition your application might (read: will be) up against. They may be less objective in discerning the strength of your Need Statement or your Program Description.
- Too much familiarity may lead to being blinded by the strength of your particular need and not be able to weigh it objectively against all the other worthy competition your application might (read: will be) up against. They may be less objective in discerning the strength of your Need Statement or your Program Description.
- Familiar — very familiar — with program design.
- Analogy: In order to know what is needed to build a ladder, then describe to someone else how they would build — and then climb — the ladder, you need a reviewer who is extremely familiar with nonprofit program design.
- Analogy: In order to know what is needed to build a ladder, then describe to someone else how they would build — and then climb — the ladder, you need a reviewer who is extremely familiar with nonprofit program design.
- Familiar — very familiar — with proposal development.
- A strong grant proposal narrative needs to accomplish several things: it needs to be concise and compelling; it needs to show urgency while demonstrating logical progression; and it needs to tie to all the other components of your application package without being repetitive or pedantic.
Clearly, your best proposal reviewer is not a friend, not a loved one, not even an office mate. Someone somewhat detached from your cause, with strong proposal development skills and experience, is truly the best person for the job.
THE UNLOCK-GRANTS DIFFERENCE
The key differentiator I offer to Unlock-Grants course registrants is lifetime access to proposal reviews with years of experience in proposal development and review.
Why is that different?
Because Unlock-Grants is the ONLY grants training out there that doesn’t just do an “info dump” and cut you loose, with maybe one or two opportunities to work through your draft proposals.
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I couldn’t find another grants course that offers even one year of proposal review! I tried:
Which makes me ask: how decent are their courses if they shy away from standing behind their training? If they give up on supporting you and helping you grow? |
Why is lifetime access helpful?
Because every writer — no matter how good they are or how long they’ve been in their career — loses objectivity; they stop being able to see how their writing could be stronger, clearer, or more effective. Whether you’ve been at it for 20 minutes or 20 years, it happens throughout your career.
It’s the key differentiator of the Unlock-Grants course. No other grant training out there offers lifetime access to this service. Your first grant, your 5th, your 20th … one year from now, five years from now … proposal review from a seasoned professional is always available to you.
Here’s how I explain it:
After 15+ years in the grants industry, writing and reviewing proposals in multiple different sectors, I take my years of experience and offer them to you — included with your Unlock-Grants course registration from Day One, and throughout your career.
As an Unlock-Grants student, you submit your draft proposal narratives through the Unlock-Grants portal, and I assess and provide honest, constructive, and targeted feedback, plus actionable ways to make your proposal speak more clearly and compellingly to funders.
There’s always an opportunity to learn and grow as a writer from what is taken away from each proposal review.
Offering unlimited, lifetime proposal review is in service to my mission to strengthen the nonprofit sector — and it’s fun for me to dig in and unlock the true strength in your writing!
I hope you’ll see the value of what is included with your Unlock-Grants course registration, and join my other students who are winning grants for their agencies with the help of lifetime proposal review!
You can find out about all the Unlock-Grants course benefits here, and about my Proposal Review services here.
