Are you curious as to Why You Have Not Been Getting Those Grants? There is nothing as frustrating as applying for a grant, waiting patiently for it to be approved, and discovering that you were not one of the benefactors.
There is nothing worse than a grant rejection after spending weeks long to apply for these grants. Right here in this article, I am going to give you ten reasons why your grant is always being rejected and what to do if you find yourself in such a situation.
Why you Have not Been Getting Those Grants
You are not and if your grant proposal was rejected. In fact, 80% of applicants get their applications rejected. Why you always find yourself in that 80% is a matter of contention. Below are 10 reasons why your grants were rejected.
10 Reasons Why Your Grant Was Rejected
If your grant proposal was rejected then you are not doing some things right. Now, here are some reasons for your constant rejection.
You Certainly Did Not Follow the Rules
This is why it is very important for you to read the instructions before applying for any grants. Simple disobedience if one of the rules could make you lose your golden opportunity. Every Grant has its own unique set of rules, which you should properly study before applying. Remember that the competition involves thousands of people, so, the reviewers may be very strict with mistakes.
Your Goals Do Not Align
This is one more reason why you should read carefully before applying. Every grant has its own set of goals, i.e, there is a mission for each funding. If your goals accoording to your proposal does not align to the mission that was stated, you will not be selected as part of the benefactors of such grants. For this reason, you must be wise in your choice of grants to apply for.
You Did Not do Your Research Very Well
You cannot stop by only going through the goals and mission of the funders, you have to dig deep into their history to see what other projects they have funded in the past. This may give you a clue on what type of projects they may be interested in funding. Before doing your application. Take out a few days to go through the websites and the award history of the funders. See the similarities in their choices of projects over the years. If you cannot find much information about the program source. Don’t be afraid to go to the program officer.
You were not Unique Enough
This problem occurs when you have tried your best to give the best application that you become very Ununique and ingenuine. Most Funders are looking to expand their portfolio with varieties of projects. Therefore, even if their choices were similar, they may want to diversify very soon.
Come up with a unique take or outcome for your project that will arouse the interest of the funder.
You only went for a Big Grant
There is no doubt that a crowd is normallyh attracted by a higher number. If you only applied for the bigger grant. You have have lesser probability of getting funded. The best advice here is to place a safer bet by applying for smaller awards and collaborative ones instead of just one major award. That way, you may likely get funding as soon as posible.
You did not Tell a Story
To create a proposal that will engage the funders, you should try out telling a captivating story. Do the following;
- Weave the funder’s mission into your project’s goal
- Explain your background as clearly as possible
- Explain the need for funding
- Give them a proper explanation of your passion for the project.
The tips above will help you to create a good and compelling grant story that will fuse the funder‘s goals into your proposal.
Your Budget Didn’t Work
The iceberg of your proposal is the budget, that is where the funders get real interested. If your budget does not make sense, you will lose your funder immediately. Make sure your budget is crystal clear. Dont guess, give them exactky what you need. That way, the funders will know that you really know a lot about the project and you have their goals at heart.
You did Not Provide Enough Data
Do not forget that the proposal reviewer will be looking at so many proposals, and they may not be very familiar with the specifics of your project. Everything about your proposal will have to be clear enough and give them enough information on what the whole process will look like, your suspicions, and your insights.
Your Grammar Wasn‘t Good Enough
You will have to be very careful when applying for a grant. Something as little as Grammatical errors can make you lose your opportunity of getting your grants approved. When you are done with the proposal writing, use grammatical correction tools like Grammarly to put your grammar in place.
Perhaps You Did Not Meet the Deadline
The quickest way to miss your grant funding opportunity is to apply late. What if the selection was already made before you submitted or what if that was a criterion for success. Make sure you apply as early as possible.
Finally, it might be frustrating to get your grants approved, but every failure is a learning process. You should learn from your mistakes and apply corrections to the next grant application.
