- Share This Post
- Pin It
- 4
- 6
-
Sparkle (0)
The McCormick Foundation's New Media Women Entrepreneurs grants have been awarded, and Kelby Carr of Type-A Mom has received a $12,000 grant to launch a new project organizing mom bloggers into a group of investigative reporters that "will help crowdsource stories." Investigative Mommy Blogger will provide not only Carr an opportunity to test new grounds of social media, but it will give a voice to other writers who have been sharing information across the Internet.
It's easy to feel a bit jealous when you see others receiving the great opportunities that can come with project and writing grants, but the fact is, you need to get out there and apply in order to make these dreams happen. Grants, I'm sad to say, are never delivered on a silver platter, but instead, are the culmination of hard work and assertiveness.
But how do you even get started?
Writing and Project Grant Resources Online
If you're overwhelmed about getting started, you're not alone. The Well Read Rabbit feels the same way after coming back from a grant seminar. She writes:
"I always expect to come out of such talks feeling motivated and ready to take on the world, however invariably it’s the opposite. Instead I leave with a head full of new information, feeling intimidated by the task before me." She also includes excellent advice on how to start writing that grant (and things to think about before you turn it in).
Guess What Normal Is writes about self-sabotaging while applying for grants. She states:
"The difference between someone who jumps into action and the person who finishes the project and reaches the goal is: planning, pacing, and accepting that things take time." In other words, make the time to write the grant, follow all the steps, and keep at it until it's ready to go in the mail.
Meredith Hall gave a great interview about applying and receiving a writing grant. She explains:
"AROHO intends that the application for the Gift of Freedom award be intensive, and it is. I started it right after Christmas, planning on giving over a couple of days to writing and the application. Every single night I would regret having wasted a precious day on a goose chase and would decide to drop it. The next morning, I found myself back at it, day after day."
In other words, if you don't write the grant, you certainly won't be able to win it. Dedication is necessary for seeing your dreams to fruition.
Poets and Writers continuously provides information on applying to grants for writers as well as contests, scholarships, and residencies.
Love to Know has a section on grants for writers.
The Foundation Center similarly has a clearinghouse of links for getting grants for writers.
What would you write about if you could get your research funded with a grant?
Melissa writes Stirrup Queens and Lost and Found. Her book is Navigating the Land of If.
