Our Role as Representatives

Last week, my children and I were among the throngs in the Mall celebrating the swearing in of our new President. I was standing near the Washington Memorial and so couldn’t actually see or hear the ceremonies. Instead we watched them on one of the Jumpotrons – now they are a great invention.

When I saw the dignitaries come center stage, it to occurred to me that they were just a few people on the TV screens and that these few people represented all of us standing shoulder to shoulder on the Mall. I saw that we elected them to represent us and their job was to represent our concerns. Now, I’ve heard politicians and heads of government say hundreds of times that they are representatives but this was the first time that I really understood it. When I mentioned this to a friend, she said “Yes, and standing on the Mall you represented the millions of us watching TV at home or in movie theaters.”

So, what’s all this got to do with grant writing? Well, every time we write a grant proposal our responsibility is to represent our community with our words. The people reviewing the proposal will often know nothing about you, your organization, or the community you serve. It is our job to represent it accurately to the reader and create a heart-to-heart connection.

What is Representation?

Before we talk about ways of doing that, let’s look at the word Re-Present for a moment. The online Merriam-Webster dictionary has 12, yes 12, definitions for the word including:

1: to bring clearly before the mind
3: to portray or exhibit in art
8 a: to give one’s impression and judgment of : state in a manner intended to affect action or judgment
b: to point out in protest or remonstrance
10 a: to form an image or representation of in the mind
b (1): to apprehend (an object) by means of an idea
(2): to recall in memory

For me, it means a chance to recreate something in the present moment – to re-present it, right now.

So, how do we do that? It usually means getting personal and getting detailed. When I write my goal is for the reader to really know what it is like to live in the community described. Sounds simple doesn’t it. But often we take a lot for granted and leave the reader to make their own conclusions. So, let’s look at two specific things that you can do to truly represent your community in a grant proposal.

Getting Detailed

I was once discussing a proposal with two women from Texas and Florida.  It included cross-country skiing as a program element. One of the women said that she didn’t think it was such a good idea because the participants wouldn’t be able to do that very often. Living in the chilly climes, I explained that there was a good chance that there was snow cover from Thanksgiving to April and that the participants were probably able to ski for nearly 6 months of the year. It was obvious to the writer and to me, but not so for our friends in the sunny climes.

Action 1: I recommend making a quick list of everything that you know or take for granted that affects the programmatic decisions that you make. Then take a look at the list and see which ones a person from the other side of the country would not know. Make sure you cover these in your proposal.

Getting Personal

Next, think about what it would take to really describe the community to an outsider. The trick to this is imagining that you’re telling your Grandma about what the place you live is like. One of my clients was a school district in a rural community. They told me that there were few resources for the kids and families. OK, but what does that mean? I’ve lived in New York City and back then my version of rural was everywhere outside of the city. This community had lost a bank, hairdresser, florist, car repair shop and grocery store in the last decade and now people had to drive 45 minutes to reach these amenities. Now, when I share that with you, you probably really get that this is a community in decline and in the middle of nowhere.

Or, if tell you about a young mother who stood over her baby at night with a baseball bat to fight off the rats, you understand that their living conditions must be deplorable and that there is a clear need for a program to help them.

Action 2: Think of what point you want to make, i.e. we’re rural, poor, old etc and then think about how you would prove that to someone who has never visited your community. How would I know that the community you serve is old, young, impoverished or poorly educated? Brainstorm 5 examples and one of them is bound to be helpful.

I hope these two action steps help you to share your passion about the change that you are creating in communities that you care about with the people who will review your proposal.