Last year I attended a session at the Grant Professionals Association National Conference last year led by Sharon Skinner who discussed the importance of storytelling in our grant applications. This seems counterintuitive as grant writing has to be responsive to certain questions (who, what why, when, where, how) and removed from narration. Essentially, when writing a grant, we often remove the creative element of writing a story. However, isn’t a grant a story that is just is meant to be persuasive? Let’s try to pump those creative juices so that we can spark some renewed interest in our own stories. What are the important elements of the stories we want to tell?

The characters – Who are the protagonists (the people you intended to serve, your organizational staff, your partners)? How do you describe them in your writing?

The situation – There must be a reason for the story to be developed. What will change the lives of your heroes through this situation? Will it be good or bad? Is there a tension that must be overcome?

The timing – Is there a clock that will strike if you don’t help these characters by a certain time? Why or why not? What will you do to help these characters achieve these goals?

Conclusion – What are the end goals for the characters and what do you hope they will achieve?

Let’s think about the story concerning your organization – how can you frame it to create some suspense that could impact your heroes?