7 Tips for Writing Winning Adoption Grant Proposals

If you are looking into ways to afford adoption, you know that many non-profits supply an adoption grant to help offset the cost of international, special-need, and other types of private adoptions. Here are some quick tips to help you apply for the ones that may match your family:

Read the entire application more than once.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but every single detail is important in the process of writing and submitting a grant. Don’t just jump in; check to see what documents and information you need—and make sure you know the due date!

Use a proofreader before you submit.

Ask a friend to check your application for clarity and to make sure you don’t have common spelling or grammatical errors. Then ask a second friend to read it just to make sure.

Keep it clean and concise.

Writing a grant is different than other types of writing—keep the flowery prose to a minimum. This doesn’t mean you can’t tell a good story about your family, but keep your language concise and easy to understand.

Know your audience.

Since grants are privately funded, they can pretty much give to whomever they choose. So if you aren’t Christian, for example, a Christian faith-based agency may not choose your application. You can use this to your advantage, however, by tailoring each grant. Use your personal preferences and interests to promote yourself when you apply, and highlight the things that each foundation looks for.

Be scrupulously honest.

Personalizing a grant and underscoring why you are the most deserving of funds doesn’t mean that you stretch the truth. If you exaggerate your needs or family situation, for example, you not only risk losing money but credibility within the adoption community.

Don’t give them more than they ask for.

It may seem tempting to attach an extra picture, or to show your enthusiasm by going over the word count, but this can really work to your detriment: when one person has to go through a hundred applications, a common first step is to weed out the ones that didn’t follow the instructions or added extra fluff.

Don’t get overwhelmed with the process.

You don’t need to sit down and hammer out an application in one day. Break it up into manageable chunks and take your time. It may seem intimidating at the beginning, but you will find that going step by step makes even the trickiest application easier.