The following thoughts about grant writing are intended to convey strategies to make your proposals more competitive.  They are not tricks in the sense that they will fool anyone.  They simply allow you to either communicate more clearly or write to the funding agency's or organization's guidelines.

• Follow directions.  This sounds simple and obvious, but many if not most proposals which are not funded can be eliminated simply on the basis that the grant writers did not follow the guidelines of the funding agency.  For example, if the guidelines say that there is a ten (10) page maximum for the narrative, that may mean that if you write eleven (11) pages, your proposal will be returned unread.  If the guidelines say they want a table of contents and you do not include one, your proposal will not be funded.   (This happened to me once, and once is enough.)
• Be creative.  A new idea, if it is a good one, is much more likely to be funded than a re-run.  In most cases, even if your project is not a research or a demonstration project, a new idea will win you points over someone who is doing the same old thing that has been done many times.
• Develop a partnership network.  In today's competitions it is unusual to find a strong competition which does not require some collaboration.  And it is rare to find one that will not give added points for including a number of partners into a project.
• Demonstrate tangible support from the partners.  Letters of support which do not commit resources have become much less useful than they were at one time.  Agencies and organizations which fund projects want to know where the beef is.  The grantees must demonstrate their commitment to the project in order to gain the support of the grantor.
• Choose an expert.   Find someone who has the highest possible level of expertise in the area of the project to be your project director.  If you don't have one, locate someone who is an expert and attempt to persuade them to let you use their name and resume in the grant proposal.  If the grant is not funded, then it makes no difference to them.  If it is funded, then they have a decision to make.  They are not under contract just because they are listed in a proposal.  And, if the expert decides not to work with a funded project, then the grantee has some decisions to make.  But the first step is to get funding!
• Prior grants.  If possible, locate abstracts for projects which were funded in the same competition.  Even better would be to acquire a full proposal or two which had been funded.  Obviously, there is little point in looking at proposals which were not funded. (unless you can get funded ones with which to compare them.)
• Involve end-users from the start to finish.  If your project is designed to serve students, involve students in planning, implementation, and evaluation.  If it is parents you are serving then the same goes for them.  (ETC., ETC., ETC.)
• Develop a realistic and detailed budget.  Actually, it is impossible to cover this tip in two or three sentences.  I will be developing a page on budgets in the near future.  For now, please know that it is imperative that each cost be adequately justified–not just listed.  There are many ways to justify a cost.  Later!!
• EDIT, EDIT, EDIT.  There is no such thing as too much editing and too many revisions.  There are really only two things to be wary of.  Do NOT try to have all of the edits done by one person.  And, do NOT have two people editing the same part of the proposal at the same time.
• Mail or carry the proposal ON TIME.  A late proposal, even by just a few minutes, is not worth the paper it is written on–usually by a lot!  If it isn't there on time, it may as well not have been written in the first place.  Read the mailing or receiving directions carefully and several times.
• Do not hassle the agency.  With a competitive federal grant it may be four to nine months before you hear either a positive or a negative response.  Other funding organizations have different time lines, but they all take a lot of time.  Calling the agency will do no good and may actually slow the process down.  You will eventually get notification, sooner if you're funded, later if you're not.  Be patient.

Steve Ragan