This year when I worked on my Toronto Arts Council application, I noted the steps I took to complete the application. Note that I had old applications to recycle from, including old TAC applications, so if you’re working on a new grant from scratch, the steps will be different. But hopefully this helps you see what approaches you can take in preparing your grant applications, especially if you have old material to work from!
1. Created an application in the portal
I already had an existing TAC account, so I found the grant I wanted to apply for on their website (the portal where we work on our grant applications) and clicked on it to create the application.
2. Read the program guidelines
I re-read the guidelines to see if there were any changes, and to make sure I wasn’t missing anything.
3. Decided on the project dates for the grant
I looked at my calendar, considered the dates I had selected for other grant applications, and decided when I could commit to this project if it got funded.
4. Created template file in Word on my computer
Following up from #1 above, once I created the application on the TAC portal, I copied and pasted the questions from the grant into a Word file. (NEVER work from the portal, which can fail and delete all your work!) In actuality, I found my latest TAC application from last year, deleted the old answers, and then double-checked the questions to make sure none had been updated—or updated the ones that had changed.
5. Imported relevant files from old application and deleted irrelevant sections
This is where I skimmed previous grant applications, both with TAC and other funders, for relevant sections to help me answer the questions.
6. Checked against TAC portal questions and instructions. Adjusted as needed.
7. Copied and pasted text from grant applications
My last TAC grant was for a different project, so I had to do a lot of new writing this time. However, my Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) and Ontario Arts Council (OAC) grant applications for this same project helped immensely.
8. Updated CV and writing sample
I updated my resume (my creative CV). Each grantor seems to want different things in the CVs, so I have a separate one for TAC, OAC, CCA, etc. This time I grabbed my latest TAC CV and updated it with new publications, mentorships, etc.
9. Drafted answers to their questions (i.e. worked on the grant writing)
For any questions left empty or incomplete after pulling from old grant applications, I began to draft answers. This takes a while! I can do this over many days, or taking many breaks, depending on how much there is to draft. Note that I’m a writer who struggles with drafting! I would prefer to word vomit out a mediocre answer and come back the next day to revise. I love revising! Your mileage may differ.
10. Asked a friend to proofread everything
Including the writing sample, since it included part of an unpublished piece.
11. Completed the answers to their questions (i.e. grant writing)
All the drafting is done! I even have it line edited, thanks to my friend, who also helped me re-word some sections I was struggling with.
12. Re-read the program guidelines
Is there anything else I need to do? Am I missing anything? I hate to say it, but I often find more things to do at this point! (Give yourself LOTS of time before deadlines to do all this.)
13. Started copying and pasting my answers into the portal
Again, am I missing anything? As I fill out everything on the portal, I seem to always find something that I’d missed. Maybe it’s a schedule I have to fill out button-by-button or I re-read the directions carefully and realize my writing sample has to be all unpublished work. (That happened one year! I changed out my writing sample the day before the deadline and didn’t get much time to revise; needless to say, I did not get that grant!)
14. Feedback from a friend, part two
The same friend took a closer look at my grantwriting and did another round on my writing sample. This time, they focused on verb tenses, which are a weakness of mine
15. Downloaded a PDF preview from the portal and re-read it to see if I can catch any errors
A portion of the grantwriting was a little messy, so I fixed it.
16. Another round of feedback from my friend!
17. Re-uploaded everything into portal
Following up on #13, I have my text already in the portal, right? But I’ve been updating it all this time. Now I go through the portal again and delete everything! Then I copy and paste my new answers into the portal, and also re-upload all my files. I ask myself again: am I missing anything?
18. Fix the formatting on the text in the portal
When you copy and paste text into the portal, the formatting usually disappears! So here I fix what I can. The paragraph breaks can disappear on certain grant portals; on others, they look like they disappear but when you click on the “save as PDF” button, they appear again, so I don’t actually “fix” those.
FYI a recent tip I learned is to put any titles IN CAPSLOCK so it’s easier for grant assessors to read your application. All italics or bold usually disappears!
19. Hit “save” a lot throughout this process
So you don’t lose your work!
20. Re-read everything in the portal, and then re-read it again in the preview PDF
Yes, I’m a detail-oriented, double-triple-quadruple checker! As soon as I tell myself I don’t have to keep checking again, I find an error, sometimes a BIG one—so I just lean into my detail orientation and embrace it as a strength!
I re-read my grant writing and all of the files I’m uploading, as well as the instructions to make sure I didn’t miss something. Sure enough, this time I did indeed miss something, so I was able to fix it in this final check.
21. A note on typos
In this final check, if I find any typos or make any changes in my text, I do that on the portal AND in the Word file on my computer. This is because, in the end, the Word doc is the file I’ll use for future grant applications (all the copying and pasting in the first few steps above), so I want to make sure the Word file holds the latest version.
22. SUBMIT!
23. Save a copy of the PDF for your records
As I said in #20, my final step is to download a PDF of my application and do a final, final check that way. (There is usually a ‘save to PDF’ or ‘download PDF’ button on the portal.) Save this file for your records! After you submit, open up your application and click on this button again. Then save that final PDF in your grant folder on your computer. This way, you have a second copy (in addition to the Word file of your grant text) of your application. If you apply for multiple grants, this is important so you know what project you applied for, the dates you said you’d work, what you promised to do, etc—in case any of them are successful!
Here are explicit instructions for the Toronto Arts Council that I wrote down when I submitted: Click on “VIEW/PRINT” in the top-left, and then click on “EXPORT as PDF” to save a PDF copy of your application. Keep that Word file of your grant writing, too, as well as all your files related to the grant! I keep them in a folder on my computer using the organizational style that this free grant guide recommends.
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