If you’re new to grant writing, it might seem that getting a grant is like trying to join a secret club. “It’s hard to get your first grant,” admits Charles Slender-White, artistic director of FACT/SF, a contemporary dance company that also funds the work of other dance artists.

Dance artists put in painstaking hours of work applying for grants. But all too often, their efforts are derailed by mistakes that could have been fixed in mere minutes. Since the panelists who decide what gets funded often have to read more than 100 applications, yours needs to be as clear and error-free as possible. […]

A little over a year ago, I wrote an op-ed for Dance Magazine about the grueling, oppressive grant cycle. It was crying into my pillow, really. I was complaining and desperate to share my story. I was fed up with 10 years of applying for grants and having never received one for the research or […]

DIY grant-writing advice for your next project Grant writing can be both intimidating and empowering, tiresome and exhilarating, especially if you are new to the process. I found this true when I started my first grant proposal 15 years ago for Richmond-based Ground Zero Dance, and it’s still true for me today. Yet grants are […]