A couple of friends of mine recently made it into the second round of the Creative Capital grants application process. Believe me, just based on the numbers thats a really big deal. They are now in the process of writing a full application (not that the first round isn’t difficult enough, and actually my guess is that if they made it this far they have a pretty good grasp of how to write a good app). One of them wrote to see if I had any sort of ground rules. Here’s what I supplied:

Always the most important application advice is to be clear and concise.

I find that we artists spend so much time thinking about the projects that we tend to try to throw every little thing into the application and forget to say something like “it is a painting.” Also, restating the requested data from the app form and the org mission statement that align with the project are good.

From the a tips sheet I have:
-try to inform, not seduce
-weird is good, if the work is weird, don’t try to make weird work sound traditional and vice versa, don’t try to make traditional work sound weird
-be transparent about questions & challenges (new challenges are good), it shows that you are thinking about things
-reference your other work samples within the context of the proposal, they need to know what the connections are for you in your career
-plain speaking is best
-always leave space on the page, minimum 1″ margins all around, break up the paragraphs and provide headers and subheaders (which repeat the requested points in the application)
-timelines can also be very helpful, even when they haven’t specifically been requested
If it is a one-time only grant and is seen as “pivotal” in an artists career, ensure you answer how this might be pivotal and how you are ready for that.