ninety-second test

Let me tell you what happens on the other side of the table, because I have sat there: a reviewer opens your application. It is application nineteen of forty-three they will read today. They are tired, and they are skimming.

Here is what stops the skimming: a picture. "We provide two hours of after-school math tutoring three days a week to thirty elementary students in Espanola." A room. Kids. Tables. A tutor. Three afternoons. Compare that with "we empower youth through innovative educational programming." Nothing. No picture, no trust.

The five things funders actually score

Every scoring sheet I have seen comes down to five criteria: the need, the logic that connects your program to that need, measurable outcomes, your capacity to deliver, and sustainability. Passion appears on none of them. Funders don't score passion. They score whether the structure holds.

What quietly loses grants

Embellishment. A reviewer reads the whole document, and they can tell when the data doesn't support the claim, when the budget contradicts the narrative. The pieces have to fit. The truth, well organized, is the most persuasive thing on the page.

P.S. If the scoring exercise exposes structure problems, The Grant Blueprint ($27) is my complete master application skeleton: nmgrantwriters.com/grant-blueprint/.