Nobody cares what your organization did in 1985

Grant applications usually ask for the history of an organization. Please don’t write a paragraph (or a page) about all of the good, bad, and ugly happenings of your agency for the past 30 years.

Instead, keep the history brief and to the point.

“The XYZ Organization was created in 1985 and since that time, the agency has provided 730,000 meals to families in need.”

If the grant application also asks for recent accomplishments, remember that “recent” means during the past two years.

It won’t help your application to say that you received

an award from the Rotary Club in 2009.