Dear sister and brother missionaries,

I want to share with you an important insight that affects all of us.

Last week I had lunch with a man who had recently retired from being the president of a foundation for a large pharmaceutical company.   The company foundation made grants to assist medical needs all around the world, and the retired president was a kindly man who I could tell wanted to help as many as possible.

I remarked to him that it must be difficult for him to say reject applicants, because there are so many worthwhile projects around the world.

“Yes, that is very true,” he said. “In fact, we have nearly 3 applications for every 1 available grant.”

“Well, how do you eliminate applications?” I asked.

His reply was something that all of us who are submitting grant applications need to remember.

He said “I feel bad enough rejecting ANY application, but the very first ones I am able to eliminate are those which do not meet the basic requirements that we indicate to all applicants. “Some ask for support of projects we don’t cover in our foundation. Some ask for an amount that exceeds our limit. Some do not provide all the information we request. Many submit their application AFTER the deadline expires.”

“Knowing that there will still remain many that will not be funded, THESE APPLICATIONS WHICH DO NOT MEET OUR MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS ARE IMMEDIATELY DISQUALIFIED.”

LESSON #1 OF GRANT WRITING: ALWAYS MEET THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR INFORMATION AND NEVER MISS THE DEADLINE FOR APPLYING!

Until next time,

Artie Pingolt