How Much Does Quality Matter?
Grant Foundry is a small, group-mentored course designed to help researchers like you master the science and art of writing by framing persuasive proposals.
You’ll spend about eight weeks in an intense, process-oriented apprenticeship that will help you develop the techniques, confidence, and clarity you need to write compelling, powerfully-framed proposals that make undeniable sense. We won’t write your grant for you — we’ll teach you how to do it for yourself, and how to enjoy the process along the way. Grant Foundry teaches you a framework of success, with the main emphasis on writing, getting feedback, revising, and iterating on your proposal.
Who is Grant Foundry for?
Part of what makes this program such a powerful place to craft your proposal and refine your skills is our commitment to keeping group size small. We work with no more than 10 people at a time to create an active and engaged group of participants who will give and receive deep feedback. We’re careful to select participants who are going to thrive in this environment.
Is that you? Grant Foundry is for you if you are:
- Actively working on a proposal. NIH is our primary focus.
- Familiar with and engaged in your field and what topics are currently of most interest there.
- Ready to work hard at forging new skills. You are deeply committed to improving your approach for more efficiency and better results. You will apply yourself in learning and trying new approaches, some of which may counter what you already know.
- Able to handle deep, constructive criticism without becoming defensive.
- Are willing to participate in the group, including giving thoughtful feedback to others. By giving feedback you solidify your own skills.
Who is Grant Foundry not for?
If you are looking for a magic bullet to make your proposal fail-proof, or if you are looking for someone to tell you exactly what to write, this program is not for you.
If you are of the mind that your proposal is already “pretty good” and only needs minor tweaks, you won’t make the most of the refiner’s fire.
If you are not ready to truly engage with the Grant Foundry process, due to other priorities and engagements, consider us when you are ready to commit to this learning process.
Next Steps
The next round of Grant Foundry will run from the start of November through mid-December. We’re now accepting applications – be sure to get yours in before the program fills up!
We are only able to work with a small group of researchers in this program, so we use an application process to give us a window into whether Grant Foundry is a good fit for you. This helps us ensure a fully engaged group dynamic that will benefit everyone involved.
If you’re ready to make a career-changing investment in your proposal writing skills, you can apply here:
This application lets us know what you are working on and why this is of interest to you and it should take about 10 minutes to fill out. After filling out the application, you’ll get additional detailed information about how the program is structured, and have an opportunity for a short confirmation call with one of our coaches before finalizing your decision.
This program is not for everyone. It is based on our own experiences of what it takes to write a successful proposal now AND be able to repeat this experience in the future. We have taught these skills to others who have used them to receive many millions in funded proposals. But it takes work on your part to learn and apply the skills.
If you are ready to get off the treadmill and learn the art of persuasive proposal writing, Apply Here to get started.
About the Instructors
Morgan Giddings, PhD is the president of Marketing Your Science, LLC. She developed her chops in grant writing as a Faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill in the Departments of Microbiology & Immunology, Biomedical Engineering, and Computer Science. She went from six grant rejections in a row when starting out, to subsequently getting four R01’s funded in a row without any rejection or revision over a span of five years. She did this by completely revamping her approach to a reviewer-centric model. She began consulting with outside faculty in 2009, and based on overwhelming demand, started creating grant writing trainings in 2010. In 2013, she decided to focus on the training and mentoring to help other researchers as a full-time endeavor, leaving her faculty position.
All of the grant writing instructors and coaches in Grant Foundry are personally trained and supervised by Dr. Morgan Giddings.
Note: After you submit an application, if it’s approved, you’ll have a chance to get all the details of the program and an interview with one of our grant writing coaches before committing to participation. We make sure it’s a good fit for everyone. So, I encourage you to go ahead and apply if this sounds like a good fit for you.