What I learned from Grant Panels

by Andrew Scott

I have been awarded two Individual Artist Program grants from the Indiana Arts Commission to support my fiction writing. The experience of applying for the first grant included a trip to downtown Indianapolis, where I sat quietly in a room with a few other applicants who didn't have to work that day, taking advantage of the panel's public forum so I could listen to well-intentioned strangers discuss applications.

Oh, they talked about literature, too—briefly. But instead of deep discussions about the lyric poem or the elasticity of the third person point of view, most of their talk focused on budgets, timelines, and how the grant might benefit the artist's career.

What I learned in those few hours, as the panel discussed one application after another, is that choosing to serve on a grants panel is perhaps the best way to learn how to craft effective, audience-driven proposals.

Become the audience. If you know what it feels like to receive and review dozens of applications, you'll know how to highlight your strengths and appeal to the panelists.

This concept should not have surprised me. As a literary magazine editor during graduate school, I discovered much about how (and how not) to write fiction from the hundreds of submissions I encountered. Most of us aren't professional grant writers, so a peek behind the curtain can't hurt.

I volunteered to serve on the panel one year following my first IAC grant. I wanted to give back to the organization that had awarded me such a generous amount of money to support my work as a writer. Truly, this is our civic duty as artists. Besides, once you're awarded a grant, you're ineligible the following year.

So once you volunteer to serve on the awarding panel, what can you expect? Though you'll meet with other panelists and IAC staff to discuss the process and eventually become quite intimate with the artists' applications and supplemental material, it's not nearly as time-intensive as it may seem. The other panelists are cordial, respectful, and most of all, eager to help Indiana artists. Overall, I spent a few hours at the IAC offices before the process began, another few days reading applications, and one day on the actual panel. And instead of sitting around, worrying about my own work, sinking ever deeper into some existential dilemma, I stepped out of my normal pattern of behavior and managed to help this important arts organization and many Indiana artists. What I didn't expect, however, was that reading the work of so many other writers would leave me charged and ready to dive headlong into my own work again.

And if all of this doesn't convince, did I mention they provide lunch?

Andrew Scott is the author of Modern Love, a limited edition chapbook. Born and raised in Lafayette, he teaches at Ball State University in Muncie and lives in Indianapolis. He can be found at http://www.andrewscottonline.com/.

Edited by Robyn Kelly, Web Publications Manager: rkelly@iac.in.gov.
The IAC, a public catalyst, partner, and investor in the arts, serves the citizens of Indiana by funding, promoting, and expanding the arts. Funding is provided by the State of Indiana and the National Endowment for the Arts.