We recently wrote about the importance of data in grant writing, so now we want to cover the flip-side: The qualitative aspect of grant writing, the stories and case studies.
 
Stories are a great way to provide a compelling snapshot of your organization’s work. If you run a youth development nonprofit that works with foster youth, and college graduation is one of your outcomes, providing a great success story of one of your participants can help the humans on the grant review committee (and yes, there are real humans behind the review process) grasp and understand what your organization does for the population it serves.
 
Balancing the qualitative and quantitative aspects of telling your nonprofit’s story is important. On the quantitative side, data is a must. Your grant will include plenty of numbers on your organization’s work and success, but if there’s room in the grant—if you’re not restricted by character, word, or page limits—weaving in a real-life story or two will put a face on all that data. That qualitative aspect further strengthens your grant.