Grants

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RML

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I'm wondering if anyone here ever applied for a photographic grant. I can apply for one but I need to write a two-page essay/description of my project. I need to address the background of the project, how I got involved with the subject, and (the part I have most trouble with) what impact I imagine the project will have.

Does anyone have an example of such a description, or can point me to an online source? I know how to write job application letters but applying for a grant is a new area for me.

Of course, it doesn't matter if I get the grant or not. I'll still continu my project, but a little extra cash to spend on it would be nice. :)
 
If you attend or are near a university, there should be people there who can help. In the US at least, there are people at universities that write grant proposals as part of their job.
 
Great idea. good luck with it! You certainly have an intimate connection with a culture and part of the world that is not mainstream human condition. Maybe there is something for our "advanced" cultures to relearn, stuff we abandoned and forgot in our rush to be modern. Satisfaction with life, stress, conservation of resources, are different areas you could look at.
 
Writing isn't a problem, Remy. I was going to apply for a grant to a "cultural council" in the state in which I live, and found out that I had to submit 10 slides and nothing else.

I was complaining to the photography student about this in the one-hour lab that I patronize, and she told me that most grant-awarding institutions have the same rules. Unfortunately I don't shoot slides, I know you can get negs copied but it isn't the same. :(
 
Unfortunately, I don't live near a uni in the US. :) But you've given me an idea; I'll google for an example.

Anyway, I'm still very much interested in all your experiences with grants, grant applications, etc.
 
Remy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is there... and the UVA... maybe somebody you know is working there. Here at the technical univ. of Eindhoven my bosses write proposals on a weekly basis; however that is completely different, being about experimental physics:)
 
You can also try to go to some of the many galleries in A'dam or something like FOAM or Huis Marseille and find a person there busy with finances/applications. Maybe one of these would be directly interested in your project and find a financing institute/organization for you (?)
 
Re: Grants

RML said:
... I need to address the background of the project, how I got involved with the subject, and (the part I have most trouble with) what impact I imagine the project will have ...
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I have written grant proposals for academic research (in anthropology), but not for photographic projects. My experience has been that each foundation or government agency provides a style guide or general outline that funding proposals should follow. These guidelines can vary quite a bit among the different funding sources. I imagine the same is true for grants in the arts. From what you write above, it sounds like you already have access to the guidelines you need (i.e., you know the length your proposal should be and the topical sections it should have). I'm not sure that you will gain much by looking at other people's proposals, especially if those proposals were written for different purposes and submitted to different foundations (which may have different emphases on what kinds of activities they want to support). I think the main thing is to make sure that the various sections of your proposal are well written, coherent, and present a strong case for the project you envision.
 
Mmmm, I could use a few of those bills. :)

Pherdinand, good thinking! I'll see if I can press-gang someone at FOAM or so.

OldProf, good advice. I hadn't quite thought of those differences. I'm just a bit fearful that my essay is just that, an essay. I have no experience at all writing proposals so I'm at a loss how to word them, how to put emphasis on the important sections, or how to make that strong and convincing case. Though my grasp of English is better than good, this is one field where I lack knowledge and vocabulary.

I'll see what I'll do. Maybe I'll post my essay here for all of you to read and judge. We can't learn without critiques, right?
 
RML said:
... Maybe I'll post my essay here for all of you to read and judge. We can't learn without critiques, right?
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Critiques can be very useful. I'll be happy to comment on the initial draft of your proposal if you post it here.
 
I don't know if the bureaucratic culture is the same where you are (must be to some extent) but here in Canada, it's very important to adapt your project (on paper) to the objectives of the program from which you want help (money, logistics, etc.).

I know people who deal with this all the time and I had my own experience with it. You really have to study the objectives of the program in the documentation and also, the bigger objectives of the organisation that created it. To some extent, you have to tell them what they want to hear because many organisations use an evaluation grid to determine what projects are accepted. If your proposal has all the keywords the bureaucrats want, you win! The art is in doing it without sounding (too much) like a whore! ;)

Sometimes, the organisation might even help you get all the good points. For example, I was working on a website project that aimed to promote Quebec's poetry in the world. We approached various ministries (provincial and federal). Strangely, we got the best reception from Foreign Affairs in Ottawa. They liked the project and asked us to modify our project slightly so it could fit in their programs. We ended up promoting French poetry from Quebec, the rest of Canada and (surprise) the rest of North America. They wanted to show they support French communities outside of Canada and we gave them the opportunity.

Someone I know managed to get some money for a music record from the ministry in charge of hunting and fishing because the lyrics had something to do with that in an obscure way.

There are help programs everywhere. They're not easy to get but it can be done. Some people make a living out of this!

Think of the various possiblities. Try to find ways to slightly adapt your project in order to make it appealing to bureaucrats with an agenda. Take the Foreign Affairs example. There might be a way of showing how your government or fellow countrymen interract with the culture you want to document and this can be a tiny part of the whole project. Apply this idea to any organisation you think of. Adapt your proposal to each organisation.

Good luck!
 
OK. Here's the deal.

Every year, the 50crows website holds a competition, with a $5000 grant for the winner. See the website for details: http://www.fiftycrows.org/ (see here for the grants: http://www.fiftycrows.org/grants/ifdp.php ).

To enter one needs to submit an essay/description on one's project. I have no experience whatsoever with writing grant proposals or applications so, after some debate, I'll post my draft here for all of you to read and comment on. I myself feel it doesn't make the grade but I don't know how to make it a "winner".
So, please comment and critique; just don't burn me down. :)

Here it goes:
The ger districts of Ulaanbaatar.

My project is to record the "frontier" feeling of the ger districts of Ulaanbaatar, and to show how the old ways still hold sway in an increasingly modernising country.

The ger districts of Ulaanbaatar are the modern-day frontier towns of modern society. These districts are where modern society has not yet taken a solid foothold, though where it will, irreversibly. In this project I want to record this unstoppable process in the light of the slowly vanishing traditional ways. I want to show how the traditional ways find a new place in a modernising world, how they disappear, or how they become meaningless relics of the past.

Life is bubbling in the ger districts; people have their lives there, love and hate there, and have high hopes for themselves and their children. Catching this energy and hope on film are two other elements of this project.

Background
Mongolia is a vast country with an incredible and long history. Though many Mongolians nowadays live in the capital Ulaanbaatar, they still cling on to many old traditions and ways of doing. This may not be so evident for the average tourist visiting the capital, or even the country, but those who venture into the ger districts and spend time there will realise how little the old has yet given way to the new.

The ger districts of Ulaanbaatar are a mixture of city suburbs and countryside. Many people still live in the traditional nomad's tent, the ger, yet many have built wooden or brick houses. Roads are sometimes merely dust lanes; sidewalks are often non-existent; shops sell mostly only essentials like bread, eggs, meat, toilet paper, wood and vodka; sanitation is limited to outhouses and wells; electricity often fails.

Things are, however, changing fast. Not only radio but also TV and VCR can be found in most homes and gers; horses have been largely replaced by cars, minibuses and trucks; candles are now only used when the electricity fails; fashionable clothes are more common than the traditional deel; and hardly anyone now wears the traditional Mongolian boots, which have been relegated to the souvenir department of the State Department Store.

The populace of Mongolia is very young, vibrant and energetic. The country is poor but aware of its value. The image of Chinggis Khaan, the history attached to it, and the pride it instils in any Mongolian, are unconsciously the role models that drive this developing Mongolia. The energy is very visible in downtown Ulaanbaatar, where one building project follows the other, but it is best felt among the industrious, busy, and ever lively ger districts. These districts are the perfect place to find the real, modern Mongolian, in all his facets.

Involvement
All in all, this project, which started about four years ago with my first visit to Mongolia, and which has been pursued seriously since a year and a half, is an ongoing project. My involvement with Mongolian society, and the ger districts in particular, started as result of my Mongolian wife living in one such ger district. Travelling up and down by bus to the city centre has kindled my interest in the present and the future of the people living and working there and of the districts themselves.

Impact
As said, the old ways are disappearing in the ger districts. The government is rightly concentrating on improving the living conditions in the ger districts while the contemporary historians are more concerned with "real" history. In the meantime, an important part of the history of the common people is swiftly disappearing without being recorded.

It is impossible nowadays to think of the Great Depression without thinking of the defining photos of that era, photos of destitute farmers, day labourers, unemployment lines, and families on the move, by Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and other great photographers. These photos recorded and preserved an almost untold yet essential chapter in American history, a chapter about the common people. In my project I want to record and preserve a similarly untold yet essential chapter of contemporary Mongolian history.
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Dear RML:

Below is a suggested revision of your proposal's first section (I don't have time to give you comments on the entire proposal just now). You need to state that Ulaanbaatar is in Mongolia from the very beginning. You also need to say that your project involves photographic documentation (you leave this to the last sentence of your first section). In your second paragraph you use the words "modern-day, modern, modern, and modernising." Your text will be more interesting if you vary your word choice. In the suggested revision below you will see that I have made some assumptions about migration to the ger districts. These may or may not be correct.

My suggested revision of the proposal's first section:

The purpose of my project is to photograph and document life in the ger districts of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to show how traditional ways remain important in an increasingly modernising country. The ger districts are located on the outskirts of Ulaanbaatar and are the places where rural to urban migrants settle as they make their transition to urban life. They are a mixture of city suburbs and countryside. Many people still live in their traditional nomad's tents, while others have wooden or brick houses. Roads are unpaved and sidewalks are non-existent. Shops in ger districts sell essentials such as bread, eggs, meat, toilet paper, wood and vodka. Sanitation is limited to outhouses and wells, and the electricity often fails. Yet life is bubbling in the ger districts. People have their lives there, love and hate there, and have high hopes for themselves and their children. I want to show how the traditional ways of the Mongolian people are being affected by the processes of urbanization, modernization and globalization. Capturing their energy and hope on film is one of the main goals of my project.
 
OldProf, that is quite a difference in wording. :) It sounds professional and to-the-point. In cases like this it becomes clear that I'm not a native English speaker and don't know much about the "jargon" used in this type of official correspondence. Thanks for the help, and if you find time for the other sections I'd be mightily obliged. :)

This is one of the reasons I like RFF: lots of people willing to help someone out, teach him/her a thing or two, and generally value eachother as they are.

OldProf, thanks! You're a big help to me.
 
RML said:
Marc, you make it sound so easy. :)
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The idea is simple. Making it work is the hard part. We spent about 2 years making contacts at the highest level and getting the proposal ready.
 
On their website, there was a couple of paragraphs which I thought you probably want to address:

"As the core program of FiftyCrows, the Photo Fund supports emerging documentary photographers whose outstanding ability in visual storytelling leads leads us to a better understanding of our common humanity " (my italics)

Also, the comments of one of the judges:
"There is still a tendency for photographers to focus on the same subjects time and again, which was why the winners' work stood out as original ideas with original approaches"

My only comment would be that maybe you could look at a more targeted approach. Perhaps showing something in more detail (perhaps a particular local industry) that is likely to change radically (or disappear altogether) with progress would be a good illustration for what is going on in the area at large? This would make your project easier to shoot, too.

As an overall issue, I think it would be stronger to talk about your aims for the project, rather than your "wants". This is, of course, a linguistic issue.

Good luck, by the way!

Cheers,
Steve
 
Thank you for your kind worlds RML. Your project is interesting and I am happy to offer you some suggestions. Marc and Steve offer excellent advice about knowing the interests of the specific funding source and addressing them.

Meanwhile, I have some suggested revisions for the "Background" section of your proposal. What appears below should be considered very preliminary. It's just for your consideration.

Background

Mongolia is a vast country with a long and important history, but most Westerners have little knowledge of it. [INSERT BRIEF COMMENTS HERE ON TRADITIONAL MONGOLIAN CULTURE, HORSE PASTORALISM, THE RISE OF THE MONGOL EMPIRE, CHINGGIS KHAAN, EFFECTS ON CHINA AND EUROPE, ETC.]

[INSERT BRIEF COMMENTS HERE ON THE CURRENT POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STATUS OF MONGOLIA … AFTER DECLINE OF EMPIRE IT BECAME A POOR AND MARGINALIZED COUNTRY?]

Today Mongolia is experiencing rapid changes as a modernizing Third World country. Televisions and VCRs can be found in most homes and many people have replaced their horses with cars, minibuses and trucks. Western-style garments are supplanting traditional costumes, and few people now wear their distinctive Mongolian boots, which have been relegated to the souvenir department of the State Department Store. The foreign tourist who visits the capital city of Ulaanbaatar may lament the apparent loss of Mongol culture. Yet many traditions and customs survive, especially in the ger districts that surround the city. Life in these emerging neighborhoods is a colorful fusion of the old and new, and reveals much about the transition of formerly nomadic peoples to the industrial and urban realities of the 21st Century.

The population of Mongolia is young, vibrant and energetic. While Mongolia is poor by Western standards, its people have a strong sense of their self-worth. Chinggis Khaan and the Mongol Empire have become important national symbols and are used to instill pride in all Mongolians. This memory of historical greatness has become a powerful force in modern Mongolia. The energy and ambition of the Mongolian people is highly visible in the central district of Ulaanbaatar, where massive building projects dominate the scene. But everyday family life is best observed in the outlying ger districts, where average Mongolians adapt to the new realities of their modernizing nation.
 
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