10 words you shouldn't be using in your trust applications

I’ve read and reviewed a lot of trust applications over the past two decades as a fundraiser and there are some words that just make me cringe when I read them. So I’ve put together a list of some of the best –words that to me seem overused, and don’t make much impact. And that’s not what we want when potential funders are reading our applications!

1.       We

All too often I see organisations start off a fundraising letter or application talking about themselves. We assume that we want the funder to know all about us and what we do – after all, a grant application is all about our organisations right? Wrong. Whilst a funder absolutely wants to know who they’re money is going to think about your application in the context of how you can help the funder achieve their own ambitions and priorities.

Try using less ‘we’ and more ‘you’.

2.       Disadvantaged

This one is just overused and too general. Be more specific. Tell the reader more about the people you reach – what are the exact problems they face, and what is their life like? Give them details and show that you really understand the people you’re trying to help.

3.       Unique

Be honest here. Is what you do really unique? In this day and age its very hard to show that you really do something that nobody else does. Instead, tell the funder why you do what you do or how can you prove that what you do works. Tell them how you complement the work that other organisations do and show them that you understand the landscape you’re operating in.

4.       Strive

This one is just a bit of an odd word. You wouldn’t use it in a conversation so don’t use it just because you’re writing. Strive to me sounds like you’re trying but not succeeding which is not quite the impression we want to give in a funding application!

5.       ‘Looking to raise’

Ok so its not one word, but this one really gets me. You’re looking to raise money or you are raising money? Be bold, and unapologetic. We’re raising £100,000! Show the funder you mean what you say and you’re not just trying.

6.       Urgently

Now whilst an application should absolutely demonstrate a need, and one that is time-bound is your funding need really urgent? If it is, I’d question whether trust fundraising is the right approach for you – after all it’s not uncommon for applications to take up to 6 months to be assessed. So can you really justify your need as urgent in that scenario?

7.       ‘We hope to…’

Similar to number 5 – you can’t just hope to do something in the grant world. You will do something – you will help educate, you will create an impact on people’s lives, you will change behaviour.  Hoping to do something just isn’t enough when a funder is going to give you their money.

8.       Beholden

I don’t even know who would use this word today in the spoken language, but yes I’ve seen it in a trust application. As trust fundraisers I think we can be guilty of trying too hard to make our applications sound grand and important.

There’s a lot to be said for simplifying our language and making our proposals straight forward.

Write copy that sounds like you and your organisation, not like someone who’s 100 years old.

TIP: Use your organisation’s website. It’s pre-approved copy that follows your brand guidelines and is in the ‘tone of voice’ that your organisation wants to portray.

9.       Whom

Again not one you’d use in the spoken language so it just sounds a bit old fashioned. My top tip for getting your applications to sound more energetic and passionate is to read them aloud – you’ll soon cut out words like this one 😊

10.   Innovative

I realise that many grant funders want ‘innovative’ proposals so this is hard one. I’m sure most of us fundraisers have used this word without even thinking about so next time I want you to really think about whether what you’re proposing is truly innovative. Was the service innovative when it started 10 years ago but perhaps isn’t now, and can you show how it complements other services to demonstrate its uniqueness rather than just saying it’s innovative?

With so much competition for funds, going the extra mile to demonstrate your in depth knowledge can only be a good thing.

So how many of these words do you have in your applications? If you’d like some help revising or creating an application, get in touch to find out about my Application Review.