Successful fundraising applications...

The quality of writing is obviously very important when it comes to applying for funding from charitable trusts and foundations, and being able to convey a project or concept in simply terms is a skill in itself. However, there is more to a successful application that just the words.

When applying for a grant, you need to:

1. Plan
2. Develop clear processes
3. Develop well-defined projects
4. Research

And you need to do all of this before the writing begins!

Interview with Olives author, Bhavna Khanna

Listen to 'Olives' author, Bhavna Khanna being interviewed by Green Olive Press's Communications Manager, Sonia Popat.

Bhavna spills the beans on her culinary influences and what inspires her to paint.

Olives is a hand-bound recipe book written and illustrated by Bhavna Khanna and limited to only 150 copies.

Purchase your copy from the Green Olive Press website (www.grenolivepress.com) for only $46.20 including postage and packing.

Keep Calm and Carry On - The story behind the video

I just love this...

DesignObserver (@DesignObserver)
30/05/11 1:18 AM
Big hit yesterday: Keep Calm and Carry On: Story Behind the Poster. Video. http://bit.ly/mBBB6D

Note: password "keepcalm" is needed.

Olives: A Recipe Book by Bhavna Khanna

Olives was launched for a second time last week at Opia Cafe and Bar, Clarence Street Sydney (thank you for keeping us topped up with bubbles and for hosting the event so well!) by renowned poet, David Wansbrough.

David entertained the crowds with readings from his forthcoming book of poems Le Pain Quotidien: Poems on the Pleasures of Life (Green Olive Press, July 2011). David recited four poems, each one with a connection to olive oil or olives, including the wonderful 'Extra Virgin' and 'Fragment'.

Extra Virgin

I have sponged spots

off my last atavistic summer suit

and I lament that my last silk tie

may soon be soiled.

I know that I am invisible

to skinny-waisted big-breasted girls,

so I will continue to dip slices

of le pain quotidien,

in extra virgin oil.

Fragment

I am guardian of an Etruscan bowl

with an alternating pattern of olives

and their leaves. Some joys are timeless.

Perhaps a priest used this for libations

to sun and earth.

Or a temple prostitute painted her nipples

with honey from it, and made her body glisten,

and wove olive leaves in braids

with red river wire-of-gold

to sanctify her hair. But I prefer

to think some honest couple, resting from garden tilling,

emptied their baskets

of weeds, and sat in the shade

of trees, and cut hard crusts

and dipped them in a bowl of oil,

and with the contentment we fee now, ate.

Both Olives and Le Pain Quotidien are available to purchase from www.greenolivepress.com

Olives is a limited edition hand-bound, illustrated recipe book. Only 150 copies are being produced.

Writing for your reader

Today I have been writing copy for a funding application. Not only is it imperative to the success of the application that the project I am applying for funding for matches the funding body's criteria, it is also essential that I keep the intended reader in mind.

Here's a list of the things I consider when putting together any copy material:

1. Language - technical or simple; specialist or general. If I am writing for lawyers, it's okay to use legal terms. If I am writing for a layperson, I avoid technical terms.
2. Style - formal or informal. I always consider what the reader will be looking for. Is it okay to address the letter with 'Hi James' or should I address it with a more formal salutation.
3. Length - long or short? How much time will the reader spend reading my material? If they only have five minutes then they are not going to be able to read a 300 page tome. However, if they are assessing a funding application, then I expect they will spend longer than 5 minutes reviewing it. My copy, therefore, needs to be of sufficient length to describe my project whilst not being overly verbose.
4. Structure - there's a lot top be said for the techniques we all learnt at school... Structure your copy with a beginning, middle and end (and if it is long copy, it's okay to have lots of 'middles').
5. Content - before I start writing I always make a list of the items I need to cover. Before writing this piece, I jotted down a list of five headings (language; style; length; structure and content) as I knew that this is what I needed to cover in this blog. I keep a list of notes next to me as I write and cross them off as I cover them.

The other important aspect of any copy - particularly in job applications, funding applications or any material that is designed to persuade people - is the ability to convey passion and conviction without being over the top. I will blog about this soon, but in the meantime, try and think of phrases that people use that annoy you or come across as insincere... you should avoid using such phrases in your own writing.

Arts Council Funding Tips

Last night I attended a presentation at the NSW Writers' Centre given by two staff from Australia Council for the Arts (Willow Drummond and Catherine Gray) . Basically, the presentation didn't tell those present anything new - all of the information is available on the website (www.autsraliacouncil.gov.au) but the speakers did provide a few tips for successful applications:

• Check the website


• Phone the office and ask questions about the suitability of your project


• Apply online


• Use plain English - keep it simple


• Consider - Why this? Why now? Why me? Sincerity and passion works well


• Present a reasonably balance budget


• Provide appropriate support materials in the genre you are applying for funding for


• Don't apply last minute - applications take time


• Just because you are unsuccessful in one round, doesn't mean you will be unsuccessful in the future


• Look at the videos of successful applicants on the website. Some successful applicants also write blogs with tips


• Look at what has been funded in the past and consider if your project is a good fit


• Don't give up - keep on with your arts project regardless!

Kafka trial

I have just finished reading a rather interesting essay in the London Review of Books about the Kafka trial. Kafka left unpublished and published papers to Max Brod with the explicit instructions that they should be destroyed at his death. Brod didn't do this and instead gave them to Esther Hoffe, his secretary, with whom he had a relationship with. On Esther's death, the papers passed to her daughters, Eva and Ruth. Eva and Ruth are proposing to sell the papers - unsighted - by weight. People can bid on a kilogram of paper and then later discover what they have bought. Never mind a pound of flesh, what about a pound of paper. What do you think?