If I Was Your Grant Writer: I’d Tell You to Stop Starting from Scratch

You open a new grant application. You’re staring at the first prompt:

“Describe your organization’s mission, history, and key accomplishments.”

And even though you’ve written this exact thing before… your brain goes blank.

As grant writers, we’ve been there more times than we can count. This is usually when the tab-hopping begins—digging through old applications, copy-pasting half-sentences, rewriting lines that sound clunky, and second-guessing everything you thought you knew like the back of your hand.

It’s exhausting. And honestly? Totally avoidable.

One of our favorite behind-the-scenes tricks is something we call a Grant Narrative Library—and it’s a total game changer.

What’s a Grant Narrative Library?

It’s exactly what it sounds like: a running document where you save your best responses to the prompts you see in grant applications over and over again.

Nothing fancy. Just your strongest, most on-brand language, all in one Word doc.

Think of it as your organization’s narrative brain. Something you can pull from when you’re trying to stay consistent or just too tired to string together a

sentence from scratch. Over time, this doc will become your “we’re not doing this the hard way again” system.

What to Include

Every funder has their own language, but most grant applications boil down to the same core set of questions. Your narrative library should include clear, solid responses to things like:

• Your mission and vision

• Your organization’s history and leadership

• The problem you’re addressing—and why it matters

• Who you serve, and how you reach them

• Your main programs or services

• Your track record and key outcomes

• How you define and measure success

• Your approach to equity, inclusion, or community voice

• Key partnerships or collaborations

You don’t need polished, funder-ready paragraphs here. You just need clean, confident language that reflects who you are and what you do.

These aren’t meant to be copy-pasted into every proposal as-is. They’re your starting points for crafting aligned answers! 

Why It’ll Save You Time and Stress

• You won’t have to start from scratch. You’ll have a solid starting point every time.

• You’ll move faster. Especially when you’re juggling three deadlines and a funder drops a surprise opportunity in your inbox.

• Your story stays consistent no matter who’s writing or reviewing!

• It makes your writing stronger. With everything in one place, you’ll start spotting gaps, leveling up your language, and telling a more compelling story over time.

How to Build It (In One Afternoon)

You don’t need a whole day or a special retreat to pull this off. Just carve out an hour or two and follow these steps:

1. Open a blank Word or Google Doc. Nothing fancy! Just something you’ll actually use.

2. Grab 2–3 of your strongest recent grant applications. The ones where you felt like, “Yeah, we nailed it.”

3. Copy the narrative responses you’re proud of into your new doc.

4. Organize the content by section or theme. Label everything clearly so it’s easy to skim. I also recommend using Word’s built-in heading structure so you can auto-generate a clickable table of contents. (Here’s a quick how-to)

5. Update or remove any outdated or funder-specific language. Keep it general so it’s easy to repurpose.

6. Use placeholders for data or info that changes frequently. For example: [Insert most recent fiscal year here] or [Add updated client outcome data].

7. Finally, save it somewhere obvious. Not buried five folders deep on someone’s desktop. Share it with whoever helps you write or review grants, and actually start pulling from it next time you’re drafting.

One Last Thing

You don’t need a polished, perfect document! You just need one that exists. One that evolves with you as your programs grow, your data gets stronger, and your messaging gets tighter.

And if the idea of pulling this together feels like just one more thing on your plate? We’ve got you! At JAC, we can build your narrative library from scratch or take your existing applications and turn them into a clean, organized doc you’ll actually use. Either way, we’ll make sure you’re never stuck staring at a blank page again. Ready to get started? Inquire to work with us here.