EMP and EDP Deadline Weekend! And Grant writing tips! Oooo!

With March 15 falling on a Saturday, the deadline for the Export Development Program (EDP) funding is 5:00pm Monday, March 17.

NOTE from Rob: Same goes for the Emerging Music Program - also with a March 15th deadline.

Applications must arrive at the MUSIC NOVA SCOTIA office on or before the deadline date to be eligible. The original application plus 4 copies are required. Electronic submissions will be accepted. PDF’s are preferred. Please email to funding@musicnovascotia.ca and clearly identify the order in which the pages should appear when printed. A signed and dated “Terms and Conditions” form must be mailed or faxed to MUSIC NOVA SCOTIA to accompany electronic submissions. Only the current application forms will be accepted. If you are unsure whether you are working with the current forms, please consult the Program Officer or download at http://www.musicnovascotia.ca/funding/.

My tips contribution:

1) As Jonny noted, there are way more applications submitted than can be funded. Thus the best rule I can give anyone on grant writing:
DO NOT GIVE THE JURY A REASON TO ELIMINATE YOUR PROPOSAL
By that I mean, if the grant app asks for a 3 year budget [this point is just an example] make sure you provide a three year budget.
Do not think your application is so good that you can ignore what is asked for, or change the way it it asked to be presented [do they tell you to submit 5 copies? well submit 5 copies].
Every jury I have been part of has had applications that are missing required components. But it does make it easy for a jury to decide if that app will be funded or not [and it won’t be].

2) Answer the basics: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
When I read [or I am writing a grant], I want to make sure that anyone who reads the grant app will have any and all questions they may have answered. KEEP IN MIND: The jury can’t ask you about the application so they need all the info to be in your app to address your submission.
In your budget make it clear what the money is being used for, when explaining who is part of the project include bios so I know the publicist you are hiring is suitable for your project. You really can’t have too many details.
Have someone read over it, if they have any questions about the hows and whys etc of the app, address them.

3) Once you have made sure you have all the required aspects covered and then you have reviewed your proposal ensuring any questions a jury may have have been answered, take some time and present the proposal in a nice clean layout.

Make use of bold, underlining, use two or three fonts for main text and headings, make good use of white space.

Not only does it add a level of professionalism [odds are you will apply more than once so just make a nice template] but when the jury is debating your application it makes it easier on them to find the info they need.

Those points will not guarantee you receive any funding, but I will guarantee that your proposal will definitely be evaluated on the merits of the project itself and not rejected for something that could have been avoided.

Some expanded advice from Jonny Stevens - Education Coordinator of Music Nova Scotia, musician, all round good guy and new contributor to this blog:

#1.WHAT TO DO:
#1. READ THE GUIDELINES THOROUGHLY!
≈ Who is eligible?
≈ What expenses are eligible?
≈ Can expenses be incurred before the funding deadline?
≈ What supplemental information besides the applications provided by the funding body do you need to include in the submission?

If any one of these details is overlooked, it can mean your application is turned down or deemed ineligible and will not be processed. I call people when there are missing pieces because I’m too nice. Most funding programs (like FACTOR for example) will just remove it from the submissions.

#2. When creating your budget, price check all costs that rather than estimate. ie. flights, car rentals, professional services like photography, publicity, or tour management.

#3. Identify the people you intend to utilize for the professional services. Don’t put TBA where a name should appear, and then a budgeted amount for that service. This may not be common to all funding programs, but it’s certainly a pet peeve to the jurors in the EDP program and the Emerging Music Program.

#4. Every line item that appears in your budget should be justified in the marketing plan.

#5. When putting together your marketing plan, think ‘COVER LETTER’ or ‘LETTER OF INTENT’, then ‘WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY, HOW’, plus ‘FOLLOW-UP’ or ‘AFTER-CARE’ plan.

WHO ≈ start by describing the artist/group/or business if you’re an industry professional. The jury doesn’t need to know every minute detail, but they need a Readers Digest summary.

WHAT and WHERE and WHEN ≈ will be addressed briefly in the cover letter but will obviously need elaboration in the marketing plan.

WHY ≈ is very important. For a tour, you will need to explain why you’re focusing on these centres. Is there a reason you’re choosing to focus on this territory? Is there added value to playing some of these cities or towns? Touring for the sake of touring is totally valid and necessary. But when applying for funding, you’re wanting to impress upon the jury that this tour has added value for the artist or band in terms of furthering their progress toward their overall goals. Distinguish your project from the other 50 million submissions the funder will be reviewing.

HOW ≈ is how you plan to execute the plan. This is where you will talk about the team and describe the service providers who appear in your budget. The team might be the band.

FOLLOW-UP ≈ is uber important and often glossed over or completely absent. Drives juries nuts. Don’t assume the panel will assume you will follow-up your activity. Tell them. Follow up implies following up with business contacts, not the funding body.

#6. Use headings, bold, and underline in your marketing plan!

#7. Write in the third person.

WHAT NOT TO DO:
#1. DO NOT PAD YOUR BUDGET!
≈ The panel will know.
≈ If you’re actually awarded your entire ask, you may need to match the spending.

#2. Once you think you’re finished - the letter of intent, the marketing plan, the budget, and any other required components, give the entire package to several people to read and give you feedback. You stare at something long enough you don’t even see the weaknesses.

If the people who read give it back to you with no questions, need for clarification, concerns about budget, it might be ready to submit.

#3. Once you think you’re finished, ask yourself “Have I provided enough information that if someone presented this plan to me and asked me to personally invest in the project, would I?” Ask the others who read it the same question.

DOES THIS PLAN MAKE SENSE? WHAT IS THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT?

REMEMBER: All funding programs are oversubscribed. There is alwaysway more demand on the money than there is money to give out. You may not be successful your first time out, or maybe you will.

And some closing advice from Waye Mason of the NSCC Music Business Program, also Director of the Halifax Pop Explosion:

The most important thing is that you can be good and not get money. You have to be great, and your app has to be great, as Jonny said, they are oversubscribed, 1 in 5 get money.

Sometimes it doesn’t mean the jury wouldn’t give you money, it means they didn’t have money to give.

As for me, last time I did Emerging Jury it was me and Stuart from the Barra McNeils. Now, you are thinking, I am sure, what was that like? What was the Halifax Pop Explosion guy and the celtic family guy from Cape Breton like together?

The answer is: we agreed on every damn thing. Every one. The criteria are clear, so it doesn’t matter if the music is hip hop or celtic or rock, or metal, or whatever, what matters is the realistic and well written application meeting all the criteria, and scoring better than everyone else.

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