We’ve been reviewing hundreds of grant proposals for Taiko Grants Cycle 2. Here are some tips that can help you to create a powerful proposal and land that grant.

1. No ChatGPT. It’s fine to use AI tools like ChatGPT to polish your proposal, get ideas, or correct grammar mistakes. However, it’s not fine if your entire proposal is written by some of these tools. Because 1) your proposal sounds like any other ChatGPT-generated text; 2) It tells the reviewers you can’t describe your project in your own words; and 3) It’s time-wasting and can be disrespectful to the reviewers.

   I understand that sometimes there’s a language barrier and AI can be of great help. But still, try to limit your usage of AI tools. Or at least make sure there are no words like “monumental”, “advent”, “visionary”, “revolutionary”, “transformative” etc. because leaving such adjectives in your proposal is the fastest way to lose the reviewers’ trust and attention.

2. Be clear. The very first one or two sentences of your proposal should make it very clear what your project, product, or service is and what it does. If it takes you five paragraphs to explain what your project is all about, there’s a good chance you are, again, going to lose the reviewers’ interest.

   Also, be clear about what you’re proposing. I’ve read countless proposals where, after reading 10 paragraphs, I still couldn’t understand what it is that the project wants. It can be an integration, a deployment, a development of a game, etc. Whatever it is, be clear as to what you’re offering because reviewers have limited time and hundreds of proposals to go through.

3. Take a look at other proposals. To help you do the above, it sometimes makes sense to look at other proposals that, for example, already got a grant or made it to the next stage. If you still have questions, you can even reach out to those proposers and ask for help. Alternatively, you can reach out to the people running the grant program and ask for feedback.

4. Realistic ask. No, the deployment of your perps exchange isn’t worth $2M. As much as you think your project is great, be realistic when it comes to how much you’re asking. Again, take a look at similar proposals and see how much they’re asking. Of course, it all depends on the grant program and its goals, but it’s always good to do some research before deciding on the amount.

5. Include images/demos/videos. It goes without saying that if you have media to share, you should. Especially if it’s a game, a podcast, or an NFT collection you’re building. Even better if you could embed your stuff directly in the proposal to save reviewers’ time and spare them from clicking on links they don’t recognize. Same goes for your past work: If you’ve built something you’re proud of, make sure to include that in the proposal.

6. Realistic milestones. For milestones-based grant programs, try to come up with milestones that are realistically achievable. Also, if you can, include dates or some sort of timeline, even if it’s most likely going to change. This at least gives the reviewers an approximate understanding of how long you’re going to be building.

   Also, this might be a personal belief but I think saying something like, “I’m going to quit my full-time job and rely entirely on this $20,000 grant to build up a project from scratch and hope for the best” doesn’t instill much confidence in you. Unless you’ve already done something similar in the past and can prove that you’re super efficient and knowledgeable in what you do, it’s unlikely to work out.

7. Have active socials. Even if you’re not a social media person, it’s a good sign if you or your company/project has an active social presence. If you have that, make sure to include them in your proposal.

8. No grant farming. Grant farming is a real thing and reviewers are aware of it. If the reviewers determine that you’re grant farming or doing some other shady stuff, it’s likely going to get you blacklisted.

These are just some of the tips that currently come to my mind. It goes without saying that even if you follow all of the above suggestions, your project might still be rejected due to other reasons. The key thing to do here is not to take it personally: Just know that there will be new opportunities in the future that you’ll be able to apply to!

If you ever need help with your grant proposal or have any grant-related questions, DM me on Twitter or Warpcast.

P.S. Taiko Grants Cycle 2 is open. Check out the grants HQ portal here and consider applying!