Submission Advice: Part II

Good advice from those who know what they’re talking about is always helpful. Here are a few tips on preparing submissions from recent DPF Awardees. 

Mary Berridge  (2017) offers these tips when applying for a grant:
“Know your subject.This doesn't mean including lots of facts and statistics which can quickly get dry. It means knowing enough  to write with convincing authority. That authority should enable you to make a strong case for why your project matters. The best way to do that is to use clear and concise language. Avoid jargon and theory. Imagine how you would feel if had to read several hundred proposals. 
Even more importantly, avoid cliches. You want your readers to think about something in a way they hadn't before. Pinpoint what fascinates you about the  subject and describe it in a way that makes it palpable. Specific, colorful and poignantstories will animate your writing.
A timely subject, while not necessary, can help pique jurors' interest. The same is true of having a personal connection to the topic.
This last one should be obvious- and yet I had to learn the hard way- proofread your title for typos!”

Brendan Hoffman (2017) sends more good advice:
“Applicants should really think deeply and critically about the meaning of their work, what it says, and how it connects to larger themes.Be clear in your thinking and then work very hard to make sure the grant application is written in a way that actually conveys the full scope and depth of your ideas. It's easy to put down lots of words that are connected to your project, but often we have so many ideas in mind and then the actual text of a grant application doesn't say everything it is meant to communicate. Make sure someone who doesn't know anything about you or your project can understand fully what you are trying to say.
That, for me, has been the trick. I'm not a writer but the process of writing is a great way to grapple with loose ideas to help bring them into focus.”

 Thanks very much to Mary and Brendan for their advice. And…good luck with the submissions.

© Mary Berridge

Tips on Writing A Grant Submission for TheDPF

Our next Call-For-Entries begins in 4 days. You will have one month to get your proposal ready and submitted. Here are some tips to ensure it is as strong as it can be. 

Read the directions from start to finish. We receive a lot of submissions that are incomplete or ignore the instructions. A common mistake is to forget to rename files correctly. Don’t allow us to disregard your application because of small mistakes. 

Click on the Application Form on our website. It will open on your computer. Save it to your desktop before filling in. Save as you go. Perhaps, write the longer answers in a separate document and paste them in the form. Don’t forget your name and email address! (Yes, it’s happened.)

Be clear and concise in your writing. When you are describing your project proposal, give us a little background, but be sure we know exactly what your goal is with the work and how you will succeed in that goal. Many of TheDPF’s Board Members are teachers (and two of us are ex-English teachers!) and we appreciate good, clear writing. We receive a lot of submissions, and the more difficult your writing is to understand, the easier it is for us to disregard your application. Have someone proofread the whole thing before sending it in. If English is your second language, we certainly understand. Do your best and, again, get someone to proofread your writing.

If you are already in the midst of your project, be very clear about what is left to do. In additional, have a good idea about how the work is going to get out to the community. If your goal is an exhibit, ideas about where is helpful. If you are considering a publication, give us some detail about what it will be and how it will reach others. The more ways the work can be shown, the better.

Be clear about why your project is important to your community. I cannot stress how important it is that you have a stake in your work. We support projects local to you. Tell us in very clear terms why this is your community and what the work will mean. 

If you are flying to another country or across the USA or in any way proposing to work very far from home, we want to know in very clear terms why the place you are going is your community. If you can’t tell us in a persuasive way, we have a problem. 

When preparing the budget, spend some time really thinking about what your costs will be. While we don’t need numbers down to the penny, we want a clear feel for what it will cost to complete the work. If your budget exceeds the $5000, be clear where the rest of the funds will come from. And remember, we want you to make a profit. It is not necessary, but if you can keep costs down, that’s great. Make some money doing good work. 

Your portfolio is by far the most important part of your submission. Choose wisely. Your portfolio is only as strong as the weakest image. If you are in the middle of the work, send images from the project. We give you space on the application form to describe the project you are submitting; please tell us. 

If you have not begun, submit an old project (not too old!), so we can get a look at your visual style. It’s difficult if you send work that is 180° in difference from the proposed project. Looking at, for example, studio fashion work, when proposing a documentary project makes our lives a little difficult. If you have to submit photos in a different genre, please explain to us how you will work if given the grant. 

When choosing photos from the project you are applying with, again, take care. Give us a feel for how the whole thing will work together. Choose the strongest stuff, even if you know they won’t all make the final cut. If you don’t have enough for a complete portfolio at this time, you can send a second body of work to go along with the newer stuff. 

Do not send more images than we ask for. Label them correctly. 

Do not send images via Dropbox or another service one at a time. Please, please, please, I am begging you. Put the whole submission (application form, CV, portfolio) in one folder, labeled correctly and share it with us. 

Finally, I give you the advice you will almost certainly ignore: Don’t wait until the last minute. Most of you are applying for multiple grants over the year; make a check list of what to do and when to do it and check it often. Your submission is due at midnight Mountain Daylight Time. I can see when it arrives in my mailbox. Don’t waste all that good work by not knowing when the Call ends. 

Good luck. We look forward to hearing from you. I can take questions about specific submissions until June 7. After that, you’re on your own.  

A New Day at TheDocumentaryProjectFund

            TheDocumentaryProjectFund is now in its fifth year helping fund documentary photographers working on projects in their communities. We are very proud of the photographers we’ve sponsored and are committed to helping make stories come alive. Our mission has always been to fund community based projects and we believe that photographers who are passionate about improving their own communities deserve help, encouragement, and funding. That said, we also have a very large stake in our own community. All of us at TheDPF have deep ties to Utah and the Mountain West region of the United States. If we really believe that working in one’s community is important for our awardees, we need to put our money where our mouth is and do for our own region what we are doing for others’. Therefore, beginning now, we are making some changes.

            For the foreseeable future, we are discontinuing the Emerging Vision Award. We will continue to award a $5000 Project Support grant twice a year, for which all photographers will be encouraged to apply. In addition, we will award one Mountain West Regional grant per year. In total, we will give three grants per year, each for $5000.

           This spring (beginning May 15 and running through June 15), in a Call open to all photographers, we will award one $5000 Project Support grant. This Call is open to everyone. Then, in the fall of 2018, we will offer two separate awards, one open to all applicants and one offered specifically to residents of the Mountain West region of the United States. We define this region as Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico.

           We want to encourage those of you who would have applied for the Emerging Vision award to apply for the Project Support grant. Remember, a strong submission is a strong submission. A good story idea and a great portfolio are what we are looking for, whether you are a new or established photographer.

          Those of you who live in the Mountain West or know photographers there, please get the word out and mark your calendars for the new Mountain West Award in Fall, 2018.