maybe getting feedback from various people in EA who know about the sort of things youâre working on but arenât as busy as the grantmakers
then just applying and seeing whether you (a) already get accepted, (b) get rejected but with useful feedback, or (c) get rejected with no feedback but can then use that as a signal to rethink, get feedback elsewhere, and apply again with a new version of the project and explanation.
Relatedly, a few points that I now feel this post shouldâve had more in mind are:
Itâs unfortunately plausible that your application will get rejected quickly because the application didnât make the projectâs scope, steps, or theory of change clear enough
Itâs unfortunately plausible that you wonât get feedback (since grantmakers are often quite busy and often donât have many specific things to say beyond âit didnât seem that this would be great for the world in expectationâ)
But you still have the options of asking for feedback from the grantmakers, of getting feedback from other people, and of applying again with altered version of the project or explanation.
So itâs still ok to treat applying as like the start of a dialogue, it just might be a dialogue between you, the grantmakers, and other people, or a dialogue where you have to infer things yourself and then try to speak up again (to stretch the metaphor a bit)
Something else I now often tell people:
Relatedly, a few points that I now feel this post shouldâve had more in mind are:
Itâs unfortunately plausible that your application will get rejected quickly because the application didnât make the projectâs scope, steps, or theory of change clear enough
Itâs unfortunately plausible that you wonât get feedback (since grantmakers are often quite busy and often donât have many specific things to say beyond âit didnât seem that this would be great for the world in expectationâ)
But you still have the options of asking for feedback from the grantmakers, of getting feedback from other people, and of applying again with altered version of the project or explanation.
So itâs still ok to treat applying as like the start of a dialogue, it just might be a dialogue between you, the grantmakers, and other people, or a dialogue where you have to infer things yourself and then try to speak up again (to stretch the metaphor a bit)