NERDing Out Over Need Statements

Problematic plot points aside, I love how Ogre finds his inner nerd in "Revenge of the Nerds."

While studying (cramming) for my Grant Professional Certification exam a couple weeks ago, I was doing the thing where you try to make associations and mnemonics to make recall of information easier. You know, "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally" for the order of operations, "My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine (Pizza Pies)" for the order of planets back when Pluto was a planet, stalaGmites on the ground and stalaCtites on the ceiling (or stalagMites look like mountains), etc. 

I do this a lot. For example, the principled principal had one principal principle. Or I compliment (with an "i") your shirt, which complements (with an "e") your eyes. Discrete (singular and distinct) has just a singular "e". Or the "Ls" in parallel are parallel. 

Hey, it works. 

So, I was still tickled when my notes revealed a handy mnemonic device for remembering what you need to include in a need statement (the part of the grant where you prove to the funder your project is, well, needed): 

Need - What is it your clients or community need? What are they lacking? What are the issues facing them? 
Evidence - How do you know the need exists? What are the sources to show this? 
Relevance - Why does it matter? What will happen if nothing is done? 
Duplication - Do you know what else has been done? Can you demonstrate you are enhancing the services, not duplicating efforts? 

NERD. 

Oh. Em. Gee. 

Now, I am a bit of a nerd, and especially a need statement nerd. I love them. I love researching an issue, looking at all the different sides, and learning about communities. I love how numbers can illustrate your point, or they can get you to think harder about your assumptions. I get an actual, physical thrill when I find that golden thread that connecting a peer reviewed or expert resource to an approach my client is taking. 

I also know a lot of folks get tripped up on need statements. They either think the section is for talking about what they need (more teachers instead of a more effective classroom for kids). They sometimes waste precious characters and the reader's time by talking about things that don't matter (the importance of sleep for high schoolers when the project is supposed to serve elementary kids). They talk about what they assume they know but don't actually use relevant sources to prove their theories. Or, they fail to demonstrate the gap they will fill in their communities. 

I think NERD is a great way to double check your work and make sure you are showing the funder you are writing to why your project matters and why it needs to be funded.

Plus, I firmly believe the world needs more nerds. 

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