How to Write for a Guggenheim Grant
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awards the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship to individuals in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. Grants are made in the categories of science, scholarship and the arts. To avoid immediate rejection, it is important to know how to correctly apply for a Guggenheim grant.
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Instructions
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Applying for a Guggenheim Grant
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Go to the foundation's Web site (http://www.gf.org) and print all application materials, including the deadlines and resources. Create a binder for easy access to the information. Check the deadline to make sure that you allow adequate time to prepare your application.
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2
Prepare your personal information, which should be on your resume. This includes personal information, your address, positions that you have held, languages that you speak, organizations you are or have been involved with, and your educational background.
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Have the names and addresses of four references available. Your references may be asked to provide letters of recommendation, so let them know that you plan to use their names. The best references are those who are familiar with your recent work and your overall career.
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4
Write a narrative of your career and your personal and professional accomplishments. Make note of any prizes or honors that you have achieved. If you have received any grants or fellowships, make sure that you outline how long they were held and the names of the grantors.
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Depending on the category of grant for which you are applying, outline your works related to publications, exhibitions, compositions, performances, films, or research. Be sure to include the names, dates and locations of any performances, the dates and titles of any publications, and any other pertinent information. If you have upcoming shows or exhibits, be sure to include those in your application.
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State what you plan to work on during the dates that you have outlined for your fellowship. Limit yourself to three pages. If you are focusing on science, discuss in detail your research plans. If you are applying for an arts grant, submit a general statement of your plans.
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Have someone edit your personal statement for grammatical and spelling errors to make sure that it is professional.
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Prepare your personal statements by printing them to PDF to upload to the foundation's website during the application process.
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Fill out the online application and upload any requested documentation to the website. You can save your application and make changes or additions to it.
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Tips & Warnings
If the foundation wants additional information, you will receive an acknowledgement via e-mail requesting additional samples of your work with instructions on how to submit the samples.
Do not exceed the page limit or provide extraneous documentation or Guggenheim may deny your application. It is important to follow all instructions and not make your own requirements when submitting an application for a grant. Also, note that the United States and Canada deadlines for applying are different from the Latin America and the Caribbean deadlines.
