I apply to a number of grants, Call for Artists, Requests for Proposals, proposals for conference talks, and more. This is part of my regular work as an academic and as an artist. I usually apply to about half a dozen or so opportunities a month, though sometimes many more.
When I was first applying to things a few years ago I met with a friend who showed me how she did it. She used a google spreadsheet. I copied some parts of her system and then built my own system that Iāve been using for years now. Itās simple and works for me. Feel free to use any of this info, which is pretty basic, in case it works for you.
This post is completely on my organizational system and not at all on the content of what I choose to write/apply with. I may do a post on that at some point, but itās not found here.
Organization system
A single Opportunities.md file
I use a single plaintext (markdown) file that lists Upcoming deadlines, followed by a section called Applied, followed by a section called Missed. If I apply to something, I move the line from Upcoming to Applied. If I missed one I move it to Missed. I donāt look at Missed very often at all if ever. I check Applied after I get email responses to things letting me know whether I got a grant or not. I apply to dozens of things a year and might not hear back from an application for months or up to a year, so it helps me to go back and see āwhat was that again?ā This is a very simple system because I need it to be simple and foolproof.
Note that below Iām leaving out the info on the individual things Iām applying to. After, Iāll show you what that looks like.
For years now Iāve written all of my notes, papers, blog posts, and most other website content in markdown. If youāre not familiar with Markdown, itās basically plaintext with some additional marks for bolding, links, headers, etc. So thatās what Iām using here as well.
# Opportunities.md
## Upcoming Deadlines
* xxxx
* xxxx
* etc ..
## Applied
* xxxx
* xxxx
## Missed
* xxxx
* xxxx
Above I showed you the basic organization of my document. Hereās what a single application line will look like for me, in Markdown.
* [ ] Name of organization and/or grant/funding/conference - [more info](https://link-to-info.com) - Deadline date, time, timezone - quick note on what I'm thinking I will propose
For those on a device that makes it hard to scroll, Iāll break it down:
* [ ] - text here
This is a list item with a checkbox when converted to markdown in some specs. I click the checkbox by filling it with a X instead of a space when complete. I then move it down to the āAppliedā section in my text file. For those things I donāt end up applying for because I didnāt have a good idea or I missed it, I move the line to the āMissedā section.
After the checkbox I list the organization and conference name, then a link to where the info and application is located online, followed by the deadline day, time, timezone. Sometimes I add a quick few words on what I think I may apply with, which could be a specific project I have in mind. Other times I donāt know and leave this blank for now.
Anytime I add a new deadline item I place its location based on the deadline, so that items on top of the list are the next upcoming deadlines, and deadlines increase further away as you move down the list.
Now, Iāll describe how I organize the āworkā of applying to each opportunity.
A series of folders with my apps
This section is where I do the writing and saving of my files relating to these applications.
Proposals>
Year>
Opportunity-Name>
individual-file1.txt
individual-file2.jpg
..etc..
I have a directory called Proposals. In that folder I have directories for each year. Inside each year directory I have a separate directory for each opportunity I end up applying to. Usually I copy files from a previous application Iāve done and duplicate it into this new opportunityās folder. Then I open it up and end up editing this application to more appropriately respond to the call. Often these opprtunities Iām applying for use a Google form or similar. So I copy the questions (followed by listing the character/word count) to a text file, then I write and edit in the text file. This is helpful because I can check my word count or character count and keep editing til I get it right. I also donāt have to worry about what happens if the website or my computer crashes before finishing writing. Instead, I wait until Iāve completed writing in my file, then copy and paste into the online form.
For artist calls I usually have to submit a portfolio of images, or links to a portfolio somewhere on the internet. For academic conferences I usually have to submit a CV, either my full professional CV or else a 1 page CV, or sometimes a 3 page CV. Other times they ask for a bio, an artist statement, or something else. Always I start by using previous text Iāve written, then modifying it for character count, or to tailor its content to that specific call.
Hereās a little more detail on how the directories are organized:
Proposals >
2022 >
Electronic-People-conf>
app.txt
one-page-CV.pdf
Smalltown-Public-Art-Call>
app.txt
full-CV.odf
portfolio>
list_of_files.txt
lastname_firstname_01.jpg
lastname_firstname_02.jpg
lastname_firstname_03.jpg
Some-exhibit-open-call>
app.txt
CV
2021 >
2020 >
..etc...
Deadlines and Timezones!
I live on the east coast of the US, and many of the things Iām applying to have deadlines of midnight on the last day of a month at midnight EST. For example, I had several grants due on midnight on halloween this week. Other grants are due at midnight on the 1st of the month. Organizations or conferences on the west coast of the US have deadlines perhaps at midnight PST, which is 3am here. Organizations or universities in Europe could be one of several different times. Some organizations, particularly government institutional ones specify deadlines of 5pm in their timezone.
If you apply to everything in advance (smart!), you can ignore this. Unfortunately, on occasiona thatās not been me. I have sometimes worked on an app on the last day and hours itās due. As someone thatās run a number of open calls for residencies, I know that about half of the applications come in on the last day! Artists are procrastinators! For this reason I always have to be careful I check the timezone, then translate that to my timezone so I know exactly when an app deadline is dropdead due. Unfortunately, with daylight savings and similar phenomenon this causes confusion, especially as the US may or may not switch following Daylight savings, some states ignore it, some parts of Europe follow a different daylight savings switch date, etc.
Because of this many particularly European opportunities list UTC time. Butā¦my favorite timezone is Anywhere on Earth (AoE)! Iāve only ever seen this specified on two opportunities Iāve applied for.
Anywhere on Earth (AoE) is a calendar designation which indicates that a period expires when the date passes everywhere on Earth. It is a practice to help specify easy to understand deadlines such as āMarch 16, 2004, End of Day, Anywhere on Earth (AoE)ā without requiring timezone calculations or Daylight saving time adjustments.
Anyway, thatās my organization system. Hopefully itās useful for you. Any improvements or suggestions, please let me know! Iād be interested in hearing about it. Best of luck on your projects!