Sharing Critical Sectors Grant Successes

WRITE A COMPELLING STORY

A good success story highlights the positive impact of your grant program and the value it brings to the community. The story should describe how the program is being implemented, why the services are needed, and the effects the program is having on participants or the community.

Choose your subject.

A success story can be focused on a CS program, participant, employer, or industry. Consider the current phase of your grant program when determining what to highlight. What is the current capacity, maturity, and level of accomplishment of your CS project? Depending on your project’s current phase, use one of the following three types of success stories:

• Upstream: Your program is in its initial stages, and you have not yet achieved any outcomes. In this phase of your program, you can highlight partnerships, document policy changes within the program and emphasize national, state, or local data, or illustrate whom the program is serving (individual participants, partners, businesses/industries, and communities).
• Midstream: Your program is established and has reached a few early milestones, but you have not yet achieved long-term outcomes. At this phase of your program, you have examples of success and promising practices to showcase. These stories are people-focused and may emphasize how your CS project’s participant services are positively participants, employers, and partners and the communities impacted by your grant. Consider using data to indicate progress when possible.
• Downstream: Your program has demonstrable outcomes. These stories should show how things have changed for participants, employers, partners and the communities on which your CS project focused through data.

Format your story.

• Overview of the problem. Explain the problem you are solving and why it is important. Use data to show the magnitude of the issue.
• Program description. Describe the CS grant project, including the partners involved, populations participating, industries involved, and geographic areas targeted. Detail the actions taken and your overall goal(s).
• Program outcomes. Discuss any outcomes associated with your CS grant. Depending on the phase of your project, outcomes may be short-term or intermediate. Use numbers and data whenever possible to quantify results.
• Conclusion. Summarize the main ideas and appeal to the reader’s emotions.

Use a simple and engaging writing style.

• Use active voice.
• Use plain language. Avoid acronyms and jargon. Keep the reading level at 8th grade or below.
• Keep it brief. Short paragraphs, no more than 3-4 sentences. N

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2026
• Posted by: Christina Stocks
• Posted in: Critical Sectors Job Quality Grant