In the Grant Writing Master Class, IDA’s Program Officer Dana Merwin outlines the multi-faceted grant-writing process for documentary projects. From the Fiscal Sponsorship program, which has supported documentary production and post-production for nearly 30 years, to the specialized funding of the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund and the Enterprise Documentary Fund, she uses IDA’s funding opportunities as a starting point to discuss the fundamentals of writing a strong application. She chats with IDA grantees Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia, whose film, And She Could be Next, offers an in-depth case study of how to weave your film’s loglines, synopsis, treatments and more into a compelling package for potential funders.