SchoolGrants Grant Writing Links

Links - Grant Writing
When I first started searching for grant-writing links, I didn't think there were many online resources. As the links below demonstrate, I was wrong! There are many very good resources on the WWW that should help you write a winning proposal! I come across many new resources every week that are included in the SchoolGrants Biweekly Newsletter (SBN). Many of the links are never published on the SchoolGrants Web site. If you find the links below useful, you will love the SBN! Don't forget: Links on SchoolGrants always open in their own windows so you will always be able to return to your spot on this site. Many links are provided on the SchoolGrants site; those on this page were verified as accurate on June 19, 2003. The dynamic nature of the Internet means that links may be gone tomorrow. Sometimes unscrupulous individuals and companies purchase popular links and put pornographic materials on those sites. Please let me know ASAP if you come across such a link. Please include the SchoolGrants Web page where you found the bad link.

American Express - Creating an Effective Business Plan	A well-written proposal is much the same as a well-written business plan. American Express offers an online workshop and "Toolbox" that will help you develop an effective, practical business plan (aka proposal).

America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2003	The Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics has released its report, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2003. The report is prepared for the President each year and covers trends in over 25 indicators of child and youth well being, including economic security, health status, behavior and social environment, and education. Some of the information in the report may be valuable to you as you develop needs statements for grant proposals.

Budget Preparation Tips	Many grant-writers are not accountants or "budget people". This site helps you plan and create a budget for your grant proposal.

Budget Basics	This site answers questions about budget management for after-school and childcare programs but many of the ideas transfer to all programs.

Real Business Plans	Bplans.com has a variety of sample business plans that you can view, download, and edit. A good grant proposal equates to a good business plan so grant-writers may want to review these sample plans for ideas on how to write effective proposals.

Clear Language and Design's Reading Effectiveness Tool	Use the interactive Reading Effectiveness Tool to determine your document's Simple Measure Of Gobbledegook (SMOG) readability.

Census Data Sites	County Population Census Counts 1900-90 Data Access Tools Historical Census Data Browser Population and Household Information by ZIP Code

Community Readiness	Community Readiness: A Tool For Effective Community-based Prevention takes a look at the importance of community involvement in effecting long-term, sustained change. Many efforts that seem like great ideas on the surface are unsuccessful over a long period of time. The authors of this study believe the reason is that reformers often do not understand enough about the community and its culture when implementing the programs. The Community Readiness Model was designed to give experts within communities the tools they need to affect long-lasting change. It identifies specific community characteristics related to awareness of and readiness to address the problem. If the community does not recognize that there is a problem and/or does not feel that the problem is significant enough to go to the effort to change things in order to correct it, sustained change is unlikely to occur. The Community Readiness Model is a tool that helps you identify where, within 9 stages of readiness, your community falls. The evaluation is done examining six dimensions of the community: existing prevention efforts community knowledge about prevention efforts community leadership community climate community knowledge about the problem resources available for programs (time, money, space, staff). The same model can be adopted for use in schools and districts. We’ve all seen programs that were supposed to bring sweeping changes into our system that were shelved after just a few weeks or months. Greater success is likely if we spend the time to assess the readiness for change before beginning to implement new programs.

Deborah Kluge, Independent Consultant	Be prepared to spend some time on this site because there is a lot of information here. Deborah's site includes resources for proposal development, government contracting, grants and grant-writing, international development, and international business.

Definitions "Grantionary"	Wonder exactly what a 501(c)(3) charity is or what a 990-PF is? J.C. Downing Foundation provides a short list of foundation-related words that defines and describes some of the key terms that grantseekers may encounter. Houghton Mifflin’s Education Place Web site provides a brief “grantionary” that provides terms, definitions and use of some of the more common terms encountered in the grant-seeking world. The site probably won’t be too helpful if you have much experience with grant writing, but if you are new to it, it may help give you a better understanding of common terms and acronyms encountered when entering the world of fund seeking.

Determinants of Student Achievement	The Public Policy Institute of California has issued a new report, Determinants of Student Achievement: New Evidence from San Diego, which examines school and classroom factors that most influence student achievement. Their research led them to conclude, among other things, that a child’s rate of learning is influenced by the academic abilities of his/her peers. In elementary school, classroom peer effects are strongest while in middle and high school grade-level peer effects are strongest. The research also found that, while some improvements are made due to reduced class sizes, the impact is not significant.

Digest of Education Statistics Available	The Digest of Education Statistics provides a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of education from pre-kindergarten through graduate school. Topics in the Digest include: the number of schools and colleges; teachers; enrollments; graduates; educational attainment; finances; federal funds for education; employment and income of graduates; libraries; technology; and international comparisons. This document is available for free download. Chances are good that there will be some statistics in at least one or more of the chapters that will be of use to you during your grant writing.

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC)	"Funding Opportunities" features information about finding and applying for money to support innovative projects in mathematics and science education.

Education Watch 2003 State Summary Reports	Key Education Facts and Figures related to Achievement, Attainment and Opportunity for every state plus Washington, DC. The "Education Watch" section of the Education Trust's Web site offers a user-friendly slicing and dicing of education testing statistics. The site allows you to compare states' performance in a range of categories and also provides a state-by-state analysis of student performance.

Education Trust	Education Trust has produced a report that shows how every state and the District of Columbia is doing in educating its youth. The documents available here may be useful to grantwriters who are establishing need in the areas of reading, mathematics, special education services, advanced placement, dropout rates, and other areas. I strongly encourage you to check out these reports.

Elements of a Grant Proposal	Paladin Group-Grant Mentors offers this helpful site that leads the grantwriter through the components of a grant proposal. A thorough description of information required in each section is presented.

EPA/Purdue University Grant-writing Tutorial	Tutorials include "Enhancing a Proposal", "Program Specifics", "Completing Forms", "Mock Grant Writing Activity", "Examples", and more. Since this tutorial is sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency, the tutorials are geared toward completing EPA grant applications.

Engage the Public	This 80-page publication from Public Education Network is designed for community leaders, parents and educators. Its purpose is to provide guidance on how to use No Child Left Behind to advocate for improved public education. The book explains the law’s requirements for states, districts and schools in clear terms and prioritizes ten major areas where the public should concentrate its action. PEN recommends that the guide be used as a professional development tool for administrators and teachers. (excerpted from 9/1/2003 SchoolGrants Biweekly Newsletter.)

US DoE Guidance: Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence	Many grant programs funded with federal dollars now are now required to be supported by practices that have been proven effective. This 28-page guide from the U.S. Department of Education seeks to help practitioners distinguish between programs that have passed rigorous tests and those that have not. The publication includes a one-page diagram that gives an overview of the process as well as a checklist to use in evaluating whether an intervention is truly backed by rigorous evidence or by poorly designed or advocacy-driven studies.

Environmental Protection Agency's Mock Grant Writing	An online grant-writing workshop that includes samples from actual grant applications.

Foundation Center	"A Proposal Writing Short Course" is a good resource for anyone preparing to write a grant proposal. It outlines a step-by-step process to use when searching for private funds.

Guide for Writing a Funding Proposal	Check out this site for examples and hints for grantwriters. A sample proposal is given on the site. (thanks to Barbara Seibert for advising us of this site!)

Grant Help School	This resource offers seven lessons on seeking funding from outside sources, a helpful glossary and listing of common acronyms, and much more!

Grant Proposal Self-Assessment Tool (GrantSAT)	The Grant Proposal Self-Assessment Tool is a great tool for all grant-writers. GrantSAT is provided through a joint partnership between the Department of Energy and Westinghouse Electric Company. You must request a password in order to download the document but this document is worth the effort it takes to get it!

The Grantsmanship Center (TGCI)	TGCI features a daily listing of federal grant opportunities published in the Federal Register as well as state, foundation and international funding sources. Nonprofits can sign up to receive a free subscription to the TCGI magazine.

Grants Information Center	The Grants Information Center in Madison, Wisconsin, is one of a network of approximately 200 collections established by the FOUNDATION CENTER, an independent national service organization in New York, to provide an authoritative source of information on foundation and corporate giving.

GrantProposal.com	Elizabeth Howell Brunner gives excellent information about inquiry letters and full proposals. Her site also features hundreds of tips and advice from funders.

Grant Seeking Primer	Adapted from Grantseeking Primer for Classroom Leaders, by David G. Bauer and featured on Scholastic.com's Web site. This article features information on how to get ready to seek grant support, gives six rules for developing proposals, five ways to increase chances for success, how to develop objectives, and how to deal with the grant-makers decision.

GrantsWeb	The Society of Research Administrators' GrantsWeb will keep you busy for hours! This award winning site offers links to hundreds of resources that are essential for grants writing... from finding funding sources to preparing proposals to managing grant projects. Selected by Education World as one of the best education resources on the web.

A Guide for Proposal Writing (NSF)	The National Science Foundation has produced a brief grant writing guide. Applicants for programs sponsored by the Division of Undergraduate Education are the intended audience. Some of the information, though, may be useful to grant writers in general, especially the “Advice to Proposal Writers” section.

Grant Writing Guide	This site includes examples of completed proposals. There is a great deal of valuable information in SeaCoast's Grant Writing Guide. Spend some time on this site prior to writing a grant proposal.

Guide to Grammar and Writing	Successful proposal writers are those who can convey their message via the written word. This site is useful for those who need to "brush up" on their writing skills!

A Guide to Proposal Planning and Writing	Print and read this Guide to Proposal Planning and Writing. It is a very good resource to keep on hand. If you have never written a grant proposal, it is strongly recommended that you read this document before getting started.

HealthLinks Grantseeker Toolkit	A wide variety of grantseeker resources provided by the University of Washington's HealthLinks.

Internet Resources for Nonprofits	Great web sites about Grants and Grantwriting are provided by Internet Resources for Nonprofits. Collected by an experienced grant writer and grant reviewer, Grants and Grantwriting links are available solely to sites containing free information, directory and 'how-to' sources. It is only one topic area within Internet Resources for Nonprofits, a massive directory of over 700 annotated resource links particularly useful to nonprofit agencies and their staff, volunteers and community leadership. There are no advertisements and no commercial connections on this site. All links have been collected by a volunteer professional in the field and includes an extensive selection of online resources for people who seek free access to professionally related topic areas including: fund raising, grants, boards, management and leadership, prospect research, technology, children and youth, education, volunteerism, evaluation and outcomes and more.

Innovation Center	The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development works to unleash the potential of youth, adults, organizations and communities to engage together in creating a just and equitable society. There is a wealth of information here.
Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development	Involving the community in our grant-funded programs is becoming increasingly important. More and more, grantors require that we explain how we involve community partners to help ensure that we are all working together to educate our children. The Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development Web site may be a helpful resource to you as you develop and strengthen your community relationships.

Logic Model Training for Beginners	ReCAPP, Resource Center for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, has an interactive online course available called “A Beginner’s Course in Developing BDI Logic Models.” Using both audio and text, the course covers the following topics: Overview and Benefits of Using the BDI Logic Model Getting Ready Step 1: Health Goals Step 2: Behaviors Step 3: Determinants Step 4: Intervention Components Getting the Most from Your Logic Model The course, as you can see from its topics, is designed for those who are interested in pregnancy prevention. However, you can master the concepts behind developing a logic model for any topic by taking the free course. It is recommended that you set aside between 10 to 30 hours to complete it.

No Child Left Behind	The U.S. Department of Education provides extensive information about the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 on its Web site. This law redefines the federal role in K-12 education and will help close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and minority students and their peers. It is based on four basic principles: stronger accountability for results, increased flexibility and local control, expanded options for parents, and an emphasis on teaching methods that have been proven to work.

Outcome Management	Outcome management is a key topic these days for all of us. The Urban Institute has published a guide, Key Steps to Outcome Management, that may be interesting to you as grant writers since we are all called on to produce proposals that include information about managing outcomes. The thirteen steps delineated in this 43-page report are: Setting up programs that include outcome objectives Determining who will be involved in developing the process and how Establishing an overall schedule Identifying the program's mission, objectives, and clients Identifying the outcomes of the program Selecting specific indicators to measure the outcomes Selecting data sources and data collection procedures for each indicator Identifying key client and service characteristics to link to outcome information Pilot testing the procedures, make needed modifications and implement Examining the outcome data Reporting the findings Seeking explanations for unusual or unexpected findings Using the outcome information to improve services.

Performance Assessments	Approximately 40% of federally-funded programs will be assessed on their performance during the next budget cycle. The results of those assessments will be used to make budget decisions. Programs that cannot demonstrate effectiveness will have their budgets cut and those that show they are working as intended by law will likely see an increase in funding. Last year, about 20% of all programs were evaluated, next year and in subsequent years, that percentage will be raised by an additional 20% until all programs will be assessed for effectiveness by 2008. (added 10/14/2003)

Pew Trusts - Educating Hispanic Youth	The Pew Hispanic Center, supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts of Philadelphia, has released a new report, Hispanic Youth Dropping Out of U.S. Schools: Measuring the Challenge. The report finds that while the retention of Hispanic youth in U.S. high schools is challenging, it is a more manageable task than some statistics suggest. Author Richard Fry suggests that those Latino youth who immigrated to the U.S. solely for its employment opportunities should not be considered when calculating educational progress. The 23-page report covers a variety of topics, including characteristics of Latino dropouts and the history of Hispanic dropout rates during the 1990s.

Pew Trusts - What Will it Take?	The Pew Partnership for Civic Change sponsored a study that was conducted by Dwight L. Morris & Associates, Centreville, VA. The name of the study is What Will It Take? Making Headway on Our Most Wrenching Problems. The project included interviews with over 1000 adults and 200 nonprofit executives where topics of hunger, affordable housing, neighborhood safety, illiteracy and public education were explored. Researchers discovered a discrepancy between the public’s assessment of the severity of the problems and that of nonprofit executives. Despite the fact that the public sees these problems as less severe than those who work with them every day, there is a willingness by Joe Public to help address them. This report examines ways to connect the nonprofits that need volunteer services – and funding, with those who have the ability (and, according to the survey, the desire) to help.

Pointers for Grantseekers	A guide for first-time and novice grantseekers prepared by the Tucson-Pima Public Library.

Polaris Grants Central	This site provides free basic information in the form of directories, lists, hints and tips, resources, and articles for grant seekers.

Princeton Review of State Accountability Systems	Testing the Testers 2003 is The Princeton Review’s second annual ranking of state school accountability systems. The ranking is based on policies that determine the overall character and effectiveness of each accountability system rather than the rigor of a state’s academic standards. The major criteria used for the ranking were: 1) Academic alignment (weighted at 20%), 2) Tests quality (weighted at 15%), 3) Sunshine (whether polices/procedures about the tests are open to public scrutiny and input) (rated at 30%), and 4) Policy (rated at 35%). The Princeton Review’s ranking puts New York at the top as having the best accountability system of all of the states. Other states receiving rankings ranging from 88.5 to 79.7 (in the order of their ranking) include Massachusetts, Texas, North Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Florida, Arizona, Oklahoma, and California. According to this ranking system, Montana ranks dead last as having the poorest accountability system of all of the states. Other states that The Princeton Review says are failing to adequately measure the progress of their students are Kansas, Indiana, Hawaii, Wyoming, North Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, South Dakota, and Rhode Island. These states received weighted scores ranging from 58.2 to 29.0. Providing contact information will allow you to access the complete study, data tables and spreadsheets.

Program Evaluation Guide	This 276-page program evaluation guide was developed specifically to assist those operating HIV/AIDS prevention programs but its topics are applicable for all grant writers and program managers. The guide, Evaluating Programs for HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care in Developing Countries, describes effective methods that can be used to answer the following three critical questions: Are we doing the right things? Are we doing them right? Are we doing them on a large enough scale to make a difference?

Program Planning and Management	If you need help in developing your project, this is a good resource! It includes information on solid program planning, presents guidelines for keeping the planning on track, explains goals and objectives, discusses resources and budget, and gives details on program evaluation.

Purdue University's Writing Lab	You will find answers to a myriad of writing questions on this site! There are over 130 instructional handouts available.

RFP Bulletin	Published by the Foundation Center, the RFP (Request for Proposals) Bulletin is published weekly. Each RFP listing provides a brief overview of a current funding opportunity offered by a foundation or other grant-making organization.

Recruiting and Retaining Qualified Teachers	The National Education Association (NEA) has published a new guidebook, available free of charge, called Meeting the Challenges of Recruitment and Retention. The Guidebook is designed to help schools and districts build a qualified and diverse teacher workforce by providing effective, innovative, and promising initiatives, strategies, and programs for teacher recruitment and retention. Some of the information in this guide may be useful to you as you develop grant proposals related to finding and keeping qualified teachers in your schools.

Research Funding Service	The Research Funding Service is a partnership of the School of Medicine's Office of Research & Graduate Education and the Health Sciences Libraries & Information Center at the University of Washington.

Resource Development for Youth Service Professionals	This short publication (25 pages), dated February 1998, was prepared for the Family and Youth Services Bureau by the National Clearinghouse on Families and Youth. It provides steps that you need to take to raise funds for your programs by telling you how to develop a long-term plan, market to funders, and prepare for the proposal process. This guide is definitely worth the paper and time it takes to print and read.

School Report Cards	In addition to the "official" DOE report card links, the Center for Education Reform provides, where available, and recommends, other sources -- often privately sponsored -- that tell it like it is. These online report cards can offer a wealth of information to grant writers who are seeking to show needs of their school and/or district as compared to others.

Scientifically Based Research: A Planning Tool for Educators	This 6-page document includes criteria for scientific research as defined by No Child Left Behind and provides seven steps to conducting scientifically-based research.

Small Business Association's Business Plan Tutorial	The SBA "The Business Plan - Roadmap to Success" is a tutorial and self-paced activity that will get you started writing an effective and successful business plan.

Stats, Stats and More Stats!	Most grant writers love to learn about new places to get more statistics to include in their proposals. CensusScope is a site you may want to bookmark! It is an easy-to-use tool for investigating U.S. demographic trends, sponsored by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN) at the University of Michigan. The site is designed for generalists as well as specialists and features eye-catching graphics and exportable trend data from the 2000 Census. There are stats, maps and charts for states, metropolitan areas and counties available on CensusScope.

Status and Trends in the Education of Hispanics	This report, Status and Trends in the Education of Hispanics," produced by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), examines the current condition and recent trends in the educational status of Hispanics in the United States. It draws on the many statistics published by NCES in a variety of reports and synthesizes these data in one compact volume. In addition to indicators drawn from existing government reports, some indicators were developed specifically for this report.

Successful Grant Writing: Six Steps to a Winning Proposal through Collaboration & Teamwork	Cassie McVeety, Director of Regional Development and Campus Advancement of WSU Vancouver, defines an effective strategy for successful fulfillment of a grant request - including Defining Need and Institutional Commitment, Research Funding Sources, Preparation, Writing, Follow Up and Stewardship.

TeachersNetwork.org	Find grant-writing tips, elements of grant proposals, reasons for proposal rejection, and more links on Teachers Network.

Testing and Accountability	The following resources may be helpful to grant writers as they develop program objectives and evaluations for their proposals: Achieve, Inc. Just for the Kids StandardsWork School Evaluation Services (Standard & Poor's) U.S. Department of Education's Links to Assessment, Standards and Accountability

Texas State Grants Team	State Grants Team offers information on proposal writing and funding opportunities--national and Texas.

TheFrommGroup	Includes a Public Administrators' Grants Network mailing list

Using Research and Reason In Education: How Teachers Can Use Scientifically Based Research To Make Curricular & Instructional Decisions	Teachers believe in the power of information, but the rush of school life makes it difficult to stay current with the research on effective instruction. This brief paper will help teachers become discerning consumers of educational programs and materials. It provides guidance on how to recognize scientifically based instructional strategies, and how to use the concepts of research in the classroom.

Writing Grant Proposals	Pacific Bell provides resources that will help you gain the background knowledge that you need to write a good proposal.

Writing Effective Applications, Plans and Proposals	The California Department of Education provides this guide for federal and state (CA) grantseekers. The guide includes general grant writing suggestions, tips on effective technical writing, and elaboration on the plan narrative.



Here are more - without annotation but worth your time! *Articles:* Common Grant Application Format Effective Foundation Grantseeking Strategies A Few Ideas about Pursuing Federal Funding Fundamentals of Grantsmanship, by Janet S. Rasey, Ph.D. Congresswoman Pelosi's Grants and Foundation Support page Grantsmanship - from the University of Washington's Research Funding Center Proposals for Funding (How to Get Money Out of Donor Organizations) Research 101 Writing a Grant Proposal Writing a Successful Grant Proposal



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