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The History of SchoolGrants

The SchoolGrants Web site was launched in August, 1999. At that time, there was no single spot where districts could go to find grant opportunities and other assistance to help them in finding funding for supplemental programs for their students. It seemed a shame not to share my knowledge with those who could not otherwise afford such information. SchoolGrants was created to meet the needs of the PK-12 education community.

The first electronic SchoolGrants Newsletter was emailed to 10 subscribers in September, 1999.  Primarily through word-of-mouth promotion by those who receive it, the number of subscribers to the free monthly summary newsletter has grown to over 10,000 in September, 2001. Thanks to all of  you for passing the word along to your colleagues about its availability!

Because there are others in the SchoolGrants community who have been willing to share their knowledge and successes, the site has been able to provide all of you with more grant opportunities, sample successful proposals, grant-writing and fund-raising tips, and worksheets to make management of grants and grant opportunities easier.  Mere words seem inadequate for expressing my gratitude to those generous people!  I am a firm believer in sharing and invite all of you to do more than simply take information and knowledge from the site - please also give back!  It is through that sharing that we can all help meet the needs of our Nation's children and schools.

Believing there was a need for those interested in K-12 education to have a convenient place to collaborate and share, the Bring Home the Bacon listserv began in May, 2000. There were over 850 subscribers on the email list in May, 2001.  Subscribers range from brand-new teachers/grant-writers to those who successfully procure millions of dollars of grants each year.  The list has subscribers from all walks of life who share a common interest - the education of our children.  The sharing by those who participate on the list has far exceeded my wildest dreams and I learn something new almost every single day.  

In October 2000, the first biweekly electronic newsletters were mailed to subscribers.  The biweekly newsletter features grant-writing hints, resources, deadlines, and grant opportunities and is available at the low cost of only $35 per year for each subscriber.  Subscriber comments have all been very positive - many write to tell me how much they count on the newsletter every first and fifteenth.  It is exciting when I hear from subscribers who have gotten grants from opportunities they learned about through the SchoolGrants offerings! 

Based on questions I receive from all over the country, there is a huge need for an easy-to-understand resource on what is involved in writing a grant.  In response to that need, a grant-writing CD, SchoolGrants Let's Write a Grant, was published in January 2001.  The CD features step-by-step instructions to creating a winning proposal from designing a project to finding funding sources to writing the proposal.  It also includes sample proposals (successful and unsuccessful), annotated links to online grant resources, worksheets designed to assist you each step of the way in the proposal process and more.  School districts, public libraries, universities, and individuals have all added the SchoolGrants Let's Write a Grant to their libraries.

As the needs of the community that uses the SchoolGrants site and its resources are identified, I try to find ways to meet them. SchoolGrants was created for you and it is my desire to always provide you with the most relevant information I can.  Your comments, thoughts, questions, and even your criticisms are always solicited and welcome!  

Donna Fernandez is the "organization" behind the creation and maintenance of SchoolGrants.  I am uncomfortable using the pronoun "I" when referring to the site and its various resources because, without the assistance of many of you in its community, SchoolGrants would never have been possible. As I said earlier, I am a strong believer that collaboration, cooperation and communication are the keys to success in any endeavor - and this Web site has done nothing but reinforce my convictions!  The credit for its success belongs to everyone who has shared and I am grateful for each of you!

I worked for the Dallas Independent School District in Dallas, Texas, for over seven years.  I began as the supervisor of their federal accounting department. Previously I worked for a variety of for-profit industries in the accounting field.  When an opening became available in the Grants department of the District several months later, I jumped at the opportunity to "expand my horizons".  I had never seen a grant proposal before that time, but I quickly fell in love with everything that goes into grants - the projects themselves, researching and writing proposals, managing programs, designing and giving workshops to train others, following state and federal legislative activities...  The list is seemingly endless and always changing and generally challenging. In my time in the grants business, I have rarely been bored!  While at the school district, our department was responsible for bringing in from $40 to $65 million in discretionary and entitlement grant funds each year.  I currently work for a non-profit organization, Texans Can!, that manages charter schools in Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston. Our schools, using a unique model that focuses on the whole child, ages 16-21. give those who have dropped out or are at-risk of dropping out of school a new opportunity at life through obtaining their high diplomas and/or GEDs.

It was at about the same time as I joined the Grants department at Dallas ISD that I began to use the Internet.  I immediately fell in love with the power and the seemingly endless fountain of information and knowledge available.  A few years later, I decided to go back to school to pursue an Information Systems degree at University of Texas at Arlington to augment my Accounting degree.  It was there that I took an e-commerce class from Dr. Michael Reimann and learned the basics of creating a Web site.

Combining two loves - the power of grants to create new opportunities and the accessibility of the Internet - SchoolGrants was created to meet the needs I saw for the K-12 community.  Working primarily at night and on weekends, based on needs I saw and that have been communicated to me over time, SchoolGrants has evolved into the site it is today.  The evolution will continue as needs are identified and sharing continues.

If you'd like to know more about my experience, SchoolGrants, or services I can offer in the way of grant-writing, grant review, or workshops, please contact me at donna@schoolgrants.org. 

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This page was last updated on 01/31/2003 06:16 AM
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