Feedback
Requested!
The SchoolGrants
team is considering offering a 1 to 2 day workshop
that will feature such topics as:
-
Using the
Internet to research for grant opportunities;
-
Applying for
Federal grants;
-
Developing
successful relationships with corporations and foundations;
-
Managing
your grants;
-
Integrating
technology into your curriculum;
-
Creating and
managing fundraising events
The workshop
will be held in Dallas, Texas. Every
presenter has years of practical experience
working with nonprofits, school districts, and
charter schools.
We need
your feedback! What topics would you
like to see covered? What time of year is
most convenient for you to attend a
workshop? Do you have other suggestions that
will help us make the workshop a great experience
for you? (Email us at feedback@schoolgrants.org)
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Grant-Writing
Tips |
|
Additional
Grant-Writing Tips
(as
published in previous editions of the SchoolGrants
Newsletter) |
|
Other
Grant-Writing Resources |
|
Hiring
a Consultant |
|
Ken
Ristine's Hints for Letters of Inquiry |
|
Marylee
Boales' Grant-Writing Tools |
|
Traits
of a Grantwriter
(humor) |
|
Some
Irreverent Thoughts on Grant-Writing Relationships |
|
10
Grant Writing Tips
|
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|
Grant-Writing
Tips |
The most important thing for grant-writers to
remember is that they might submit a perfect application and
still receive a rejection. Most foundations have limited
resources with which to fund projects. Do not get
discouraged if you get a rejection from a possible funding
source. |
READ the grantor's guidelines and
instructions carefully. Do not try to make the grantor's program fit what you want
to do - your program must be in line with the funding agency's priorities. |
Ideas should be innovative,
creative and educational. Grantors will rarely fund operating expenses - they usually
invest in supplemental programs. Private foundations often seek creative
solutions to problems/needs, but they usually do not wish to
fund risky projects. Try proposing a project that puts a
fresh spin on an existing idea. |
Keep your goals realistic! It is
important to have an evaluation plan. Grantors want to know if the projects they
fund are successful--that your project is meeting its goals. |
Is your project replicable?
If so, tell the grantor how you plan to extend the project to other grades or schools.
|
Have a reasonable, detailed
budget. Do your homework on costs prior to submitting your application
and be sure to explain your budget even if there are no
requirements to do so. |
If possible, cite research that
supports the program for which you are requesting funding. SchoolGrants
provides links to a number of
helpful resources where you will
find surveys and research to support
various projects. (Those who
have purchased the SchoolGrants Let's
Write a Grant interactive CD
have links to an assortment of
research reports that will assist
you in your grant-writing
efforts. Information for
accessing these reports is on the
CD.) |
Clarity
in communicating your
ideas is very important. Have someone who is not involved in the project in any way
read and critique your draft application. |
Proofread! Spelling and
grammar errors do not convey a positive image. |
Follow the grantor's instructions
to the letter. Applications are turned away when they do not exactly meet the
funding agency's requirements. |
If your
project is rejected, ask the grantor for reviewer
comments. The comments can offer invaluable tips for
improving your future grant applications. Never forget to write
thank-you notes - even if your project is not funded initially! |
|
Take
time to review some
successful
proposals. This is a
great learning tool.
Several generous
individuals have shared
their successful proposals
with SchoolGrants
and, in most cases, you
may view them online and/or
download them in MS Word
6.0. Go to the Sample
Proposals page to see
the various proposals that
have been contributed.
A
word
of
caution:
sample
proposals
are
not
provided
for
you
to
copy
in
any
way
nor
should
they
be
used
to
give
you
ideas
for
a
grant.
The
chances
that
you
can
copy
someone
else's
work
(which
is
illegal)
and
receive
funding
are
slim
as
the
program
will
not
be
designed
for
your
particular
clients. |
|
Developing
a
Mission
Statement
-
Tony
Poderis
says,
"The
Mission
Statement
declares
"why"
an
organization
exists,
and
is
the
only
foundation
upon
which
a
long-range
strategic
plan
(the
blueprint
for
carrying
out
the
organization's
"business")
can
be
developed."
You
must
have
a
well-written
and
thoughtful
mission
statement
in
order
to
successfully
seek
grant
funding.
This
article
gives
detailed
information
on
creating
an
effective
mission
statement
for
your
organization.
|
Studies
indicate
that
the
one
quality
all
successful
people
have
is
persistence.
They're
willing
to
spend
more
time
accomplishing
a
task
and
to
persevere
in
the
face
of
many
difficult
odds.
There's
a
very
positive
relationship
between
people's
ability
to
accomplish
any
task
and
the
time
they're
willing
to
spend
on
it.
--Joyce
Brothers
|
|
 Grants:
Beyond
the
Money
A
wonderful
article
on
how
the
act
of
preparing
grant
proposals
-
with
its
planning
and
collaboration
-
makes
schools
winners
even
if
the
proposal
isn't
funded
was
written
by
Alan
November
in
1993.
You
should
take
the
time
to
read
the
article
-
it
is
excellent!
|
|
Grant-writing
tips for the 21st Century
Community Learning Center
(CCLC) project are
available by clicking
here. (There are
also two winning 21st CCLC
grants available for
download (MS Word 6.0
format) and review on our Sample
Proposals page.) |
|
| More
Grant-Writing
Tips as published in
previous editions of the SchoolGrants
Newsletter. |
|
|
The
California
Department
of
Education
has
developed
a
nice
guide
for
those
who
are
writing
proposals
in
response
to
state
or
federal
requests
for
proposal.
Check
it
out!
|
|
|
Public
Education
Network's
FoCAL
Points
#18
provides
eight
tips
for
grant
seekers.
These
tips
are
designed
to
show
new
grant
writers
how
to
turn
their
innovative
ideas
into
convincing
grant
proposals.
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|
This
tip is provided by Dr.
GilWoolard*. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us, Dr. Gil!
Establish a "School Grant Team" composed of five to seven faculty
members who are interested in writing grants. Include a good researcher or Librarian, a
good writer, and a good English "proofer", and a good typist or word processor on the team.
This spreads out the work load, so no one person has to take all the responsibility...and reduces the
hours spent writing grants after school! One head is better than two, anyway, or my favorite
saying, "The total is greater than the sum of the parts." This has worked well for me in
several districts, but it works best where you can get the Board and superintendent to offer a ten
percent bonus to any person or team (local funds only) who writes and receives a grant from sources
not normally used (like 'flow-through' grant funds that many state departments of education use to distribute
state/federal funds).
*Dr. Woolard has written several books, numerous
grants and has taught a number of college-level courses, including Grantwriting. He has conducted
dozens of community and business needs assessments and evaluations, and now serves on retainer
with several schools and businesses as a Grants Consultant & educational program advisor. Client
References and referrals available by contacting him at:
Dr. Gil Woolard, CFI, EdD, CPC,
SCGS, Consultants for Instruction,
P.O. Box 556, Camden, SC
29020. Telephone:
(803) 432-7525; Email: drgil3@aol.com
Visit Dr. Gil's Web site
at www.consultantinstruction.com |
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Other
Resources |
The
following are some of our favorite online resources for
grant-seekers. There are many additional
resources on our Grants-Related
Links page. |
| Visit the
Foundation
Center's website for a short proposal writing course.
|
|
SeaCoast
Web Design -- an online grant-writing guide, "10-Point Plan for Standard Grant Funding
Proposal"
that
includes a
sample
inquiry
letter, a
complete
sample
private
grant
application,
a complete
sample
public
planning
grant
application,
a complete
sample
public
implementation
grant
application,
a sample
grant
budget, a
sample cover
sheet and
cover
letter, and
links to
grantmakers.
|
The
J.C.
Downing Foundation offers
hints to grant-writers seeking
funds from foundations. It is
worth your time to review this
list of suggestions! |
The
Foundation
Center's User-Friendly
Guide to Funding Research and
Resources includes a Glossary
of grant-writing terms that
may be helpful to many new
grant-writers.
(thanks to
Barbara Seibert for sharing
this link with us!) Polaris
Grants
features
Grant
Glossary
Terms
on
their
Web
site.
Polaris does a great job of identifying and defining hundreds of terms you may run across while seeking grants. The
J.C.
Downing
Foundation
provides
definitions
for
a
short
list
of
foundation-related
terms
that
are
often
cumbersome
and/or
confusing
to
those
new
to
grant
writing. |
Larissa
Golden
Brown
outlines
17
ways
to
make
your
grant
seeking
more
efficient
in
her
"Habits
of
the
Fearless
Grant
Seeker"
article.
Writing
grant
proposals
is
a
lot
of
work,
but
following
Larissa's
suggestions
will
help
make
your
job
much
easier
through
good
organization.
|
"A
Few Ideas about Pursuing
Federal Funding" by
Ralph Nelsen of the Columbia
Education Center of Portland,
Oregon. I
love it when I stumble across
really good resources!
This is one that everyone
should take a few minutes to
read. |
The
National Education
Association has a page
devoted to answering the
question, "How
Do You Find Time to Write a
Grant Proposal?"
Several teachers' responses
and hints can be found on
the site. |
You
don't
just
luck
into
things
as
much
as
you'd
like
to
think
you
do.
You
build
step
by
step,
whether
it's
friendships
or
opportunities.
--Barbara
Bush
|
Texas
State
Grants Team offers free training and other services to state
legislators, state agencies, all subdivisions of government,
non-profit agencies and individuals. |
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Disclaimer: All
links were accurate as of
May 11, 2002. As you
know, Internet companies
and Web sites come and go
quickly.
Unfortunately,
pornographic site
operators are purchasing
popular domains and
putting their material on
them.
If you should
follow a link from the
SchoolGrants site that
ends up somewhere that was
obviously unintended,
please let
me know as soon as
possible! Please
include the SchoolGrants
page you were on when you
found the changed link so
I can find it quickly and
delete it.
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Marylee
Boales' Grant-Writing Tools |
Marylee
Boales writes and
supervises grants
for a high
school district
in northern
California.
She has
developed tools
to help her
evaluate which
grants are most
appropriate -
based on
eligibility,
suitability and
"supervisability".
She generously
shares two of
the more generic
tools she has
developed that
help her present
potential grants
to
administration
for
consideration. |
| Download
Marylee's forms
(MS Word format)
here:
|
Definitions
of abbreviations
on the forms:
LOI - Letter of
Intent/Interest
Tech Asst. -
"Technical
Assistance".
Marylee uses
this space for
information
about any
available
Bidders'
Conferences
associated with
the grant. |
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|
Traits
of a Grantwriter |
(Thanks to Seymour Lesh, Director of Grants,
Westchester Community College for allowing us to publish his
humorous list of grantwriter traits which is approached from
a medical standpoint!) |
| As a grant writer, you should have the
following afflictions: |
- Schizophrenia so you can support both sides in an
argument
|
- Amnesia to forget all the snide put downs of your work
|
- Carpal tunnel syndrome so it looks like you're
struggling to find just the
right word
|
- Bladder problems for the appearance of always being in
a hurry
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- Hemorrrhoids for that look of concern
|
- Whooping cough to hide your laughter at the nonsense
going on around you
|
- Scarlet fever for that sweaty look of working very
hard
|
- Toothache so you have an excuse for yelling at people
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- Tennis elbow so you don't have to do any heavy lifting
|
- Paper cut so you can wave your hand around without
offending the person you want to offend
|
- Schistosomiasis (look it up) for that pale/ashen look
of a martyr
|
But enough - with all of these ailments you
can probably get medical leave and won't have to write
grants! |
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