GrantProse, Inc., Newsletter

March 29, 2011
Vol. 3, No. 18
Newsletter Editor: Derek Gatlin


North Carolina's leading newsletter for information on grants.
 

In This Issue
In the Spotlight
Training Calendar
Have You Ever Wondered...?
Client Events
Grant Opportunities
Quick Links

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Contact Us:
GrantProse, Inc.
919-414-5861
News@GrantProseInc.com

Dear Colleagues,

 

With many major grant proposals due in the coming months,  

the grant writing season is in full gear. Now more than ever, it is important for agencies to maximize their grant-writing efficiency. For this reason, we have provided for you a review of web-conferencing software that may be worth the cost. See our article below: Have you Ever Wondered... Is web-conferencing worth the investment?

   

The GrantProse mission is to assist institutions, agencies and organizations expand fiscal resources and program operations, helping clients locate and secure grant funds matched to their interests and needs. Thank you for being a part of this mission with us, and for helping us disseminate information about our Grant Alerts, consultation services and training workshops.

 

GrantProse, Inc. conducts a series of high quality grant writing workshops for a reasonable cost. If you are new to grant writing or experienced and wanting to give your proposals a competitive edge, sign up for our grant writing training today. In partnership with the Wake Tech Business & Industry Center, we are offering a series of one-day workshops for novice grant writers and a two-day workshop for intermediate and advanced grant writers. Check out "In the Spotlight" below, or our training webpage, for a detailed description of this dynamic series.

 

We are encouraged by your active engagement with us through social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. We also hope you mark our website as a favorite on your computer, and return often to learn what's new in the grants world.

 

As always, thank you for your appreciation of our work!

 

Bill Carruthers

GrantProse, Inc.

In the Spotlight

 

Workshop Series on Successful Grant Writing
 

The presenter, Dr. Carruthers, and GrantProse associates will instruct a "systemic" approach to writing grants--an approach that can be used time and again with small and large grants from funding sources as varied as federal, state, local, foundation, corporation, professional associations and other sources. Central to Dr. Carruthers' system is the logic model. Dr. Carruthers will show how a well organized logic model provides the foundation to all major elements of a grant proposal. And, if you've ever struggled with writing a goal statement or those pesky SMART objectives, he will show you an easy way to tackle these elements.
 
  

Previous attendees have consistently rated this program with high marks; we're proud of the feedback that we've been getting. Compliments about the program include:


 "It is better than any other grant writing I have taken...even better than Duke."   . . .   "Thank you for an excellent training session. The goals, objectives and performance measures portion was invaluable to me."  . . .  "Way cheaper for better information."

 

Visit the GrantProse website for information on how to register.

Training Calendar

April 26, 2011 Novice Grant Writing Workshop

 

Are you new to grants...? GrantProse, Inc. will conduct a series of full-day novice grant writing workshops on the dates listed here. Visit the GrantProse website for information on how to register.

  

May 4-5, 2011 Intermediate/Advanced Grant Writing Workshop

 

Are you experienced with grants and want to advance your skills...? GrantProse, Inc. will conduct an intermediate, two-day grant writing workshop. Visit the GrantProse website for information on how to register.

 
 
Have You Ever Wondered . . . ?

 

Is web-conferencing worth the investment?

 

At GrantProse, we have seen two examples of the same web-conferencing tool being utilized to implement programs. This web-conferencing tool is called Elluminate and it has captured our attention. While both of these examples illustrate the software's utility, it is not free (however, there is a free 30-day trial). This leads us to the question, is web-conferencing worth the investment?

 

We have seen web-conferencing software before but Elluminate is more versatile, user-friendly, and engaging. Moderators can invite participants by simply emailing them a link to the "room." Once they have entered their name and loaded the software, participants are able to communicate via a chat box, voice-over IP (which requires a microphone), and/or teleconference. Moderators can present a whole host of multi-media objects including PowerPoint presentations, videos, and one or all programs open on their desktop.  After the free 30-day trial, the cost of Elluminate is $499 per year or $49 per month.

 

One of our clients first introduced us to Elluminate. This organization has a state-wide project comprised of about six people from across the state. On top of their normal duties at their respective locations, they have partnered together to write a grant proposal that is due in less than a month. There are two ways that Elluminate has proven to be helpful in this endeavor: 1) travel time and costs have been significantly reduced; 2) the team has been enabled to work collaboratively on items in real time. For instance, we were able to post an Excel file of the grant budget, foster discussion using voice-over IP, and make suggested changes immediately as they all watched it happen. This enabled all of the partners to contribute to the process and take ownership of the final result, without having to drive for hours to an in-person meeting or deal with a confusing storm of emails.

 

In addition to Elluminate's ability to convey information effectively, it also has some unique features that can collect information. At a recent NSF web-conference (Evalu-ATE, "Claims + Evidence: Assessing ATE Grant Outcomes"), moderators polled participants to rank the strength of vocabulary often used in the Evaluation section of proposals. This was fascinating because participants were able to draw lines between words such as "qualitative" and connect them to any point of a continuum between "weak" and "strong." In this group of participants, there were many experienced grant writers and Principle Investigators - so their opinions were insightful (e.g. qualitative received high rankings and much discussion ensued regarding its proper usage). In fact, by the end of the web-conference, participants requested NSF to copy the chat box entries and disseminate its contents because there were meaningful insights provided by other participants.

 

While these examples illustrate the utility of Elluminate, we recommend that you try it before you buy it. However, even if agencies decide that it is worth the cost, they may not have the funds to purchase it at this time. In such cases, and if it is appropriate for the purposes of the grant, we recommend using the ideas provided by this article to justify including the cost of Elluminate in the budget of their next grant proposal.

 

For more information on Elluminate, visit their website. If you would like to watch the recording of the Evalu-ATE web-conference, you can access it here.

 
Client Events

Save the Date! April 28th, 2011


GrantProse is pleased to promote our clients' events. The City of Raleigh's Project LIFT is hosting its second, all-day, capacity building conference for area nonprofits on April 28, 2011 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. The conference will feature 12 workshops on topics such as grant writing, board development and legal issues for nonprofit organizations. Early registration for this conference costs $35 and will begin on February 1, 2011.

For more information please email Barbara.muffoletto@raleighnc.gov

Grant Opportunities

 

NEW

Deadline: 05/25/11
Program:
Health Careers Opportunity Program
Agency:
 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

 
Description: The goal of the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) is to assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds to undertake education to enter a health profession.  The HCOP program works to build diversity in the health fields by providing students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to develop the skills needed to successfully compete, enter and graduate from health professions schools. 
Award Amount: $750,000 average
Website:
http://bit.ly/HealthEd
Eligibility: colleges and universities, allied health, nonprofits, and more

 

NEW

Deadline: 06/01/11
Program:
Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly
Agency:
 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

 
Description: Capital advances for project rental assistance which must be used for the construction or rehabilitation of a structure, or acquisition of a structure with or without rehabilitation. Capital advance funds bear no interest and are based on development cost limits. Repayment of the capital advance is not required as long as the housing remains available for occupancy by very low-income elderly persons for at least 40 years.
Award Amount: about $12.2 million is available in NC
Website:
http://bit.ly/ElderlyHousing
Eligibility: nonprofits

 

Looking for something specific? Email us a description (25 words or less) about the grant funding you are seeking, and we'll keep an eye out for suitable grants as we build our Grant Alerts. We post new Alerts twice a month. To view the latest listings, and many more opportunities, visit our Grant Alerts webpage and join us on Facebook.