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Effective Grant
Writing - How do You Create a Winning Proposal?
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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LATEST SCHOOLS TO INSTALL A SANAKO LANGAUGE LAB
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Miami Dade College
Miami, FL
St. Andrew's School
Boca Raton, FL
Central High School
Pueblo, CO
South High School
Pueblo, CO
Fountain International Magnet School
Pueblo, CO
Centennial High School
Pueblo, CO
East High School
Pueblo, CO
Corwin International Magnet School
Pueblo, CO
Pope John Catholic School
Boca Raton, FL
Mount St. Mary's University Seminary
Emmitsburg, MD
University of North Florida
Jacksonville, FL
Hauppauge High School
Hauppage, NY
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Greetings!
The success of education is
a shared commitment between students, parents, teachers and school
administration. Collectively you must support your long term goals by
investing wisely in products and services that strengthen education and improve
results for students. Finding the dollars to pay for these products and services can be difficult in today's economic times.
One way to stretch your budget dollars is to apply for Grants that may be available to your school. This E-Newsletter includes information we hope you will find beneficial should you venture out and try to avail yourself to these funding opportunities. There are also several websites listed below where you may be able to find a grant opportunity that will fulfill something on your school's wish list.
Good Luck!!
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Effective Grant
Writing - How do You Create a Winning Proposal?
By Linda Graffitti
One of the
greatest challenges for educators is finding sources of money to allow for
innovation and technology in the classroom.
In today's economic times this is more challenging than ever. Teachers and administrators who truly wish to
try new ideas that require additional funds may have to personally find sources
for this money. Grants can be a godsend to
solve financial shortcomings but attaining a grant may seem an insurmountable
task. Remember you will never get a
grant if you don't write one!
A
successful grant proposal is one that is well-prepared, thoughtfully planned
and concisely packaged. There are eight basic components to creating a solid
proposal package:
- Proposal Summary
- Introduction of your School
- Problem Statement or Needs
Analysis
- Project Objectives
- Project Methods or Design
- Project Evaluation
- Future Funding
- Project Budget
The Proposal
Summary is placed first in the proposal package but should probably be
created last. It is important that it
encompasses all the key summary points necessary to communicate the objectives
of the project. Describe what the teachers and students will do. Create a real life scenario for the reader,
paint a picture with words. The reader
must clearly make sense of what you intend.
Remember the summary could be the only part of the package that is
carefully reviewed before the decision is made to consider the project any
further.
Gather
pertinent data about your school from all available sources and Introduce
your School. Most proposals
require a description of your school that includes your philosophy and goals,
track records with other grantors and any success stories. A brief biography of administration and staff
might be included.
Stating the
purpose at hand is a key element in the proposal. The Problem Statement should
make a clear, concise and well-supported statement of the problem to be
addressed. Areas to document include the
purpose for developing the proposal, what students will benefit and how, the
nature of the problem (include as much hard evidence as available) and the
specific manner in which the problem will be solved. Remember winning proposals are written in
positive terms. Some writers may believe
that if you describe how bleak a situation is, someone will throw money at you
to solve your problem. This is rarely
the case. Funders hedge their bets by
backing proposals that describe worthwhile programs that will meet identified
needs and match the criteria set forth by the grant maker.
Program Objectives refer to the specific activities in
the proposal. You need to identify the
goals to be reached and the desired outcomes.
Winning proposals present material in a logical manner. Each need has a stated objective, activity
and evaluation statement.
The Program
Methods and Program Designs are your Plan of Action! Your Plan of
Action describes how the project is expected to work and solve the stated
problem. It may include descriptions of
the activities to occur along with related resources needed, a flow chart of
the organizational features of the project, how results will be measured and
highlights of the innovative features. Remember whenever possible use
appendices to provide details, although supportive of the proposal too much
detail in the body of the proposal could detract from its readability.
The Evaluation
process addresses results that can be attributed to the project, as well as the
extent to which the project has satisfied its desired objectives. The applicant should state the amount of time
needed to evaluate the project, how the feedback will be distributed and a
schedule for review and comment for this type of communication.
The
longevity of the project should be described.
Include a plan for the Future Funding for the continuation of the project beyond the grant
period, the availability of other resources necessary to implement the grant,
maintenance and any other needed
expenditures.
Winning
proposals need to present a detailed Budget that is consistent with the
proposed program. All bases need to be
covered. Some areas to consider
include salaries, benefits for new hires, additional space and necessary
equipment. Look closely at any funding
rules to make sure you don't ask for items that the grant will not fund or more
money than they are willing to provide.
Most importantly make sure your budget narrative and your budget summary
match exactly!
Some
additional things you may want to consider.
Winning proposals are professional looking, not too long or too short
and adhere to the application format. Consider giving your proposal a title,
spell out all acronyms and use grammatically correct, clear and concise
English. Funders are looking for unique
and novel approaches so be creative and remember Deadlines are REAL!
Works Cited
Federal
Domestic Assistance Catalog Staff at General Services Administration. "Developing and Writing Grant Proposals." <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/trade/howtodogrant.htm>
Kelly,
Melissa. "Grant Writing." <http://712educators.about.com/cs/grantwriting/a/grantwriting_2.htm>
Carnow,
Gary. "What do Winning Proposals Have in Common?" <http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4173&print=1>
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