Chapter 1 – Introduction
How great would be if you had an amazing project that you wanted to share with the world because you knew it would make it better? Well, there are steps to getting that great project out there and getting money for it so that you do not have to pay for everything yourself. Yes, it will take time, a few skills, some sleepless nights, a few rejections, and a persevering and resilient attitude. However, with this course, you can do it! Whether it is a program you are creating and passionate about, an organization looking to support the local community, or even a school looking to support student success and professional development, a grant might the ticket to making those goals a reality. During times of change, increased accountability, and an era of limited resources, securing extramural funding may be the difference between offering a new program that meets an emerging need or terminating a service. This course will explore the components, keys, and steps to effective grant writing, the importance of collaboration, and tips on where and how to locate funding. Through the course, you will create a repository of information that will be helpful when submitting a grant. Students will leave with a plan and the resources to access potential grants.
The Importance of Being a Competent Grant Writer
The first key to starting the writing process for a grant is to not overthink it. You will need to make sure that your idea sounds interesting and is of value to the granting agency. It is key not to use jargon or any sort of whimsical phrasing while you construct your masterpiece. The reason for this is granting agencies may not have the background that you have regarding important outcomes, theoretical frameworks, etc. Rather, granting agencies want the best grant that will represent their company while serving some aspect of the local community. The second step is to remain positive, yet persuasive. You want to be able to sell yourself and your idea as best you can without conveying an ego. Tips for this include sharing stories that relate to your grant and the outcomes involved, use phrasing and words that align with the agency (while remaining true), and including graphics that may narrate an idea better than words. A final point about grant writing is to be authentic and genuine in what you present. Never present outside of your scope of practice or what you know. Make sure that your research is current and that you are providing up-to-date facts, figures and other pertinent information in your application. More tips about writing success will be covered in later chapters.
Where to begin
Congratulations! You have decided to apply for a grant that will help promote and further your idea or agenda. You must know that there are two approaches to seeking a grant. One is reactive and one is proactive. Reactive grants are developed for responses from requests for proposals (RFP) and proactive grants are ones that identify appropriate funding sources for specific projects, problem-solving initiatives and/or programs. In either of these cases, you must know your audience. Yes, your audience. Who are you writing to and who is it that you are interested in helping? These are the people that you are catering to and for in this instance. You need to know the people you want to help so you can explain why the money that is being given to you will assist in your cause. If you don’t know the need of your participant base, how are you going to explain why you need the money?
Once you can explain what you need the money for and how you will use it, you will need to provide line items of how the funding will be used. This is called a budget. Make sure you know all of your costs, because things like indirect costs (IDCs) or facility & administrative costs (FAs) can cut into your budget and take away from what funds you need to run your program, project or activity. There are some other costs that you can account for that do not impact your budget, for example volunteer hours can be counted as a monetary contribution; however, that will be discussed in a later chapter.
There are visual portions of the grant that need to be submitted as well. The visual portions are the logic model, a visual representation of the budget and your evaluation. Each of these pieces will be discussed in later chapters, however, you should know that they are needed to complete this application process. Once you have this information written up, make sure that your grant funder is aligned with your vision, mission and values. If the funder’s ideals and values are different from your organization, then accepting the funding means that you will be compromising what your organization values or accepting someone else’s values over your own. Remember that all money is not good money. Keep yours and your organization’s integrity intact for future grants. Remember to keep track of all the grants that you research and apply for. Future grant funders would like to know your track record for applying and receiving grants. You will also want to keep a list so that you know which grants you have already applied for if they do not provide repeat funds.
What do basketballs and grant proposals all have in common? They all get rejected, so do not feel bad if your first try is not accepted. Sit down, rethink and rewrite it and you will be on your way to getting the funding that you desire for your program. Let’s get started!
At the end of this course, students should be able to:
- articulate the keys, steps and processes to effective grant writing.
- identify a variety of funding sources relevant and applicable to the three pillars of parks and recreation.
- articulate, identify, and frame current issues in a way that will lead to a successful grant submission.
References
Bart, M. (May 13, 2009). “The 10 Commandments of Grant Writing.” Faculty Focus. Retrieved from http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/edtech-news-andtrends/the-10-commandments-of-grant-writing/
Clarke, C. (2009). Storytelling for grantseekers: A guide to creative nonprofit fundraising. John Wiley & Sons.
Definition of grant noun. (n.d) Oxford learning dictionary. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/grant_2
Glossary of commonly used grant terms. (n.d.). Grant select. Retrieved from https://www.grantselect.com/help/glossary.html
Grant Writing Tips. (n.d.). Central Piedmont Community College. Retrieved from https://www.cpcc.edu/grants-central/writers-workshop/grant-writing-tips
Grant Writing Tips. (Nov 9, 2009). Nevada Arts Council. Retrieved from http://nac.nevadaculture.org/dmdocuments/grant_writing_tips_for_cgo.pdf
Olwell, R. (May 8, 2003). “Learning from Missed Shots.” Inside Higher Education. Retrieved from https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/05/08/essaylearning-rejected-grant-applications
Porter, R. (2007). “Why Academics Have a Hard Time Writing Good Grant Proposals.” The Journal of Research Administration, 38(2).
Some Effective Grant Writing Tips. (n.d.). The University of Texas at San Antonio. Retrieved from http://graduateschool.utsa.edu/images/uploads/Booklet_for_Grantwriting_Class_8-07.pdf
Starr, L. (2008). Show me the money: Tips and resources for successful grant writing. Education World. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev039.shtml
