Diana BowmanNational Center for Homeless

Education

DEVELOPING STRONG GRANT PROPOSALSAN OVERVIEW FOR

BEGINNERS

NAEHCY 2013

Slide 2

QUESTIONS WE’LL ADDRESS

1. What is a grant?

2. How do you select a grant to apply for?

3. How do you review a request for proposals?

4. How do you develop a strong proposal?

5. How do you become an successful grant writer?

Slide 3

WHAT IS A GRANT?

Funder

Funder’s idea or priorities: Purpose or vision for how the funder wants the money spent

Entities eligible to apply

Requirements the recipient must meet (contractual relationship)

The funder calls the shots!

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WHAT IS A GRANT? (CONT.)

Requirements

Application

Timeline

Allowable expenses

Reporting and evaluation

Usually competitive

WHAT IS A GRANT? (CONT.)

Grant You write to the funder’s idea

The proposal is what sells

Not as much relationship building

You follow the funder’s requirements

Your job is to convince the funder that

you will bring his/her vision to reality

you will be a good steward of the money

your idea is the best idea among other applications

Philanthropy You have an idea (need)

that you want a funder to support

More awareness needed

Relationship sells

Personal approach

More face-to-face

Funds often have fewer requirements

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Slide 6

HOW DO YOU FIND GRANT

OPPORTUNITIES? Online – research education grants from

chains (Target, Wal-Mart, Office Depot) and from local businesses and foundations

Read the local newspaper for where organizations are getting funding

Look for “sponsor” information for events

Slide 7

HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU SHOULD

APPLY? What is the purpose of the grant?

Will the grant meet a need of my program?

Are you (your organization) eligible to apply?

How many grants do they award?

What have they funded in the past?

Do I have time and support to complete the application?

Slide 8

HOW TO DETERMINE IF YOU SHOULD

APPLY? Consider cost-benefit analysis: what are

the chances of winning if I put in the time and effort on an application?

Consider: is there a good intersection between the funder’s idea and my program’s need?

Don’t force fit your need into the grant purpose (mission creep)

Slide 9

UNDERSTANDING THE APPLICATION

What are the requirements?

Deadline for submission

Page/word limit, spacing

Allowable expenses (salaries, indirect, equipment, office support, transportation)

If in doubt, ask

Slide 10

MEET YOUR REVIEWERS

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REVIEWERS

Their job is to get through a lot of applications is a short amount of time

Initial screening for one missed instruction usually means that your proposal will be rejected

Tip: Make a checklist of allrequirements; provide to yourinternal reviewers.

Slide 12

DEVELOPING THE PROPOSAL

Clear, EROR-FREE, succinct writing Make it readable, don’t try to save space with a smaller font or dense text.

Provide all the information requested

Don’t make reviewers dig for information

Logical order (reflected in the rfp)

Section headers

No unexplained abbreviations or jargon

Slide 13

DEVELOPING THE PROPOSAL

Use good judgment for what you need to create awareness and keeping the application tight

Use data

Use charts, graphs, flow charts, and visuals that communicate a lot of information quickly

Slide 14

SIZZLE AND SPARK

It’s all about persuasion:

You bring energy and creativity that will make the funder look good.

Your outcomes are the funder’s outcomes; your agency is committed and excited about achieving them.

Your program is well-conceived, doable, and will achieve the expected results.

Your staff has excellent qualifications and

will get the job done efficiently and effectively. The funds will be managed carefully and used

wisely.

Slide 15

RED FLAG PHRASES

“We will make every effort to …”

“Research has proven that …”

“We will collaborate with …”

“We hope that …”

“TBD”

Slide 16

LOGIC AND ALIGNMENT OF IDEAS

Your proposal must be logical and explicit.

“I think you should be more explicit here in step two.”

ALIGNMENT OF ALL PARTS

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Funder Priorities Need

Goals/Objectives

Activities

Results Budget

Logic Model Thinking

Homeless parents don't Mjhave books, supplies, and Mj

resources to help their Mjchildren Mj

100% of homeless parents Mjwill have an understanding of Mj

what their child is studying Mjand how to help with school Mj

work Mj

Develop a educational Mjsupply needs Mj

assessment form for Mjhomeless parents Mj

100% of homeless parents Mjhave access to general Mj

educational supplies and Mjresources for their children Mj

100% of homeless students Mjwho have special educational Mjprojects to work on outside of Mj

school will have sufficient Mjmaterials to complete them Mj

Create a educational Mjsupply closet for Mj

homeless and needy Mjfamilies Mj

Conduct a school Mjsupply drive with local Mj

churches and civic Mjorganizations Mj

Develop abbreviated Mjcurriculum guides for Mj

each grade with tips for Mjparents Mj

Inform teachers of Mjavailable resources for Mj

special projects for Mjhomeless and needy Mj

students Mj

Hire a part time tutor to Mjprovide after school Mjhomework help for Mjhomeless students Mj

Need Mj Objectives Mj Activities Mj

For information on logic models, download the Logic Model Development Guide from W.K. Kellogg Foundation, www.wkkf.org

Apply “if-then” test to all components of the proposal

Slide 19

ARTICULATING THE NEED

Problem statement that relates to funder priorities Based on data, not rhetoric – focus on local data Visual and understandable (tables, graphs, charts) Include only what’s most important; avoid “data

overload” Show the gap between “what is” & “what should be” Provide context Describe challenges, but be positive about potential Only discuss needs that your project will actually do

something to address

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PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Results that beneficiaries will exhibit, not activities that the project will carry out

Clearly connected to the needs – by meeting its objectives, the project will reduce the gap described between “what is” and “what should be”

Concrete, realistic, achievable

Can be measured credibly and reliably

Slide 21

IDENTIFY THE APPROPRIATE

OBJECTIVE STATEMENT(S)

Objective 1: Set up three computers with reading and math tutoring software at the Pathways Shelter for middle school students.

Objective 2: Ninety percent of the middle school students who participate will demon-strate at least a five-point increase in reading and mathematics achievement.

Objective 3: Get reluctant learners excited about mathematics.

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PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Focus on obtaining the results stated in the project objectives

Specific plan – who, what, when, where. Can the funder tell how the money will be used?

Project management, personnel, and partners. Does the project have the capacity (experience, expertise, time commitment) to execute its plan?

Slide 23

BUDGET

Itemized, detailed budget (including explana-tion of how calculated figures were obtained)

All budget items are explicitly connected to project activities

All expenses are allowable in the funding guidelines

Costs are reasonable; no “padding”

Include and explain any other support for the project (in-kind or matching funds)

Slide 24

PROJECT EVALUATION

How will you know if your activities are having the desired results?

Directly linked to project objectives – evaluation is the measurement of the results listed in the objectives.

Describe what data will be collected, when, and who will do it.

What data will be used to keep the project on-track (formative evaluation)?

Slide 25

HOW TO BECOME AN EFFECTIVE GRANT

WRITER Write proposals – work with experienced

grant writers when possible

Take a grantwriting workshop (look into free offerings); explore online resources

When not accepted, ask to see reviewer comments

Volunteer to review proposals

Cultivate your “cranky reviewer” alter ego to review your own proposals

Slide 26

YOUR PROPOSAL’S JOB IS TO ASSURE THE FUNDER THAT:

You understand their interests and priorities

Their money will meet a real need related to their interests and priorities

You are experienced, credible, and can do what you say you’ll do

You have a clear focus on results; they will get “bang for their bucks”

You are fiscally responsible; their money will be spent well

Slide 27

PRESENTER INFO

Diana Bowman, Director

National Center for Homeless Education

dbowman@serve.org

336-315-7453

www.serve.org/nche