Grants: Getting started, key terms, and

1. Grants: Getting started, key terms, and SPED 613: Issues and Trends

2. Grant • Monetary award given by a funder • Proposal is usually a more free flowing grant request. You put your ideas on paper about your organization and the program you want to fund. • A Request for Proposal (referred to as RFP) is an invitation for suppliers, through a bidding process, to bid on a specific product or service

3. Some Terms • Capital support – money for equipment, buildings, and endowments. These are large scale projects and rarely funded. • Consulting services – paying for an expertise to strengthen an aspect of your program • Continuation grant – applying for continued monies for an already funded grant • Endowments – a source of long-term, permanent investment income in insure the continuing presence and financial stability of your non-profit organization • Program development – funding to pay for expenses related to organizational growth, a new program, or the expansion of an existing program • Seed money – funding for a pilot project wishing to grow in the future

4. Possible outline • Cover letter (one page) to introduce applicant, purpose of request, amount requested, and closing • Cover sheet (one page form) organizational identification with key contacts, a glance at finances, mission statement and summary of request • Narrative (5 page max) • Part 1 contains background, demographics, and possible benefits (global goals) • Part 2 contains descriptions, problem statements, funding, timelines, objectives and activities, and assessment • Attachment – evaluation, organization structure, and supporting materials

5. Narrative outline • Introduction to or background of organization • History and major accomplishments of the group • Brief description of current programs and activities • Description / demographics of your constituency • Description of community • Description of work with local groups • Proposed initiative in 1-2 sentences “The purpose of this request is to…” • Problem statement / statement of need • Program design / plan of action • Goals in direct terms. Goals are not measurable, objectives are. For every goal, set a couple of objectives.

6. Goals and objectives examples(Browning, 2001) 1. Create a safe harbor in downtown Wickie-Up for the community’s homeless by offering them emergency shelter and food 1a: reduce the number of homeless persons sleeping in public places by 50% or more 1b: decrease public panhandling by the homeless in the central business district by 25% or more 2. Improve the downtown business owners’ understanding of homeless persons 2a: reduce incidences of business owners calling the local police department to arrest homeless persons for loitering by 25% or more 2b: Increase the number of businesses that accept the universal meal coupon for a free, boxed, take-out dinner by 30% or more.

7. Key ideas • Use emotion and make your limited sentences memorable • Capture, facilitate, laborious, embrace, deep-seated, blatant, illusion, ineffective • Match the funder’s mission statement with your project • Table of contents help the reader stay organized within your work • Consider a “catchy” term or acronym for your project • Include photographs or any other way to help the readers connect with you and your idea

8. Your turn • Take your idea and write a mission statement for the project • Think of how you would introduce your project • What is/are the goal(s) and the connecting objective(s)? • Outline your narrative to the project.