Halton Hills Cultural Roundtable

1. Halton Hills Cultural Roundtable Grant Programs and Grant Writing January 22, 2011

2. Before We Begin • What challenges have you or your organization experienced in submitting grant applications? • What successes or good points have you experienced in submitting grant applications?

3. Funding Context • Constantly changing environment • Changing terminology • Changing programs and priorities • Increased donor accountability • Concern for maximizing use of resources, ensure coordination of existing services and partnering.

4. Funding Programs • Federal Level • Provincial Level • Regional Level • Community Funders • Foundations and Corporate Grants • Sponsorships

5. Federal Level Canada Council for the Arts Dept. of Canadian Heritage Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Provincial Level Ontario Arts Council Cultural Attractions Fund Ministry of Tourism and Culture Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Ontario Trillium Foundation Ontario Heritage Trust Employment Ontario Funding Organizations

6. Regional Level Region of Halton Community Investment Fund Community Level United Way of Halton Hills Foundations Laidlaw Foundation Metcalf Foundation Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation Funding Organizations

7. Resource People Beatrice SharkeyHalton Hills Cultural Roundtablesharkey@look.ca/(416) 575-1232 Frank Prospero, Recreation Supervisor Community Development, Town of Halton Hills 905-873-2601 ext. 2262 or frankp@haltonhills.ca Lorraine Hogan, Regional Advisor Halton-Peel Ministry of Tourism and Culture (905) 521-7459/1-877-998-9927 Lorraine.hogan@ontario.ca

8. Grant Writing

9. Research: Gather as much information about the grant program as possible • What is the purpose of the funding program? In many instances funding programs are used by organizations as a way of accomplishing certain goals or outcomes in a community or sector. • Is it linked to a gov’t or community strategy? If so, read the policy or strategy and reference it in the application form. • Look at the types of projects previously funded and the amounts. • Do they have certain priority areas? • How are the applications assessed? This is very important as it will provide you with clues as to the type of information to put in the application and how to position your project. • What is the approval process and timing for announcements? May be a significant issue if your initiative is time-sensitive.

10. Grant Appropriateness • Remember that guidelines are written to be generic you need to find out what are the key points or priorities for your area. • Remember that guidelines are only one source of information. You may want to look at the mandate of the funding agency to determine what their priorities are e.g. review the most recent annual report of the community foundation. • Do a preliminary check e.g. are we eligible to apply, is our project consistent with the goals and objectives of the grant program or funder, does our community need this project, do we have the resources to successfully manage it. • Think of the funder as a resource. Some funders will offer technical assistance.

11. A well planned project = well written application What is the problem we are addressing? • Remember – the problem is not your need – it’s the community’s need. What are the gaps and how are they being addressed? • Gaps are the reason that you have a need. What evidence is available to support/document need? • Support your need/project with local information and data PLEASE. How are we proposing to address the problem? • Paint a clear and specific picture of your problem. Can the potential funder see it in action in their mind? Depending on the type of project submit photographs. How will things be different when the project is completed? What will have changed? Will the problem be solved or reduced? • Be as specific as possible about your anticipated outcomes – how will we know that you are succeeding and how will it be measured. INCLUDE SERVICE RECIPIENTS IN PROJECT PLANNING

12. Positioning your project • Funders looks to ensure that $ are strategically invested in projects that make good business sense and will have an impact. • What is the significance of the project? • What impact will it have? • Does it represent good value for the investment? Remember funders are being called upon to demonstrate increased accountability for the funds they invest in terms of the social benefits and impact on the sector(s) and from a financial perspective.

13. Assessment Process Eligibility criteria. How well has the applicant made its case for funding? Organizational capacity to manage the project and deliver results/outcomes. Project impact and does it meet the goals of the funding program. How well the project has been planned. Is the project description linked to the anticipated outcomes and budget.

14. Grant Writers Grant writers can be helpful when: • you don’t have in-house expertise • no one has dedicated time • need specific information/area of expertise Consider the following: • Make sure the grant writer knows your organization, clients and the funding program. • Reference checks • Developing staff or volunteers.

15. Common Mistakes – Don’t Let These Happen To You • Understand that it’s a competitive process. • Submitting the wrong application form or an outdated one. • Not reading the grant application early enough – Don’t delay. • Assuming the funder knows your agency or sector/community. • Disregarding the funders’ questions – not providing information. • Failure to follow the application instructions regarding organization of the proposal, inclusion of required information, page limits, volumes, etc. • Not having reviewed the evaluation criteria and taken the information into consideration when preparing the application. • Not understanding or demonstrating an understanding of the problem (e.g. the reason why the agency is issuing a call for proposals). • Failure to submit your proposal on the required date and time.

16. Common Mistakes – Don’t Let These Happen To You • Failure to tailor your response to the specific program guidelines. • Costs/budgets are unreasonable (too high or too low) or incomplete. • Costs/budgets do not provide any detail or breakdown information (if required) for line and sub-line items. • Proposal is unprofessional in appearance (e.g., typos, blank pages, unnumbered pages, smudges, no whitespace, sloppy-looking, etc.). This reflects poorly upon your organization. • Proposal is poorly written (e.g., information is not presented/organized in a logical manner, proposal is difficult to follow, poor grammar, etc.). • Proposal merely repeats or paraphrases the information in the program guidelines. • Proposal does not demonstrate that your organization and personnel have the experience and capability to carry out the project.

17. Tools and Resources • Grant Submission Checklist • Report: Canada’s non-profit maze - A scan of legislation and regulation impacting revenue generation in the non-profit sector by Lynn Eakin & Heather Graham, May 2009 http://wellesleyinstitute.com/files/Canada's%20Non-Profit%20Maze%20report.pdf

18. Strategies to Improve Access to Grant Programs or Grant Writing • What are steps you or your organization can take to increase access to funding programs or enhance your ability to write successful grant applications? • E.g. keep local data/service stats current, be on many distribution lists/ networks, know our funding contacts….