Grant writing professional development workshop series

1. Grant writing professional development workshop series Cara Binaco March 12, 2011

2. Choosing a grant • Choose a grant that matches your curricular needs • Carefully read the requirements of the grant • Avoid grants where matching funds are required unless you have preapproval • Note requirements for proposal length, margin and font size

3. Parts of the grant proposal • Executive Summary • The Statement of Need • Project Description • Budget • Organization Information • Conclusion • Evaluation of Outcomes • Indicators of Success

4. Executive summary • Summarizes the rest of the proposal • States the case succinctly • Clearly describes the objectives of the student learning outcomes • Explains what is being done so that the funders can understand the project • Presents need for the project and the results expected from it • Emphasize key points that are important to the funder. • Be complete but brief; no longer than one page

5. The Statement of need • Identifies a real need and makes clear connections to your curriculum • Specifies what is needed such as technology, books and surroundings • States how the need was determined from observations, teacher surveys and meetings with parents and administrators. • Relates need to the mission of the funder • Uses statistics that support your argument and compares to similar projects with positive results

6. Project description • Thoroughly describes the project including the beneficiaries, supplies and staff needed and timeframe to meet the goals of the project • Clearly states what the teacher does • Clearly states what the students do • Includes hands-on activities • States how the project is new or different • Matches your needs to the grant • Shows how the project will help students achieve state test skills • Addresses all thematic categories of the foundation’s request for proposal • Overall, is similar to writing a good innovative lesson plan!

7. Budget • Tells what funds will be used for the project • States what materials and other resources are needed to run the project • Provides an itemized list of how the funds of the grant will be allocated. • Specifically states the direct costs the project involves including personnel, equipment and the type and number materials needed • Is aligned in columns with headings

8. Organization information • Identifies the target population of the grant • States the number of students and teachers that will benefit from the grant • Demonstrates how your project can benefit other students in the district, outside the district and the community • Involves stakeholders • Check Board of Education and Principal to determine approval needed to submit a grant • Meet with designated grant writer in the district if there is one.

9. Organization information (continued) • Includes full legal name of your organization • Includes addresses for headquarters and other operating sites • Summarizes your organization’s programs • Describes the role in the community and relationship to other organizations • Emphasizes key points of organization’s overall budget and achievements related to the grant request • Describes the board, administration and staff

10. conclusion • Summarizes the project and connects the project goals to the goals of the foundation • Uses professional language from in the application • Addresses the requirements of the application • Describes after the grant is completed

11. Evaluation outcomes • Looks at the impact, benefits and changes that the project has on the targeted beneficiaries • Contains developed assessment techniques • Has a written scoring criteria • Assesses what students learned from the project • Shows that you remain involved in the project • Stays within budget and tracks spending • Is detail oriented • Evaluates your project in a timely manner • Provides donor with information requested

12. Indicators of success • Graphs to showcase student achievement • Charts demonstrating student accomplishments • Advertised success in the district and the community • Timing, fit and public interest • Visibility of the grant in the community • A compelling, clear case

13. Bibliography • ING Unsung Heroes Grant Application, (2011) retrieved March 12, 2011from ING Web Site: http://ing.us/about-ing/citizenship/childrens-education/ing-unsung-heroes • Mott, D. & Twomey, C. (2008 November) Effective Grant Writing for Librarians, Powerpoint presentation • (2011, February) Tips From a Multi-Grant Winner, NSTA Reports, Arlington, VA, p.12 • Brooks, D. (March 2008) Grant writing for beginners. Technology and Learning. 28, 38.