Grants, Grants, Grants Presentation for the South Dakota Community Foundation

1. Grants, Grants, Grants Presentation for the South Dakota Community Foundation John Williams Freelance Grant Writer jwilliams2652@yahoo.com

2. Getting to know you Briefly tell me: • Your name • Where you work • Your grant writing experience

3. Getting to know me John Williams • 20 years of Grant Writing experience • 6 years at Public Television • 8 years in the arts • Last six years in Long-Term Care • Recently began freelancing with clients such as Sanford USD Medical Center, SD Synod of the ELCA and SD Lions Club

4. Definitions and Parameters A grant is a legal contract between a funds recipient and a granting agency for the purpose of implementing a: • Carefully specified; • Mutually agreed upon; • Project or program • A partnership generally consists of multiple organizations and individuals working together under a common vision.

5. Trends in Foundation and Government Grant Support • Funders want to see communities working together to ensure non duplication of services • Very few to no general operating support $ • New or expanded services • Demonstration projects and programs that involve community partnerships • Many app’s contain language “grantee must partner” etc.

6. RFP’s: Request for Proposals • AKA, NOFA’s, NOGA’s, ROA’s etc. • Requests for Proposal have lengthy, detailed instructions for required categories for the grant application: • Abstract • Background and significance • Problem Statement • Goals & Objectives • Workplan • Measurable Outcomes and Evaluation

7. Aligning and Writing to Replicate • It is crucial that your project aligns with the grantors guidelines • After reviewing the RFP’s of your potential funders, choose the most difficult to write first • This way you can easily cut and paste sections of the large grant for other funders

8. Create a Grant Writing Team • Most people are afraid of grants with the perception that they are complicated and tedious. While this is can be true, there is safety in numbers • Identify your internal colleagues who have a stake in the project • Most businesses have a staff person who likes to work with numbers and data. Find them and befriend them

9. Gather your resources • Human • Financial • In-Kind • Volunteer • Outside partners (Letters of Support)

10. Abstract • Write this last if possible but you may need to structure a draft of the abstract to distribute to stakeholders early in the process • This is your thesis and solution • Succinct, engaging, compelling

11. Background of project • Or How was the need identified? • Must research to complete this section • Data must be updated for each application • Find a trusted source of evidence based materials if possible • Lots of information available on the web to support most ideas

12. Goals, Objectives, Activities, Benchmarks & Measurable Outcomes • Goals are what you hope for • Objectives lead you to goals • Activities achieve objectives • Benchmarks are points in time in which particular activities are accomplished • Measureable outcomes are tools for evaluation • These should incorporate qualitative and quantitative measures if possible

13. Work Plan • This is one of the most helpful tools to guide your proposal. • Creates a timeline of activities and those responsible • Offers the opportunity to secure buy-in from internal and external stakeholders

14. Evaluation • Vital section of any grant • Strive to include both qualitative and quantitative measures • Best done by a third party • Use existing measure whenever possible • Information is Information—Positive or Negative

15. Budget • When you’ve organized your grant team, begin with the budget. Experience has shown that this discussion can bear out any potential issues in grant preparation. • Any in-kind contributions? • Does the RFP require matching funds? • What is your indirect cost rate? • How much detail do they want?

16. Formal Partnerships • Payor sources • Contractors • Referral sources • Other providers • Social service agencies • Community agencies

17. Informal Partnerships • State agencies • Workforce agencies • Social services agencies • County case workers • Like-minded organizations and institutions

18. Benefits of partnership • Funding of new or expanded service lines • Sharing the work • Financial support • Increased client base • Positive public relations • Demonstration of commitment to the community

19. Challenges of Partnerships • Sharing of the grant award • Sustainability • buy-in • flexibility • leadership • resources • time

20. Case Study-Formal Partnership Expansion of delivering telehealth technology to seniors in a 4 county area to reduce ER visits and nursing home admissions and re-admissions. Partners: Good Samaritan Society USDA Telemedicine Grant State of MN University of MN (Evaluator) County case managers Public Health Nurses

21. Case study: Informal Partnership Lutheran Social Services, Good Sam and Refugee and Immigration Center of Sioux Falls (Health Care Workforce Grant)

22. Exercise and Q & A • The State Department of Social Services is providing dollars to agencies to increase access to preventive services with the goal of decreasing ER visits for residents with chronic diseases. • Identify your Formal and Informal Partners