Transcript Building a Successful Relationship with Grantmakers

GRANT WRITING WORKSHOP
Tina M. Farrenkopf
Copyright 2011 – All rights reserved by author.
Overview
GRANT WRITING ESSENTIALS
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To gain an understanding of the grant writing
process.
To learn how to evaluate a grant notice
(Request for Proposal).
To become familiar with the essential
elements of a proposal.
To recognize common pitfalls in grant writing.
Grants – Who Can Apply?
Generally organizations, rarely individuals
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Institutions of higher education
Tribal governments
7871’s
Non-profits
Faith-based organizations
Schools
Federal Grants vs. Private Sources
Advantages
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Purpose set by legislation
Tend to be larger awards
Likely to pay all project
costs
Set formats for proposals
Usually offer some
technical assistance
Funds available to a
wider range of
organizations
Disadvantages
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More bureaucratic
Complex proposal
requirements
Complex compliance
requirements
Difficult to sell new ideas
or high risk approaches
Affected by political
trends
Federal Grants: Speaking of
Bureaucracy… Registration
Organizations must be registered to apply for
federal grants.
Must obtain a DUNS Number – same day. Many
organizations already have one, double check
first.
Register with Central Contractor Registration
(CCR). Can take 1 day to two weeks,
depending on whether you have EIN or TIN.
Federal Grants: Speaking of
Bureaucracy… Registration
For detailed assistance, go to:
http://grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp
The registration process can take between three to
five business ays or as long as four weeks if all
steps are not completed in a timely manner.
Start now!
There’s more to it than you think…
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Initial Preparation
Searching for Opportunities
Deciding to Proceed
Writing the Grant
Submission and Review
After the Award
Initial Preparation
You must know who YOU are first!
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Who do you serve?
What is your mission?
How are you organized?
What is your experience?
Where is your capacity?
What is your plan?
What are your needs?
Needs Assessment
Assess your organization’s strengths
and talents.
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What do you do well?
What resources can you tap?
What do you want to accomplish?
What are your goals, long-term and
short-term, for addressing your
community’s needs?
Needs Assessment
Can you/should you partner with another
organization or department?
Have you involved all the important players?
Is the community supportive? Involved?
Memorandum of Agreement/Understanding?
Don’t take on more than you can
realistically handle!
Searching for Federal Grant Opportunities
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CFDA.gov This online catalog of Federal
Domestic Assistance lists all of the funding
opportunities available for the public.
CFDA - example
Searching for Federal Grant Opportunities
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Grants.gov A single access point over 1,000
grants programs offered by 26 federal
agencies, as well as some state and local
governments.
http//:www.grants.gov
Grants.gov
Grants.gov
Subscribe and get notices emailed to you!
Grant Opportunities: Other Sources
Federal Register: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/
National Online Resource Center on Violence Against
Women http://new.vawnet.org/grants-funding/
Dept. of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women
http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/ovwgrantprograms.htm
Many more out there, check agency websites!
Searching for Private Funders – Examples
Websites:
http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/
$ubscription $ervices:
http://www.grantstation.com/
Foundations:
Avon: http://www.avoncompany.com/women/speakout/index.html
Allstate: http://www.clicktoempower.org/grants-and-services.aspx
Non-profits:
http://www.firstnations.org
Deciding to Proceed
Notice of Funding Availability
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Agency publishes funding notice in Federal
Register
Accessible via the Web (www.grants.gov)
Grant Application Notice contains ALL vital
information
Establishes funding priorities and focus
Deciding to Proceed
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What issues/problems are you addressing?
Are they a match with the Grant Notice?
What are the current needs of your community?
Would this project stay within your mission or
vision?
Does your organization have the expertise and
skills to implement the project?
Do you have the organizational
capacity/experience to implement the project?
Writing the Grant Proposal
Tip: Before you start, compile a checklist of requirements
and other items. A checklist is sometimes provided.
Length/format restrictions
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Deadlines for submission (postmark date or received
date)
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Proposal requirements:
Required forms, assurances
Authorizations/resolutions
Job Descriptions/Resumes
Organizational Charts
Logic Models
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Writing the Grant Proposal
Letters of Support/Commitment
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MOUs
IDC Rate Agreements/Audit Reports
IRS Status Documentation
Register if you haven’t with CCR or locate login info
Required conference calls or TA meetings, if any
Your proposal writing timeline
Submission requirements
 How many copies required or is it submitted
online?
 What electronic formats? How are attachments
submitted?
Writing the Grant Proposal
Common Proposal Elements
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Statement of the Problem/Needs Statement
Work Plan/Implementation and Design
Evaluation/Outcomes and Impact
Capacity/Capability
Budget and Budget Justification
Attachments
Writing the Grant Proposal
Often the grant elements (selection criteria) are
weighted. Use the weights to determine where to
focus your efforts.
Statement of the Problem (20 points)
Implementation and Design (30 points)
Outcomes and Impact (25 points)
Capacity/Capability (15 points)
Budget and Budget Justification (10 points)
E.g. For a 20 page program narrative, statement of the problem
should be roughly 4 pages (20 pages X 20%) If the budget is not
included in the narrative page count, adjust accordingly.
Writing the Grant Proposal
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Use the Selection Criteria as your Narrative
Outline. Follow the same order.
Address every sentence in the order
provided.
If not applicable to your tribe or
organization, explain why.
Statement of the Problem/Needs
Statement
Represents the reason behind the proposal:
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Why does the community or organization need
the funds?
Statements should be problem focused!
What specific conditions would you like to
change?
Provides data to support problem or need.
Bureau of Justice Statistics: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm
VAWnet: http://new.vawnet.org/category/index_pages.php?category_id=476
EXERCISE: Statement of Need
Answer the following for YOUR project:
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Who is affected by the problem? Describe the
“target population” and circumstances.
What problem(s)are you going to address?
What specific conditions would you like to change?
How will making those changes make things better?
(Rationale)
Provide data to support problem or need. Where
will you get the data? What kinds of data can you
get to support your “need/problem”?
Workplan/Implementation and Design
The roadmap of your project.
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Describes your Program, identifies overall goals
and objectives. May include rationale for
selecting the approach taken. Tie your goals and
objectives directly to your need statement.
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How you plan to reach your objectives.
What activities you plan to do
Who will be doing the activities
How you will document and measure
the impact of your activities
When the activities will be completed.
What is a Goal?
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The ultimate, overall purpose(s) of the project.
Can be ambitious, but must be realistic.
Unrealistic Goal: To end domestic violence.
Realistic Goal:
situations.
Realistic Goal:
Realistic Goal:
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To assist women leaving domestic violence
To educate young women about domestic violence.
To financially empower DV survivors.
Usually just a few goals.
People often confuse goals and objectives… Goals are
desired outcomes not actual outcomes.
EXERCISE: What is YOUR Goal?
5 minutes
Be realistic!
What is an Objective?
Three types:
1. Process – short-term, what you will do to implement
the program. By 07/31/2010, staff from our organization will train
two community members to become certified financial educators.
2. Impact – short-term, stated in terms of change in the
target population (knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, or
behaviors). By 07/31/2010, 75% of participants of the financial
literacy classes will have increased their personal savings by 30%.
3. Outcome – Longer term, refers to overall outcome of
the program (what will change). By 12/31/2012, foreclosures
among tribal homeowners in our tri-county service area will be reduced to less
than 10%.
What is an Objective?
Objectives are SMART!
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely
Keep it simple: By (when), (who), (where), will do
(what) by (how much).
EXERCISE: 3 Objectives for Each Goal
Impact, process and outcome.
Keep them simple:
By (when), (who), (where), will do (what) by (how
much).
Activities (tasks)
Implementation of the project
 Detailed, logical and concise
 Describes how each objective will be
achieved.
The Activities description is a key part of the
grant proposal. For each objective, the
activity will describe who, what, when, why,
how, and/or how many. Each should be
reflected later in the budget.
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EXERCISE: Activities
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List 2-3 Activities for Each Objective
For each objective, the activity will describe
who, what, when, why, how, and/or how
many. Each should be reflected later in the
budget.
Timelines
 Timelines are often required elements of
Federal grant applications.
 A summary of the project/program with goals,
objectives and related activities, that
identify who is responsible for each, and
indicate start and end dates.
 They can be in a table format or in text format.
 They provide a means to measure
implementation progress.
Timelines
Timelines
Winter 2011
*Continue organizing and host Agricultural Education Conference.
*Offer Spring semester of ASAP to tribal high school students.
*Continue Plant-a-Seed fieldtrip for tribal elementary and middle school
students.
*Analyze Food Security Assessment with CFSCJC and the Community Food
Advisory Committee.
* Plan strategy for reducing food insecurity on the reservation.
Summer 2011
*Offer Summer ASAP course to tribal high school students
*Continue Plant-a-Seed collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club summer
program.
*Hire and implement 2nd year of ‘Youth Entrepreneurial Business.’
*Offer community garden plots to tribal low-income residents.
*Again offer a sliding-scale CSA to 50 residents
EXERCISE: Timelines
Goal #/Objective #
Responsible
Party(ies)
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2
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Evaluation/Outcomes and Impact
Planning for evaluation is an important part of any
program/project. Evaluation planning should be
done before the program/project begins.
The process used for evaluation should be
determined largely by the program/project
objectives and the intended outcomes.
Sometimes the Feds require a third party
evaluation. Budget for it, if so.
Evaluation/Outcomes and Impact
What is evaluation?
It’s the process of reviewing organizational
programs to determine the outcome of a service,
product, or group of services provided to a target
group, community, or client.
Evaluation is also a tool to be used to gauge
progress and provide insight into needed
change and revision.
Evaluation/Outcomes and Impact
Why evaluate?
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Enables us to look back at the goals of our
organization to ensure we are on track with our
mission and objectives.
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Enables us to learn, confirm, and improve on the
services and products we provide to our
participants, community, and customers.
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Helps us improve on program processes - how we
interact with participants, deliver services, process
information, etc. in a manner that is cost efficient
and effective.
Evaluation/Outcomes and Impact
3 Types of Evaluation
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Process – provides documentation during program
implementation to make adjustments for
improvement of the program.
Impact – immediate observable effects of a
program. Measures awareness, knowledge,
attitudes, skills, behaviors.
Outcome – Determines whether the program met
the stated goals and objectives. Did the program
make a change in your targeted population?
Objectives and evaluation should match!
Evaluation/Outcomes and Impact
Data Collection Methods
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Surveys (of participants, staff, community,
etc.)
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Personal interviews (with participants, staff,
community, etc.)
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Skills testing/skills demonstration (pre and
post)
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Comparison of program participants to
similar group that did not complete program
(control).
Evaluation/Outcomes and Impact
Provide a description of your evaluation
plan:
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What type of data will be collected?
Who will collect data?
How will it be analyzed?
How often will data be collected and
analyzed?
How will the analyzed data be used and by
whom?
Who will prepare and submit required
reports?
EXERCISE: Evaluation/Outcomes
and Impact
For each objective you wrote earlier:
 What type of data will be collected?
 Who will collect data?
 How will it be analyzed?
 How often will data be collected and
analyzed?
Then tell the reader:
How will the analyzed data be used and by
whom? Who will prepare and submit required
reports?
Capacity/Capability
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Not just a matter of attaching resumes and job
descriptions! You must describe your
organization’s management structure, staffing, and
in-house or contracted capacity to complete each
of the proposed tasks/projects.
Describe the roles and responsibilities and
qualifications of co-applicants and partners, if
applicable. Give examples, illustrate experience.
Demonstrate fiscal competence.
e.g. policies in place, GAAP
Provide examples of your expertise and experience
with similar projects!
Sustainability
Be prepared to address this issue in some part of
the narrative. Often in the Implementation Section.
How will the project activities be continued and
supported after the grant period ends?
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Grant Writing Efforts
Fund-raising
Income (entrepreneurial programs)
Support by the grantee or partner(s)
Budget and Budget Justification
The Feds are very picky about budgets.
Budget and justification (budget narrative) must be
complete, allowable, and cost effective in relation
to the proposed activities.
Breakdown all costs. Costs must be related to
grant activities. No surprises!
Provide a narrative that links costs to grant
activities. NO surprises!
Budget and Budget Justification
Provide a budget summary that matches the
line items on the Federal SF-424 budget
attachment.
The budget justification or narrative breaks
down those line items in detail and explains
what they are for and how related to grant
activities.
Breakdowns
Bad
Good
1. Consultant Costs
1. Consultant Costs
A consultant will be contracted with to
provide financial education training.
A consultant will be contracted with to
provide financial education training at each
of the three 2- day DV financial
empowerment workshops.
Cost: $2400.00
2. Printing
Cost: 3 workshops x 2 days x $400 daily
consultant = $2400.00
2. Printing Costs
Training Manuals for Workshops.
Cost: $300.00
Training manuals will be printed and
provided to participants at each of the 3
DV financial empowerment workshops.
Cost: 10 participants x 3 workshops x $10
per manual = $300.00
Common$ense for Spending Grant Dollars
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Spending Plan
Shop Well
Supplement, not supplant
EXERCISE: Budget
Provide an example for each of these
common line items for your grant and
write out a justification.
Salary
and Fringe
Consultants
Travel
Supplies
Other
Attachments
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Submit all required attachments and forms.
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Review your checklist to make sure you have
them all.
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Plan enough time to get them completed,
especially if outside parties are involved.
e.g. letters of support, resolutions.
Submission and Review
Submit grant on time and in correct format.
Understand that “people” read these.
Non-compliant grant proposals lose points.
Reviewers don’t always look for required
information, so follow format as suggested for
selection criteria. Scoring follows criteria
closely.
Common Pitfalls
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Waiting until the last minute to write the grant.
Failing to register.
Not following page (weighting)
recommendations.
No community involvement or buy-in
demonstrated.
Projects scope is too narrow.
Waiting until the last minute to submit the
grant on GMS or to mail it.
After the Award
If awarded, you will receive a grant award notice
and a letter telling you how to accept your
award.
Follow all requirements.
Keep copies and originals of all award
correspondence. If finance keeps originals,
get copies!
Conclusion
Questions?
Thank you!