A couple weeks back, we wrote about education grants as a way to aquire funding for your classroom or school. Read on for some suggestions from an expert on all things grant. Dr. Linda Karges-Bone is the author of The Educator's Guide to Grants, a complete resource dedicated to getting you the money you need for your classroom or school. Check out her other fantastic books HERE. Enjoy!
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You might not see yourself as a "grant writer." That is the job of a professional: someone in a suit, carrying a briefcase, and holding a fancy certificate or degree. You would be wrong. Most grants that help to support worthy projects are written by ordinary folks who learn a skill set and fuel it with their passion for the work that they have undertaken.
I wrote my first grant "proposal" at age 18. I was a teenager hired to run a summer program for special needs children in a community "camp" setting. I was very excited, until the director of the board told me that I also had to "get the grant." So, I read the "RFP" or Request for Proposals (the directions) and sipping my TAB (TM), because that is what we drank back then, I sat down at my electric typewriter and pounded out $20K worth of funding. I wasn't even of legal age, so I couldn't sign the forms. The older ladies on the board of directors took care of that, and eight weeks later, a check arrived at our little office in a church attic. I was hooked!
My fourth book on grant-writing came out in the Spring of 2011, and folks want to know the basics of how to go about grant writing. I am going to give you Ten Tips, to get started the right way.
1. Read the application carefully. Remember, the funders do not wish to be annoyed. When they say 10 pages, double-spaced, typed narrative, they mean it. The same goes for due dates. Late proposals will be trashed. There are no second chances.
2. Focus on a need not a want. Grants are designed to move new ideas forward, not to fund your day to day expenses as an organization.
3. That said, be sure to avoid the red flags in funding requests. These are outlined in my book, but one of them is bricks and mortar. Grants do not fund buildings and most infrastructure costs.
4. Read the literature and research surrounding your area of expertise and use it in the proposal. I use footnotes and do a Works Cited page in my larger grants. It makes an impression. Show how you will infuse the research into your objectives.
5. Design objectives and evaluation criteria together and match them up.
6. In all writing, avoid jargon. Do not say: "It takes a village." Or "Every child can learn." Instead: "The 'Right Now Reading Club' will provide an incentive of one new book of the child's choice for every 15 books read during the semester."
7. Focus on a "hot topic" and make it consistent with what the funders are interested in. Work your "need" into that fit.
8. Use "Project Overview Charts" to fit larger pieces of data into a visually effective format. Do not choke the reader with long paragraphs.
9. Grants are never made to individuals, only to 501-c-3 non-profits.
10. Church-related organizations that serve the poor can apply for many sources of funding. These are called "faith based initiatives."
In these tough economic times, grant-writing is a valuable skill and one that you can develop and use to help those who need you most. I suggest taking a course in grant writing, such as the one that I do for the Charleston Area Grant Professionals here at CSU each May. My book is available at the CSU bookstore and is designed to use as a workbook, step by step. Finally, do these three things:
- Start by writing a "mini grant." These are good practice and simple. You need to build a history of successes before larger funders will take you seriously.
- Be sure that you have all your "ducks in a row." Grants require an updated list of your advisory board, resumes or Vita of key players, and a copy of your Mission Statement and 501-c-3 documents.
- Be realistic, yet positive in your tone. don't ask for the "Moon and Stars," just a few "stars" to light your way.
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Dr. Linda Karges-Bone currently prepares future teachers at Charleston Southern University in Charleston, South Carolina, where she is a Professor of Education. The author of 27 books for teachers, Dr. Bone specializes in curriculum and assessment and also writes children's stories. She holds an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of South Carolina at Columbia. When she isn't presenting around the country for the National Education Institute, Linda enjoys living in the coastal region of South Carolina with her husband Gary, a bio-medical engineer; their two daughters, Carolyn and Audrey Jayne, and a rescue dog named T.S. Eliot.
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