Grant Writing and Scouting for

Grants

Elvira B. LapuzUniversity of the Philippines

eblapuz@gmail.com

The movie “Sound of Music “ was shot on location in Schloss Leopoldskron in Salzburg,, Austria

STIMULATE3 Brussels, Belgium

IFLA AFP Training Workshop on Information Literacy in Wellington, New Zealand

IATUL Conference 2009 in Leuven, Belgium

After the presentation, participants will :

• Have an understanding of what grants are and who can actually benefit from these grants;

• Be able to identify and learn about grant writing and its major components;

• Be able to identify possible grant sources and funders

What is a grant?

• a form of financial or other similar assistance that is given freely without any requirement of repayment

• Can be in the form of money, access to resources, services, goods or other aid.

• often offered by government agencies, corporations, non-profit organizations, foundations, educational institutions and trusts

Who can benefit from grants?

• Students doing their projects and/or thesis and dissertations

• Organizations involved in civic and charitable works

What gets to be funded? ☺

• Annual campaigns – money to support annual operating expenses, infrastructure improvements, program expansion

• Building /renovation funds – money to build new facility or renovate an existing facility

• Capital support – money for equipment, buildings, construction, and endowments

• Conferences/Seminars –money to cover the cost of attending, planning and/or hosting conferences and seminars; funding can be used to pay for all the conference expenses, including securing a keynote speaker, travel, printing, advertising, and facility expenses

What gets to be funded? ☺

• Endowments - a source of long-term, permanent investment income to ensure the continuing presence and financial stability of non-profit organization

• Fellowships – money to support graduate and postgraduate students in specific fields; these funds are only awarded to institutions, never to individuals

• Program development – funding to pay for expenses related to organizational growth, the expansion of existing programs, or the development of new programs

What gets to be funded? ☺

• Research – money to support mostly medical and educational research; usually awarded to the institutions that employ the individual conducting the research

• Scholarship –an award of financial aid for a student to further his or her education; awarded based upon various criteria, which usually reflect the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award; money is not required to be repaid

• Technical assistance – money for the improvement of internal program operations; awarded to hire an individual that can provide the needed technical expertise

Developing and writing grant proposals

• Developing ideas• Consider community support• Identification of a funding source• Getting organized to write the

proposal

What to include in a grant proposal?

• Cover letter• Executive summary• Funding needs statement• Goals and objectives• Action plan (methods, strategies and program

design)• Monitoring and evaluation of funding

objectives• Statement on sustainability and other funding• Information about the organization

Cover Letter

• Usually written last, but should be written with great care

• First thing to be read in a proposal and will determine how well the rest of the proposal is received

• A bad impression here will be difficult to make up later

• Addressed to a specific person, briefly stating what the proposal is asking for, and summarizes the essence of the proposed program

Executive summary

• Comes after the cover letter • Should help the grantor to understand at a

glance what the proposal is all about • Can be as short as a couple of sentences,

but ideally no longer than one page • Aim for completeness (touching on the main

points of your proposal) but brief • It should entice the reader to keep going• Should be well-written, complete and specific

enough

Funding needs statement

• The meat of your grant proposal• This part must convince the funder that the

proposed project is important and that the proposing organization is the right one to do it

• Must include both stories and data, and be matched to the interests of the granting organization

• The goal is to convince the funder that this project solves an important societal problem, and that the funder should be completely interested in supporting it

Goals and objectives

• Explain the applicant organization’s plans (i.e. identified solution to a problem)

• States what is ultimately hoped to be accomplished with the project and describing the specific results or outcomes

Action plan

• Gives the grantor a thorough description on HOW the goals and objectives will be achieved

• May require providing a logic model (detailed illustration and timeline)

Logic model

• A "logic model" is used by grant writers to paint a picture of how an organization's proposed program will work

• includes inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impacts.

Monitoring and evaluation

• Provide details on how program's accomplishments will be assessed

• Discuss how will the impact of the project be evaluated.

• Include the records or data to be collected, and how these data will be used.

Statement on sustainability and other funding

• Statement on other funding source, counterpart funding, and in-kind contributions

• Provide answers to questions such as – Is this a pilot project with a limited time-line? – Will it go into the future? – If so, how do you plan to fund it? – Is it sustainable over the long haul?

Information about the organization

• Explain in detail what the applicant organization does, and why the funder can trust it to use the requested funds responsibly and effectively

• Provide for a short history of the organization, its mission, the population it serves, and an overview of its track record in achieving its mission.

• Be complete in this part even if it is not the first time the proposal is being submitted to the funder or grant maker

For researchers, the grant application is the

document where an applicant systematically propose how the idea and/or research will be

carried out

Funders and grant makers

• Government• Private organizations• Corporate organizations• Individuals

http://www.ncca.gov.ph/

A grant winner

Some tips by S.R. O’Brien

• Do your research • Write an outline• Write by filling in the outline• Write in details. Paint a picture. Show

the need.• Edit- and then edit again, and again• Get to know the funder

Take note!

• Writing a grant letter or a grant proposal involves significant preparation.

• To be a successful grant writer, there should be strong interest in the project or research topic at hand.

• Project managers and researchers should have a clear understanding of the sponsor or grant makers perspectives and interests.