Writing a SuccessfulGrant Application

TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION TDSB 2017

Business DevelopmentLast Updated: March 17, 2017

TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION

Contents

Business Development (BD) 3

Introduction 4

Frequently Asked Questions 10

Policies and Procedures 11

Not to be reproduced without prior permission from TDSB – Business Development Department. Inquiries: Susanna Siou, Business Development Manager (416)-395-8237

Produced byBusiness Development5050 Yonge Street, 3rd FloorToronto, ON M2N 5N8(416)-397-3510businessdevelopment@tdsb.on.ca

3TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION

Contents

BD supports student success, inspires staff and increases TDSB’s community involvement by providing resources and advisory support to TDSB schools, staff, students, school councils,

parents and the community fundraising efforts.

Business Development (BD)The TDSB works with many community members, organizations and businesses on fundraising, which includes donations, grants, sponsorship opportunities, the sale of goods or services, and Board-wide fundraising initiatives. The BD portfolio includes vetting materials for distribution to students and their parents/guardians, reviewing and approving fundraising vendors, donations (in-kind & monetary), grants, sponsorships, as well as the Employee Discount Program. TDSB staff can access the BD SharePoint internal website at tdsbweb/BusinessDevelopment/ to review the list of ‘Approved‘ and ‘Not Approved‘ Vendors for Fundraising, Distribution of Materials, and for the list of ‘Suitable‘ and ‘Not Suitable‘ Contests, Grants and Scholarships. Prior to distribution to the community school principals may contact businessdevelopment@tdsb.on.ca for support when reviewing a fundraising vendor, an initiative, a charitable organization or when reviewing fundraising promotional materials.

The Business Development team is here to assist you with your fundraising efforts.

Business Development’s (BD) Mission

Contact InformationFundraising Hotline: 416.397.3510

Email: businessdevelopment@tdsb.on.caWebsite: www.tdsbfundraising.ca

BD SharePoint site: tdsbweb/Business Development/

4TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATIONVisit our website at w w w.tdsbfundraising.c a

IntroductionThe Toronto District School Board (TDSB) recognizes that school-based fundraising is a local activity, and believes that the goals of fundraising go beyond money to reflect the creative and collaborative efforts of parents, students, teachers and the school community. Underlying these efforts is the belief that it is not the responsibility of parents or school communities to raise funds for basic educational requirements, but rather that school communities may raise funds to enhance programs and support school and student initiatives. Fundraising activities may include donations (monetary and in-kind), grants, sponsorships and the sale of goods or services.

This guide has been prepared by the Business Development (BD) department in response to requests from school communities to receive additional support, and it is designed to help you as you plan to apply for Grants, Contests and Competitions. The guide is based on consultation with our funders and grantors. We hope that the guide will provide you with tips and suggestions on writing your next grant application.

Fundraising via GrantsBD supports schools and school councils as they consider applying for grants and move through the application process. Before starting the application process please contact BD to ensure that the grant application has been vetted for legal compliance, conflict of interest, and that recognition requirements from the organization are consistent with TDSB Advertising and other policies and procedures. Once the review process is complete, the grant will be recommended as ‘suitable to apply’ or ‘not suitable to apply’.

To access the Grants list, please work with your school principal, or other TDSB staff, to access the information found on the BD’s SharePoint site at tdsbweb/BusinessDevelopment/.

What is a Grant?Grants are contributions or gifts (monetary or in-kind) bestowed by a government, corporation, foundation or other organization for specified purposes.

Grants are usually conditional upon certain qualifications and require some level of compliance and reporting such as quarterly or final reports or audits.

5TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATIONVisit our website at w w w.tdsbfundraising.c a

Grant Application Process

Before you apply …Please check BD SharePoint tdsbweb/BusinessDevelopment/ to see if the grant, contest, or competition you wish to apply is ‘suitable’ or ‘not suitable’ to apply.

If the grant, contest, or competition you wish to apply is not listed in SharePoint, please send an email to Business Development Coordinator at meera.mcdonald@tdsb.on.ca to review.

What does ‘Not Suitable to Apply’ means?BD reviews grant, contests, and competition applications prior to submission to ensure that there is:

• legal compliance; • no conflict of interest; • consistency with TDSB policies and procedures in regards to recognition requirements from the organization

This review is done in consultation with various TDSB departments such as Legal, Communications, IT Services, Purchasing and Central Coordinating Principals to ensure that the grant is compliant with TDSB policies and procedures.

6TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION

Examples of Grants, Competition, Contest ‘not suitable to apply’:a. Ontario Mining Association

BD reviewed the Ontario Mining Association Competition and determined it was ‘not a suitable’ grant to apply. There were some legal concerns on the Competition Rules in particular to copyrights of the ideas submitted.

b. Shania Kids Can

BD in consultation with other TDSB departments, it was deemed ‘not suitable‘ to apply as the funder requires schools to post the artist’s pictures in classrooms and have to widely promote the funder to receive the Grant.

If the grant is deemed ‘Suitable to Apply’, what’s next?If the grant, contest, or competition is confirmed as ‘suitable to apply’, seek approval from your school Principal before you begin writing your application.

• Consultwithyourschoolprincipaltoensurethatyourgrantapplicationmeetsyourschool’sfundraising requirements. • IdentifyandconsultwithappropriateTDSBdepartments,suchasFacilityServices,and/orITServicesforsupport when developing your budget. • ALL fundraising activities including donations, fun fair activities, grants and sponsorships must be approved by the principal.

7TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION

Grant Writing Tips1. Create a Framework

• Haveaclearandconciseobjective • Haveclearmilestonesanddeliverables • Referenceacasestudyoranexampleinyourcommunity • Haveadetailedandrealisticbudget

2. Be Authentic and Original

• Haveacompellingreason • Makeyourapplicationunique • Donotusethesametemplateasotherschools • WhyYOURschoolrequiresthefundingoverotherapplicants? • DescribeYOURschool,communityorinitiative • Whatisyourobjective? • Provideanoverviewofitstrackrecordinachievingitsgoals • Supportyoursubmissionwithpicturesandimpactstoriesfromyourschool/community • Includesupportlettersfromstudents,parents,andstaffandfromtheschoolcommunity

3. Describe the impact

• Howyourprogram/initiativewillbenefitastudentand/oryourcommunity? • Providetheexactnumberofbeneficiaries-Howmanypeoplewillbenefitfromthisgrant?

4. Review the Grant Application

• Readthefunder’sguidelinesthoroughly. • Readtheeligibilityrequirementstoseeiftheyareappropriateforyourschool’sfundraisingpurposes. • Doyourownspell-check.Donotrelyonthecomputer. • Grantwritingisjustlikeothertypesoffundraising.Itisaboutrelationships.Ifpossible,contactthefunder and discuss your idea(s) for the grant, prior to writing.

5. Follow the Grant Guidelines given by the funder

• Followthedetailedguidelinesgivenbythefunder • Writeshortandconcisesentencesusingasimplesentencestructure • Writefromthepoint-of-viewofthefunder • Avoidself-reference • Thirdpersonnarrativeisthepreferredwritingvoiceasitprovidesgreaterflexibilitytothewriter • Writesentencesintheactivevoiceforgreaterenergyanddirectness

8TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION

Congratulations!You have written a successful grant application

Once you are announced as a winner, you will need to contact the Business Development (BD) Department. BD will guide schools/departments through the next steps of the application process which are listed below:

• reviewandprovidefeedbackonanycontractsoragreements • coordinatewiththeLegaldepartmentinordertoreviewandadviseifanychangesneedtobe made for the grant agreement • coordinatewiththeCommunications&PublicAffairsdepartment,inordertoreviewthe implementation of recognition requirements • coordinatewiththesigningauthorityfortheagreement • AllTDSBGrantagreementsaresignedbytheTDSBAssociateDirector,unlessotherwiseadvised by the Legal department.

6. Before You Submit Your Application

• Mostgrantapplicationsaresubmittedonline,completeyourapplicationoffline. • Completetheapplicationaminimumoftwodaysbeforesubmissiondeadline.Thiswillallow time for editing and proof reading. • Haveatleasttwopeopleproofreadyourapplication.

7. After You Submit Your Application

• Retainonecopyoftheapplicationforyourself • Provideanothercopytotheschoolprincipal

9TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION

If you did not win, don’t be discouraged, you can always learn and improve! • Ifyouarenotsuccessfulwithyourapplication,contactthefundertoseeifthereisanythingyoucoulddo better or different for next time.

• Reviewthebelowlistthatincludesotherresourcestoassistinyourgrantwriting

o University of Ontario Institute of Technology – Grant Writing Tips research.uoit.ca/faculty/grant-development-management/grant-writing-tips.php

o Grant writing tools for non-profit organizations www.npguides.org/index.html

10TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION

Frequently Asked QuestionsThese Frequently Asked Questions were produced to provide you with information and support as you make important choices and decisions around your school fundraising initiatives. If you have any questions related to fundraising in schools, please call the fundraising hotline at 416.397.3510 and leave a message. Your message will be returned within two business days.

1. Is there a list of grants that are approved by the Board?

Yes there is. Please visit the BD SharePoint site (tdsbweb/BusinessDevelopment/) for a complete list of suitable and not suitable grants to apply.

2. Can we apply for this particular grant?

Please review the list of grants on the SharePoint site to make sure that the grant you would like to apply for is suitable to apply. BD has compiled a list of grants, contests, competitions that are suitable and not suitable for TDSB schools to apply. On this site there are details on each grant as well has instructions on the grant application process.

3. There is a grant I wish to apply for but it is not on your ‘suitable to apply’ list. What should I do?

Please email the grant information with a link or the flyer to Business Development Coordinator at meera.mcdonald@tdsb.on.ca for review.

4. I am part of school council. How can I see the BD SharePoint site?

All TDSB staff, School Council Chair and Co-Chair now has access to the SharePoint site. You must login using your Employee ID to access this site.

5. I am part of a School Council Chair and I do not have an Employee ID. Who should I contact to get the ID?

Please contact your principal for assistance.

11TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION

Policies and ProceduresPolicies approved by the TDSB Board of Trustees guide all the activities conducted by TDSB. Procedures are developed to implement the vision and intent of the policies.

When considering any fundraising initiatives, the following policies are a good place to start.

P002: Mission and Values P006: Advertising Policy PR507: Advertising Procedure PR686: Barbecue SafetyP.041: Distribution and Display of Materials for Students and Parents from External GroupsPR565: Distribution of Materials for Students and Parents from External GroupsP057: Employee Conflict of Interest PolicyPR673: Employee and Community Partners Conflict of Interest ProcedureP037: Equity FoundationP033: Excursions Policy PR511: Excursions Procedure P021: Fundraising Policy PR508: Fundraising ProcedurePR609: International Disaster ReliefP047: Naming Schools and Special Purpose Areas Policy PR592: Naming Schools and Special Purpose Areas Procedures PR529:Officialand/orHighProfileVisitsandEventsProcedurePR533: Use of Board Resources during Election Campaigns Ministry of Education: Fundraising GuidelinesMinistry of Education: PPM150: School Food and Beverage PolicyOntario Education Regulations 298, Section 24

The Business Development team will work with you every step of the way and try our best to

answer any questions that you may have.

Writing a SuccessfulGrant Application

TORONTO DISTRICT SCHOOL BOARD – WRITING A SUCCESSFUL GRANT APPLICATION TDSB 2017

Business Development