As you can see, there have not been many posts for the last couple of months. We had a flurry of busy-ness at the end of the school year and then I took a much needed vacation.
We are now back in full swing, and you can expect a dramatic increase in posting here on the blog and on the website.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
There is Still Time to Enter the Webcam Contest!!!
The webcam contest ends on May 31, 2008. Take a look at my blog entry for April 28, 2008 for all the details. You can also go to the Grant Goddess website, click on the "Forum" tab, and see the discussion thread where the rules are explained and the initial entries are posted.
Right now, there are only a few entries. If you jump in the contest, you have a very good chance of winning!
Right now, there are only a few entries. If you jump in the contest, you have a very good chance of winning!
Finding the Balance Between Need and Showing Competence
When writing a grant, you usually need to devote a section to making the case for your need for the grant. Most people really go overboard with this. They write about all the things they need to serve their clients well. They write about how needy their clients are. They produce all sorts of statistics to document just how much they need help.
The problem with going overboard in documenting your need for the grant is that you run the risk of looking incompetent. Your readers might start asking questions like this: If the situation is really that pathetic, how did you let it get this way? If you haven't solved it by now (in your organization's 30 years of business), why should anyone think you'll solve it with the addition of a three-year grant?
The trick is to accurately demonstrate your need for the grant while also demonstrating your capacity to manage the funds well and use the funds to make a real difference and improve the situation. It also helps to highlight some strengths on which you can build. Ideally, you'll be able to show how the funds you are requesting will enable you to leverage other resources to really make a difference.
It's a balancing act. Don't go too far in the direction of showing too much need, or you may end up without the funds to help you work toward a solution.
The problem with going overboard in documenting your need for the grant is that you run the risk of looking incompetent. Your readers might start asking questions like this: If the situation is really that pathetic, how did you let it get this way? If you haven't solved it by now (in your organization's 30 years of business), why should anyone think you'll solve it with the addition of a three-year grant?
The trick is to accurately demonstrate your need for the grant while also demonstrating your capacity to manage the funds well and use the funds to make a real difference and improve the situation. It also helps to highlight some strengths on which you can build. Ideally, you'll be able to show how the funds you are requesting will enable you to leverage other resources to really make a difference.
It's a balancing act. Don't go too far in the direction of showing too much need, or you may end up without the funds to help you work toward a solution.
Friday, May 16, 2008
Top Ten Grant Management Mistakes
For those of you who missed the May 2nd webcast on the Top Ten Mistakes People Make When Managing Grants, you can access the information now in two ways:
1) I just published an article on Squidoo on the topic. Click here to read it.
2) You can also view the full length recorded version (with PowerPoint slides and all). Go to my helloWorld site, click on the icon on the left that looks like a broadcast tower. You can find the recording there.
1) I just published an article on Squidoo on the topic. Click here to read it.
2) You can also view the full length recorded version (with PowerPoint slides and all). Go to my helloWorld site, click on the icon on the left that looks like a broadcast tower. You can find the recording there.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
The First Grant I Ever Wrote
I wrote my very first grant application about 18 years ago. It was a $5,000 mini-grant for technology equipment for the classroom. I requested a video disk player (remember those really big video disks that were as big as old record albums?), a big screen TV, and some science-related video disks.
The entire application was 5 pages long and it took me several days to get it right. The hardest part was writing the goals and objectives. I was trained as a teacher, so writing behavioral objectives was not new for me, but writing behavioral objectives linked to the use of the stuff I was asking for was definitely a challenge.
I remember being so excited about the program design, and I was really looking forward to using the new equipment in my classroom. When I sent off the application, I was excited and nervous. It seemed like forever while I waited to get the results four weeks later.
I got the grant! It was thrilling! I filled out the paperwork, ordered the equipment, and waited some more.
When the equipment arrived, my principal confiscated it and said it wasn't fair for it to go in my classroom. She said it should go in the multi-purpose room where everyone could use it. I strenuously objected because the proposal was written as classroom-based proposal. It didn't matter. The equipment was placed in the muulti-purpose room, and I rarely got the chance to use it. It wasn't because other classes were using it, but because the multi-purpose room was so overbooked with other activity (play practice, band, lunch, rainy day activities, etc.).
In the end, the equipment I was so excited about was used very little. I was very disappointed, but it didn't stop me from pursuing other grants in the future.
The entire application was 5 pages long and it took me several days to get it right. The hardest part was writing the goals and objectives. I was trained as a teacher, so writing behavioral objectives was not new for me, but writing behavioral objectives linked to the use of the stuff I was asking for was definitely a challenge.
I remember being so excited about the program design, and I was really looking forward to using the new equipment in my classroom. When I sent off the application, I was excited and nervous. It seemed like forever while I waited to get the results four weeks later.
I got the grant! It was thrilling! I filled out the paperwork, ordered the equipment, and waited some more.
When the equipment arrived, my principal confiscated it and said it wasn't fair for it to go in my classroom. She said it should go in the multi-purpose room where everyone could use it. I strenuously objected because the proposal was written as classroom-based proposal. It didn't matter. The equipment was placed in the muulti-purpose room, and I rarely got the chance to use it. It wasn't because other classes were using it, but because the multi-purpose room was so overbooked with other activity (play practice, band, lunch, rainy day activities, etc.).
In the end, the equipment I was so excited about was used very little. I was very disappointed, but it didn't stop me from pursuing other grants in the future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
About Creative Resources & Research
- Grant Goddess
- Woodland, CA, United States
- Creative Resources and Research is a consulting firm specializing in grant writing, grant seeking, program evaluation and professional development training. We have worked with hundreds of clients including public and private schools, school districts, universities, non-profit organizations, and social service agencies throughout California, securing over $155 million from federal, state and private foundation funding sources over the past decade. Our primary grant writers and program evaluators have over 50 years of combined experience in the education and social services fields. At CRR we prefer a personal approach to the clients we work with; by developing long term relationships, we are better suited to match client’s needs with available funding sources. We provide a variety of services to help assist you, including grant writing, evaluation consulting, professional development opportunities, and workshops.