Grant Writer, Grant Writer Write Me a Grant August 8, 2011 West Florida Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Pro

1.  Grant Writer, Grant WriterWrite Me a GrantAugust 8, 2011West Florida Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professional s Debbie Douma, Dean Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Grants

2. Introduction Trends Scams Fatal Flaws Tips

3. Why do we write grants? Because we love to write? NO! Because we need to raise funds? Well, yes � um, NO!

4. Fund raising efforts, whether through private donations or grant applications, should be in support of initiatives that your organization will continue to attempt to accomplish, whether or not funding is received.

5. Grant Myth/Fact #1 Myth: A grant is a monetary award given by a funding agency to fund your wants/needs. Fact: A grant is something a funding agency gives to advance its own mission.

6. and then find (and read) the mission statement of any potential funding agency and any specific purpose statement related to their philanthropic efforts! Know Your Mission Statement,

7. Pensacola State College, under the governance of a local Board of Trustees, is one of 28 public colleges in the Florida College System committed to affordable, open access to educational opportunities. Pensacola State College is dedicated to maximizing educational opportunities, through a variety of delivery methods that develop the academic, career, personal, and aesthetic capabilities of individuals for the benefit of themselves and the global community.

8. Mission: Florida Theatrical Association � the nonprofit presenter of Broadway in Orlando, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale and Miami � was founded with the charge of educating and developing new theater audiences and encouraging and preserving the presentation of touring Broadway Theater. Florida Theatrical Association

9. Purpose Statement: Annually, Florida Theatrical Association supports nonprofit theatre arts groups with grants for professional training programs and awards scholarships to college and high school theatre students. Since 1989, Florida Theatrical has awarded over $1 million in scholarships and grants to support arts education and arts organizations across the state of Florida. Community Outreach

10. Grant Myth/Fact #2 Myth: A grant will fund your need for bricks & mortar, supplies, equipment, technology, and staff. Fact: A grant will fund an activity or initiative.

11. You should be providing potential solutions:  You �Can� rather than you �Need� Turn your organization�s strengths into community problem solving Use current personnel and resources in innovative ways Apply new approaches

13. Independent and family foundations � which represent the vast majority of U.S. foundations � reduced their giving by less than 1 percent to $32.5 billion in 2010. Corporate foundation giving remained basically unchanged at $4.7 billion in 2010. Community foundation giving dipped 2.1 percent to $4.1 billion in 2010, the first consecutive-year decline on record. Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates (2011 Edition)

14. Funding Priorities Health Care Education Energy Anything that creates jobs!

15. Must be able to identify what the requested funding will achieve, rather than simply talking about what the funding will be used for. Example: Rather than asking for funding to deliver career workshops for the long-term unemployed, your organization would ask for funding to help enable this population to develop specific job-getting and job-keeping skills�and then be able to provide data supporting objective. Outcomes Funding

16. Encouraged, and often required Don�t wait until you�re writing a grant to form partnerships Develop long term, mutually beneficial relationships Be creative! Partnerships need to be based on tangible support, not fluff Partnerships/Collaboration

17. Objectives should be ambitious yet attainable.Note: NEVER say you will increase something by 100% Measurable Objectives

18. Goal: Great Nonprofit will meet the learning needs of individuals in Escambia County with low literacy levels. Objectives: Process: Establish literary level review committee by Month 2 of the grant period. Outcome: By 2012, the number of clients receiving literacy services will increase by 50%.

19. Matching Funds Increasingly required, showing an organization (and/or community) support of a project Cash Amount will be stipulated Can be donated by a partner In-Kind Commitment of services, personnel, space Be realistic! If one of your volunteer tutors is a lawyer, you can count hourly cost f hiring a tutor, not a lawyer!

20. Stronger Emphasis on Evaluation Accountability is increasingly important to funding agencies Contributes to project improvement Helps to fulfill reporting requirements Provide information to stakeholders Internal External

21. SCAMS (or just a plain old waste of money)

22. No, you cannot apply for hundreds of grants with a single proposal/application (boilerplate/template) No, you cannot learn how to write grants, guaranteed to be funded, by attending an expensive workshop for 3 hours in a hotel room

23. No, you cannot pay fees to a grant writer from grant funds awarded unless specifically allowed by the funder � it is unethical and often illegal �Jean Cross is charged with forgery, mail fraud and making false statements in relation to a $35 million federal grant she garnered for the Indio Youth Task Force in 2007. According to her agreement with the Task Force, she was contracted to receive 15 percent or about $5 million for her efforts.�

25. Free Resources Federal Government grants �clearinghouse� http://grants.gov Foundation Center http://foundationcenter.org The Grantsmanship Center http://www.tgci.com Guidestar http://www2.guidestar.org/index.jsp Federal Register http://listserv.access.gpo.gov U.S. Census http://www.census.gov/ Grant Professionals Association http://grantprofessionals.org National Center for Charitable Statistics http://nccsdataweb.urban.org This is not an endorsement of the information found on any of these sites.

26. Grant Writing for Dummies -- $11.79 http://amazon.com Grant Writing USA -- $495 http://grantwritingusa.com The Grantsmanship Center -- $895 http://www.tgci.com/ To consider if you have funds available �

27. Fatal Flaws

28. Applying when you�re not eligible READ THE DIRECTIONS Missing important deadlines READ THE DIRECTIONS Ineligible formatting (# of pages, margins, fonts) READ THE DIRECTIONS Asking for too much money (or not enough) READ THE DIRECTIONS Manner in which grant is submitted READ THE DIRECTIONS, AGAIN!

29. Depending on Spell Check to find all errors HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR APPLICATION Not using appropriate grammar/punctuation HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR APPLICATION Using unexplained acronyms or vocabulary HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR APPLICATION Full of inconsistencies HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR APPLICATION Lack of polish/Choppy HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR APPLICATION Budget doesn�t match the proposed activities HAVE SOMEONE ELSE READ YOUR APPLICATION

30. Tips

31. Think/write in �active� voice Write in an �institutional voice� Don�t write in first person �Great Nonprofit� rather than �I/We� Address each guideline in RFP Use appropriate/up-to-date data Be persuasive Be interesting

32. Remember � Your organization doesn�t exist because you have a need; your organization exists because it meets needs. Instead of �we need� � �we can�

33. Questions?? $$$ Good Luck! $$$ Debbie Douma ddouma@pensacolastate.edu