Putting Yourself in the Shoes of a Reviewer: The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing

1. Putting Yourself in the Shoes of a Reviewer: The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing November 3, 2012 Lechelle Wardell, MPH Consultant llwardell@att.net

2. The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing • Meet Deadlines • Don’t Be Late!!! • Follow Directions Provided in Request for Applications/Proposals (RFA/RFP) • Complete Checklist • Format • Page/Section Limits • Complete All Forms

3. The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing Include All Requested Attachments, Sections and Forms Obtain All Necessary Signatures Make Grant Visually Appealing Make Grant Easy to Read

4. The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing • Develop Strong Goals and Objectives • Realistic • Measurable • Timeline for accomplishing

5. Goals A statement of the planned outcome that will solve the problem addressed in the needs statement. (Fredalene B. Bowers, Ph.D., Asst. Professor, Indiana University of Pennsylvania) i.e. The goal of this program is to increase the number of Latino women seeking and receiving screening mammograms.

6. Objectives • A Statement of Intent to Perform Predetermined Activities • Specific • Measurable • Attainable • Realistic • Timely • Should be Written with Action Verbs • To increase • To improve • To identify

7. Objectives Beginning July 1, a minimum of two home visits per month will be provided to 30 African American women of childbearing age in the targeted areas. To identify four new residential communities with a large Latino population (>50% of residents) by March 15.

8. The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing Develop an Evaluation Plan Proofread, Proofread, Proofread! Don’t Have ANY Typos Write Proposal in 3rd Person

9. The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing • Assemble a Proposal Writing Team • Gather relevant data and information • Give ideas for proposal content • Write sections of proposal • Select One KEY Proposal Writer • Proposal should have one voice

10. The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing • Include Community Input • Don’t Use Acronyms Or Abbreviations • Include Strong Letters Of Support Or Memorandums Of Agreement • All letters should not be alike • Letters should state commitment to program • Letters should be on letterhead and signed

11. The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing Avoid Jargon, Complicated Expressions Or Run-on Sentences Consider Placing Charts And Grafts In Appendix Start Early Develop A Checklist

12. The Do’s and Don’ts of Grant Writing Include A Budget With A Strong Budget Justification Budget Should Directly Relate To Program Activities Budget Should Reflect True Costs Of Program Activities

13. Basic Proposal Components • Summary ~ Clearly and concisely summarizes the request • Appears at the beginning of the proposal • Identifies grant applicant • Includes at least one sentence on problem • Includes at least one sentence on credibility • Includes at least one sentence on objectives • Includes at least one sentence on methods • Includes total cost, funds already obtained and amount requested

14. Basic Proposal Components • Introduction ~ Describes the applicant agency and its qualifications for funding (credibility) • Clearly establishes who is applying for funds • Describes applicant agency purposes and goals • Describes applicant’s programs and activities • Describes applicant’s clients or constituents • Provides evidence of the applicant’s accomplishments • Offers statistics in support of accomplishments • Leads logically to the problem statement • Is as brief as possible • Is interesting

15. Basic Proposal Components • Problem Statement or Needs Assessment • Relates to purposes and goals of applicant agency • Is of reasonable dimensions • Is supported by statistical evidence • Is supported by statements from authorities • Is stated in terms of clients’ needs and problems, not the applicant’s • Is developed with input from the clients and beneficiaries • Makes no unsupported assumptions • Is interesting to read • Is as brief as possible • Makes a compelling case

16. Basic Proposal Components • Program Objectives ~ Describes the outcomes of the grant in measurable terms • At least one objective for each problem or need committed to in problem statement • Objectives are outcomes • Objectives are not methods • Describes the population that will benefit • States the time by which objectives will be accomplished • Objectives are SMART

17. Basic Proposal Components • Methods ~ Describes the activities to be conducted to achieve the desired objectives • Flows naturally from problems and objectives • Clearly describes program activities • States reasons for the selection of activities • Describes sequence of activities • Describes staffing of program • Describes clients and client selection • Presents a reasonable scope of activities that can be conducted within the time and resources of the program

18. Basic Proposal Components • Evaluation ~ Presents a plan for determining the degree to which objectives are met and methods are followed • Presents a plan for evaluating accomplishment of objectives • Presents a plan for evaluating and modifying methods over the course of the program • Tells who will be doing the evaluation and how they were chosen • Clearly states criteria of success • Describes how data will be gathered • Explains any test instruments or questionnaires to be used • Describes the process of data analysis • Describes any evaluation reports to be produced

19. Basic Proposal Components • Future Funding ~ Describes a plan for continuation beyond the grand and/or the availability of other resources necessary to implement the grant. • Presents a specific plan to obtain future funding if program is to be continued • Describes how maintenance and future program costs will be obtained • Describes how other funds will be obtained, if necessary to implement the grant • Has minimal reliance of future grant support • Is accompanied by letters of commitment, if necesssary

20. Basic Proposal Components • Budget ~ Clearly delineates costs to be met by the funding source and those provided by other parties • Tells the same story as the proposal narrative • Is detailed in all aspects • Projects costs that will be incurred at the time of the program, if different from the time of proposal writing • Contains no unexplained amounts for miscellaneous • Includes all items asked of the funding source • Includes all items paid for by other sources • Includes all volunteers • Details fringe benefits, separate from salaries • Includes all consultants • Separately details all non-personnel costs • Includes indirect costs where appropriate • Is sufficient to perform the tasks described in the narrative

21. Identifying Resources – Community Level • Faith-Based Organizations • Community Volunteers • Non-Profit Organizations • Civic Organizations • Local Government • Schools • Colleges and Universities • Grants • Educational Resources • Technical Assistance • Research Opportunities

22. Identifying Resources – State Level • State Government • Grants • Educational Resources • Technical Assistance • Grant Making Organizations (Fundsnetservices.com) • Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust • A. J. Fletcher Foundation • A.E. Finley Foundation • Golden Leaf Foundation • Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

23. Identifying Resources – Federal/National Level • Federal Government • Grants (Grants.gov) • Educational Resources • Technical Assistance • National Grant Making Organizations