Getting Grants and Financial Resources: Applying for a Grant: The General Approach
Learn about writing grants, plus the activities that accompany the actual grant-writing, and increase your overall rate of proposal-writing success.
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DO YOU REALLY WANT TO APPLY FOR A GRANT?
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WHAT ARE GRANTS?
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WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR GRANTS?
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WHEN SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR GRANTS?
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HOW SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR GRANTS?
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO APPLY FOR A GRANT?
Grants are wonderful, most of us think -- and much of the time they really are. People give you money to do just what you want to do, maybe what you've always longed to do. How many times does that happen in life?
But most of the time, grants aren't easy to get. First, you have to find the right grant source. Secondly, you have to write the grant proposal. Both take time and energy, often intense labor; and your labors are not always rewarded, because grants are competitive. This isn't surprising; many others want grants for the same reasons you do.
Now, the good news: grant-writing is learnable. You can learn how to do it, and to do it well. Two main sets of skills are involved. One is writing the grant itself – and there are many excellent resources that will lead you through the process, step-by-step, with plenty of details, some of which are included in the Resources for this section.
The other skill area involves activities that accompany the actual grant-writing. Many of these deal with preparation. Some others parallel the writing itself. All of them fall under the heading of "general approach"; and while this heading is loose, its contents are vital.
With the right approach, you can:
- See how your grant-writing plans fit with your organizational goals
- Get in the right frame of mind before writing
- Appreciate the role of social and political factors (over and above proposal content) in the grant review process
- Increase your overall rate of proposal-writing success
WHAT ARE GRANTS?
For our purposes, grants mean dollar awards to your group or organization to carry out a community project you have proposed. In real life, grant awards are sometimes given in resources other than cash (e.g., travel expenses, time off the job). And occasionally, especially for research, grants are made to individuals as well as groups.
But our emphasis here will be on cash awards to groups for community projects.
WHY SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR GRANTS?
In a sentence: grants enable you to do work you might never do otherwise. Community projects take time. Unless you are wealthy, you cannot pay staff salaries -- or your own salary -- from your own pocket. And few of us are able to buy expensive equipment, or cover a year's worth of office expenses, without outside help. So in many situations, grants are desirable; in some, they are essential.
Many situations, but not all:
- There are times when you can do excellent community work with very little money, or no money at all. Organizing a meeting, holding a social event, getting local policies changed -- these and similar community actions are either cost-free, or come with very modest price tags.
- There are also times when money can become an actual drawback. Someone has to figure out how to spend it, make the payments, keep the records, and be accountable for it. Also, when you have money, your own members may compete for it; the all-volunteer, let's-everyone-pitch-in spirit of the project may be impeded.
And although grants are an excellent way to generate money, they are not the only one. They might belong in your financial planning, but your financial plan should also include other sources of income. A grant might be your guest of honor; but don't you want others to come to your party?
WHEN SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR GRANTS?
- When you want to start a new project, or expand an existing project, and financial costs are involved
- When these costs cannot be covered in your current budget
- When you know of a granting agency that makes awards to pay for the types of costs you envision
- When you know that you meet the eligibility standards for such awards
- When you are able to commit the needed time and energy to the grant-writing process
What about writing a grant proposal because the money is available?
These situations happen all the time. Here's an example:
- Suppose your group provides after-school programs for kids. You are looking for more after-school money. A local foundation funds community groups like yours, but its main interest is the elderly. To increase your award chances, you could design a program where senior citizens become involved in your after-school programs. Should you do it?
- In general: "No", if it means twisting your program priorities; and "certainly not", if you're not interested in senior citizens. "Maybe," if the intergenerational program meets your organization's needs, and if it's really a good idea you just never thought of. In other words, you want to find a balance between staying true to your mission, yet not neglecting opportunities that come your way.
It's not always an easy choice, so consider carefully whether the benefits of extra funding from this grant will outweigh any drawbacks from requirements attached to the funding.
HOW SHOULD YOU APPLY FOR GRANTS?
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