Show Me the Money !

A Workshop for Local Government Grant Writers

Part 1 – Identifying Funding Sources

Presented byLisa A. Foster

LIS 560 – Prof. Lorraine BruceFebruary 26, 2012

Importance of Grants Decreasing local revenues Local agencies are cutting programs

and laying off employees Grant funds are used to maintain and

staff a variety of programs, including police and fire services, libraries, environmental projects and community development

Grant Funding is Still Plentiful! In FY 2010, federal departments and

agencies alone made nearly $490 billion available through the competitive grant process.

(See www.usaspending.gov for more information).

McDonald, Dustin. “Effective Advocacy: What City Officials Need to Know About Pursuing Federal Grant Funding.” Western City (November 2010) n.pag. Web. Jan 2012.

Profile: Local Gov’t Grant WritersCity and county employees who write grant proposals are the heroes that match local needs with available funds. This workshop is designed for local employees who are beginning grant writers. They are:

Mid-level managers who often have other job duties such as budget work, contract administration and managing employees, especially in smaller agencies.

Well educated, with a college degree, or combination of higher education and experience.

Team players. Grant writing is time consuming – an average government grant proposal requires 80 to 160 hours to prepare. Grant writers often work in teams to prepare proposals.

(Landau, Herbert. “Winning Grants: A Game Plan.” American Libraries Magazine. (Sept. 2010) 35-36. Web. Jan 2012.

Info Needs – Grant Writers General Grant Writing

How to Identify Funding

Determining Eligibility and “Mission Match”

Using Consultants

Describing the Project

Supporting Data/Statistics

Preparing a Budget

Agency Approval Process

Team Collaboration Tools

Writing and Proofreading Resources

How to Get References/ Community Support

Workshop: Identifying Funding Sources

Part 1 in a series of 3 workshops called “Show Me the Money.” Part 1 is about finding grant opportunities and consists of 5 parts:

1. Intro: “Alyssa’s Story”2. Using Networking and Personal Contacts3. Using the Internet4. Using Consultants and Notification Services5. Evaluation/Conclusion

In each of parts 2-4, a lecture/slideshow presentation will be followed by a hands-on computer exercise and/or small group discussion.

Grant Writing Proficiency Rubric for Local Government Employees

Objective or Performance

Beginner 1

Intermediate 2

Advanced 3

Score

Using Personal Contacts to Identify

Funding Opportunities

Uses contacts within own agency to learn about grant funding opportunities

Uses contacts within own agency and professional colleagues to find grant funding opportunities

Uses contacts from own agency, professional colleagues and contacts within funding agencies to find funding

Using Professional Networks to

Identify Funding Opportunities

Uses networking with colleagues within own agency to find funding opportunities

Uses networking with professional colleagues inside and outside own agency to find funding opportunities

Uses networking through grant writing/fundraising organizations to find funding opportunities (such as

Knowledge of Internet Resources

for Finding Funding

Opportunities

Uses a few basic clearinghouse websites to identify funding, such as Grants.gov

Uses a few basic grant websites and one or more targeted funding agency websites to find funding opportunities

Uses variety of websites to find funding, including basic grant websites, funding agency websites, private foundation websites, Federal Register, etc.

Understanding When/How to Use Consultants to Find

Funding Opportunities

Does not use grant consultants, conducts own funding opportunity research

Understands type of projects that require a grant consultant, and agency’s process for hiring consultants

Understands type of projects and hiring process for using consultants and is familiar with reputable grant consultants and firms in the area

Understanding How to Use Notification

Services to Identify Funding

Opportunities

Does not use notification services to identify funding

Has used a notification service once or twice to identify funding opportunities

Regularly uses one or more notification services to identify funding opportunities

Workshop Handout pg. 1Grant Funding Resources

Web Sites – Foundations   Foundation Center www.foundationcenter.org   Fundsnet Services www.fundsnetservices.com   GuideStar www.guidestar.org   Foundations on Line www.foundations.org/index.html  Web Sites – Government   Grants.gov (Clearinghouse covering all 26 Federal agencies that provide grants)   GovSpot http://govspot.com/features/grants.htm   Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/cfda or www.cfda.gov   Federal Register www.gpoaccess.gov/fr   Dept. of Transportation www.dot.gov Dept. of Housing and Urban Development www.hud.gov Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov Dept. of Education www.ed.gov Federal Emergency Management Agency www.fema.gov National Institutes of Health www.nih.gov National Science Foundation www.nsf.gov  Subscription Services   Education Grants Alert Capitol Publishing Group, P.O. Box 1453, Alexandria, VA 22313-2053 ($329 per year)

Workshop Handout pg. 2Books   Getting a Grant, by Barbara Loos   The Only Grant Writing Book You’ll Ever Need, by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox   Grant Writing for Dummies by B.A. Browning  Classes, Guides and Tutorials   Foundation Center (free webinars and classes on grant writing, including “A Proposal Writing Short Course”

http://fdncenter.org/onlib/shortcourse/prop1.html)   Grant Wrangler www.grantwrangler.com (grant writing tips and workshops)   Grant Writing Tools for Non-Profit Organizations www.npguides.org/index.html (web based guides for novice grant writers with sample

proposals)   The Grantsmanship Center www.tgci.com   Grants and Grant Proposal Writing (St. Louis University) http://eweb.slu.edu/papers2/grant01v32e.pdf   Proposal Writing (Univ. of Wisconsin) http://grants.library.wisc.edu/organizations/proposalwebsites.html   What Reviewers Look For (College of William and Mary) http://www.wm.edu/grants/PROP/reviewers.htm   Writing a Successful Grant Proposal (Minn. Council on Foundations) http://www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/writinghtm  Professional Organizations   The Association of Fundraising Professionals www.afpnet.org   National Network of Grantwriters www.nng.org

Grant Writers are Heroes!

Questions or Comments? Please feel free to contact me at laf26@uw.edu

Lisa Foster