grant writing 101 for new faculty by aaron shonk and paul dubois

Grant Writing 101For New Faculty

by Aaron Shonk and Paul DuBois

Grant Writing 101

The purposes of this training are

• To learn about our services;

• To gain a general understanding of private foundations;

• To develop an executive summary for a prospective project for which you would like to secure private foundation funding; and

• To gain a series of tips for improving proposals.

THE CAMPAIGN FOR OSU

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Purpose

2 Exercise

3 Overview of Services

4 Approaching Private Foundations

5 Proposal Development I

6 Private Foundation Grants

7 Proposal Development II

8 Research & Project Interests

9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Connecting and Fitting the Parts

Project

Needs Project Description Evaluation

Funding

Project Funder


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Before and After Exercise

Interactive Activity

Quote

Chart or photo

Oregon State University Foundation Before/After Project Development Matrix

Before After Resources Needed Metrics (How to Measure Change) SAMPLE

Retention for freshmen students from lower socioeconomic (SES) backgrounds is only 60 percent – 20 percent lower than retention rates for the general freshman population.

After five years, retention for low SES students will rise from 60 percent to 70 percent – only 10 percent below the historical average retention rate.

Funding for or resources devoted to: Intervention program and college

success course targeted at SES students

Additional tutoring time Student engagement activities Goal-setting Mandatory advising

Retention rates GPA Course progression Use of, and time in, tutoring

services Student satisfaction (as measured

by surveys

Describe Project’s Likely Impact on the Organization.

Describe Project’s Likely Impact on the Organization’s Programs.


Before and After Exercise

1. Describe a prospective project. If you can’t think of one, you can make one up.

2. Write at least one project impact (i.e., before/after). Possible categories:

• The Organization• The Organization’s Programs• Stakeholders• Needs

3. The amount of funding is between $150K and $200K.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Purpose

2 Exercise







9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Overview of Services

• Prospect Research

• Foundation Relations

• Project Planning

• Training and Facilitation

• Reporting

• Editing/Writing


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A



• Provide individual requests for foundation research from a college, another university unit, or faculty member (e.g., Kresge)

• Develop project-driven research (e.g., Arts Initiative match, OSU Cascades, forestry/water)


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Overview of ServicesSample – Private Foundation Prospects


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• Liaise with individual foundations, including attending training, obtaining technical information, etc.

• Serve as the “troubleshooter” or “go-between” to make PI’s job easier in the application process.


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A



• Project Management – small and large

• Private Foundation Fundraising Plans

• Individual Grant Projects


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10 Q/A



• Grant Process 101

• Grant Proposal Writing 101

• One-on-One Consulting

• Special Topics (2014-15)

• New Faculty Training

• Compression Planning through Storyboarding ©


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2 Exercise







9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A


• Reporting

• Reporting Coordination

• Submission of Progress and Final Reports

• Coordination with OPAA


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A


• Editing and Writing

• Editorial Services

• Copyediting• Content Editing• Developmental Editing

• Writing Grants or Sections (Limited)


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2 Exercise







9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A






• Reporting

• Editing/Writing


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2 Exercise







9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Ideal Approach with Private Foundations (Sample 1)• Prospect Research or an RFP opportunity

• Your Review of the Funding Options

• Foundation Services tries to connect with the funder (“Foundation Relations”).

• Develop a Plan for Completing the Project, including the SPO question.

• Foundation Services Review – writing, editing, and documents

• Submission

• Receive funding.

• Reporting


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2 Exercise







9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Ideal Approach with Private Foundations (Sample 2)

• You come to Foundation Services with a funding opportunity.

• Develop a Plan for Completing the Project, including the SPO question.

• Foundation Services Review – – writing, editing, and documents

• Submission

• Receive funding.

• Reporting


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1 Purpose

2 Exercise







9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

What’s the first question a private foundation funder asks about your project?

So what?!The program officer knows that your project is

important, but why is it important to the private

foundation from which you are seeking

funding?


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Grant Writing 101 – Framing the Project

Five Major Components

• Need or Problem Statement (Why)

• Project Design/Solution (What)

• Key Personnel (Who)

• Management Plan (How, When, and Where)

• Evaluation (What happened and what’s next)


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Grant Writing 101 – Framing the Project


• Need or Problem Statement

• Project Design/Solution

• Key Personnel

• Management Plan

• Evaluation


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Grant Writing 101Five Major Components


• Section where the problem is framed.

• Section educates the reviewer as to the importance of the problem.

• The Need Statement should drive toward a compelling conclusion, which is …

the next section – the project description/design.

• The Need Section should take into account what others are doing and distinguish your work from that of others.

• Sets up the so what? question.


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Need statement should do the following:

• Be aligned with the private foundation’s mission;

• Account for the funder’s limitations (e.g., geographic and funding restrictions);

• Work within the funder’s funding parameters; and

• Answer the so what? question.


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One way of addressing the so what? question is to examine impacts that the project will have. There may be impacts on the following:

• People and groups

• The environment

• The economy

• Education


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Grant Writing 101

Sources to Establish Need, Part 1(Beyond the Quest of Knowledge)

Evidence

• Academic measures (e.g., retention)

• Institutional Stability (e.g., front-end counseling)

• Financial (e.g., improved hourly income)

• Workforce (e.g., reduced unemployment)

• Applied Research (e.g., engineering in a community)


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Grant Writing 101

Sources to Establish Need, Part 2(Beyond the Quest of Knowledge)

Evidence

• Scholarly articles and journals

• Trade magazines

• Datasets

• Pilot research

• Past projects


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Grant Writing 101



EXAMPLE

Two billion people are at risk of food insecurity worldwide. Antarctic krill represent a significant resource to help feed the world’s populations. Given the fragile habitat of Antarctica and other creatures that depend on this food source, research on the real biomass of Antarctic krill and public outreach are critical to balance conservation efforts with sustainable fishing practices in the Southern Ocean.


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2 Exercise







9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Grant Writing 101




• Key Personnel

• Management Plan

• Evaluation


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Grant Writing 101



• Section where the solution is framed.

• Section usually includes the following:

• Description (This may also appear in the summary or introduction.)

• Goals

• Objectives (SMART)

• Activities

• Provides “the answer” to the so what? question.

EXAMPLE (PDF)


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Grant Writing 101



SMART Objectives

• S – Specific

• M – Measurable

• A – Achievable

• R – Relevant

• T – Time-Bound or Time-Sensitive

• E – Evaluate(d)

• R – Reviewed


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Exercise – Need Statement and Project Description

Using the project from your before/after matrix, develop the following:

• Write 3-5 sentences for the need statement.• Write 4-8 sentences to describe the project

description. Include, at a minimum, the description, 1 goal, 2 objectives, and 2 supporting activities.

• When you’re done, share with your “grant partner.”


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A


Tips

• “Projectify.”

• Convey your project in terms of getting from Point A to Point B.

• Simplify the writing.

• Answer the So What? question.


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9 Top Ten Tips

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“Projectify”


“Stinky” Food Science

Small Farms Center

$7 million for research on making food smell better & commercialize

$10 million in endowments to fund programs at $450K per year

Broken into 3+ phases Modularized program

1st phase: researchFinal phase: obesity prevention

Developed regional model to tie into state efforts

1st phase: $500K or $100K increments

$40,000 for one region

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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Private Foundation Grants – A Few Generalizations


1. Organizations that give private foundation grants are similar to individual donors; that is, they are motivated to improve the world (charitable intent).

2. Like federal grants, private foundation grants often have clear purposes, budgets, timelines, & deliverables.

3. There can be confusion as to whether a grant should go through Sponsored Programs or the OSU Foundation. Talk to us first.

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4. The OSU Foundation and university handle “indirect costs” differently, but neither double dips.

5. Private grants are rarely substitutes for basic sources of operating expenses.

6. Private grants are best thought of as supporting innovations, startups, a margin of excellence, and special projects – often with uniquely flexible funding (such as a capacity-building grant).

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7. Private foundation grants should be part of a balanced external funding plan.

EXAMPLE: STINKY VEGETABLES (Food Science)

• Funding for research (basic academic research – USDA, NSF, and private donors)

• Funding for scaling (with engineering – NSF, corporate funding)

• Funding for impacts (e.g., obesity/food insecurity – private foundations)

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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Private Grants – A Few Generalizations


8. Private grants may require stewardship.

9. Private foundation grants frequently focus on impacts.

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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Connecting the Parts

Remember to connect the parts:

Needs Project Evaluation


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2 Exercise







9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Grant Writing 101




• Key Personnel

• Management Plan

• Evaluation


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Grant Writing 101


• Evaluation

• Section that describes how the solution will be corrected, assessed, monitored, and/or measured.

• Section may include the following:

• Outcomes

• Outputs

• Impacts

• Formative evaluation

• Summative evaluation

• Language about “evaluation design”• Goals and Objectives


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Grant Writing 101


• Evaluation


• Data collection plan

• Instruments

• External evaluator

• Reporting

• Analysis

• Section should address the questions in the actual application.


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10 Q/A

Grant Writing 101


• Evaluation

GUIDES (Kellogg Foundation)

• Evaluation Guide

• Logic Model

• Source: http://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2010/w-k-kellogg-foundation-evaluation-handbook


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http://www.wkkf.org/resource-directory/resource/2010/w-k-kellogg-foundation-evaluation-handbook



Exercise – Evaluation

• Write 2-3 ways to evaluate the proposed project.

• When you’re done, share with your “grant partner.”


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10 Q/A

Exercise – Evaluation

Tips

• Tie the evaluation to your SMART(ER) objectives

• Try to quantify your metrics.


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10 Q/A

Grant Writing 101




• Key Personnel

• Management Plan

• Evaluation


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Grant Writing 101


• Key Personnel

• Section that discusses key personnel in the narrative.

• Section may be detailed; it may be brief.

• The project director/PI and/or team should have sufficient (collective) experience to undertake the project.


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Grant Writing 101


• Key Personnel

KEY TAKEAWAY

Drive the biography’s description toward the project for which you’re seeking funding.

For example, if your expertise is in mechanical engineering with three major emphases and if you are applying to a private foundation that works in green energy, the biographical description should primarily emphasize past experience relevant to the project. Don’t use laundry lists (except for select awards).


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10 Q/A

Grant Writing 101




• Key Personnel

• Management Plan

• Evaluation


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Grant Writing 101


• Management Plan

• Section that describes how the solution will be undertaken.


• Schedule

• Policies

• Leadership and management structures (e.g., teams), including organizational charts

• Activities

• Milestones/benchmarks

EXAMPLES (PDF)


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Final Exercise

• Make some last-minute edits.

• Write at least 2 sentences to represent the management plan.

• Write at least 2 sentences for key personnel.


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Final Exercise

Tips

• Management plan – tell how your project will be completed.

• Key personnel – write about who will do the project, their relevant experience, and what they will do.


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9 Top Ten Tips

10 Q/A

Research and Project Interests

This is where you get to tell us about your own work and research interests – current and emerging.

• Research Areas • Context (e.g., organizations, community

settings, age groups, etc.)• Geographical Areas• (Further) Applications of Work• Why do you need external funding?


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10 Q/A

Aaron’s Top Ten for Writing Proposals

10. Pick the right funders and communicate with them.Strong proposals go to private foundations with an expressed interest in your topic. Stronger proposals align your project with the funder’s mission and advance their mission.

9. Align your budget with your text.Strong proposals include a budget within the budgetary restrictions. Stronger proposals leverage resources and make a case for each major budget item.


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8. Give yourself time for feedback.In strong proposals, colleagues proofread your narrative. In stronger proposals, colleagues provide critical feedback that will help you set your project apart from those of others.

7. Connect the parts. Strong proposals make a logical case from the needs statement through the evaluation:

NeedsProjectEvaluation

In stronger proposals, the reader carries a sense of how the different parts are interconnected all the way through the document.


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6. Convey your project in terms of getting from Point A to Point B.Strong proposals proceed in a logical progression: you state (predict) the outcomes in the narrative. In stronger proposals, the reader sees how your work will result in the after you identified. You show the reader.

5. Simplify the writing. Strong proposals avoid unnecessary jargon and use simpler sentences over more convoluted ones. Stronger proposals are accessible to a sophisticated lay reader.


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4. Read your reviewers’ minds.Strong proposals address the funder’s selection criteria exactly. Stronger proposals anticipate what else the reviewer might ask.

3. Make the text compelling.Strong proposals use active, vibrant language concisely. In stronger proposals, sentences bleed into one another. The reader/reviewer hangs onto every word.


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2. Answer the So What? question.Strong proposals make a case for why the funder should care. Stronger proposals make the funder care.

1. Follow the directions. Follow the directions. Follow the directions!Strong proposals follow the instructions as set out by the funder. Stronger proposals follow the instructions with grace and verbal adroitness.


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Questions and Answers(?)

Chart or photo


grant writing 101 for new faculty by aaron shonk and paul dubois

Documents

proposal development

private foundation grants

foundation research

research project interests

private foundation funding

osu page

projectdriven research

prospective project