Northwestern Oklahoma Economic Development Federal and State Initiatives Grant Writing Workshop

1. Sheryl Hale, Ed.D. shale@okcareerteh.org 405-743-5553 Linda Mason, Ed.D. lmason@osrhe.edu 405-225-9486 Northwestern Oklahoma Economic Development Federal and State InitiativesGrant Writing Workshop

2. Agenda • Types of Grants • Locating Grants • Assessing Eligibility • Planning a Grant • Writing the Grant • Proposal Review and Follow-up • Grant Management • Hiring and Selecting Grant Writers

3. Types of Grants • Monetary award given by a government agency, foundation, corporation or other entity to fund a particular project • Generally given to organizations as opposed to individuals

4. Categories of Support • Operating – running program to meet community needs • Special Project – new project or project with limited timeframe • Capital/Equipment – specified amount for construction, renovation, expansion, purchase land or equipment • Endowments - planned gifts, will or trust

5. Basic Grant Sources • Government - Federal, State, Local 26 Federal Agencies (900 programs) • Foundations Second-largest source • Direct Corporate

6. Assessing Funding Eligibility • Eligibility • Type of organization • Geographic restrictions • Population • Size of Award • Sufficient amount to complete program activities • Number of grants • Award size and duration • Project Focus • Project complements funder’s goals and priorities

7. Assessing Funding Eligibility cont. • Type of Activity • Specified use of funds • Restrictions • Matching funds • Expenditure limitations • Evaluation requirements

8. Searching For and Locating Grants Finding the right grant opportunity is most of the time consuming work in grantsmanship. Plan to spend at least half your time in: • finding the agency • investigating previous projects that the agency has funded • learning about the grant proposal requirements • Become familiar with your chosen grant funders. • Search locally first.

9. Hunting For and Locating Grants SHOTGUN APPROACH vs. RIFLE APPROACH • SHOTGUN: Shoot a scatter shot and see what falls out. Look for funding agencies, investigate what they fund, and apply for something from the agency. Your goals are broad enough to be modified to fit their goals. • RIFLE: Take careful aim at one specific target. Look for funding agencies that fund only what you want. Search for an exact match to fund your project using your specifically stated goals.

10. Search Engines A search engine is a data base that you may use to find information by using key identifying terms. • COS – Community of Science @ www.cos.com • SPINPlus – InfoEd @ www.infoed.org • Foundation Center Online - fconline.fdncenter.org/ • Foundation Grants to Individuals - gtionline.fdncenter.org/ • Grant Services – www.grantservices.com • FedBizOps - www.fedbizopps.gov/ • Charity Channel – charitychannel.com • Google – www.google.com

11. Grant eNewsletters All funding agencies and most foundations send eNewsletters with their grant information. • Grant Opportunities for Oklahoma Higher Education – www.okhighered.org/grant-opps/ (weekly announcements) • Philanthropy News Digest – foundationcenter.org • Philanthropy News Network Online - pnnonline.org • Chronicle of Higher Education - chronicle.com/ • Don Peek (schools) – www.schoolfundingcenter.com • Faith Based and Community Initiatives Digest - c._lyn_larson@hud.gov

12. Grant Resources • Grant Opportunities for Oklahoma Higher Education – www.okhighered.org/grant-opps/ (click on Grant Resources) • Cleveland State University - www.csuohio.edu/uored/FUNDING/other-fs.html • National Endowment for the Arts - http://arts.endow.gov/federal.html • Grant.gov (all federal grants)- www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont07.html • Funders Online (Europe’s philanthropists) - www.fundersonline.org/grantseekers/ • FundsNet Online - www.fundsnetservices.com/ • Open Directory - dmoz.org/Society/Philanthropy/Grants/Grant-Making_Foundations/ • Oklahoma Foundations – www.grantmakersofoklahoma.org • Foundation Data Book (all foundations by state)- www.foundationdatabook.com/

13. 5 Top Ways to Get Funded • Read the RFP. • Read the RFP. • READ THE RFP. • READ THE RFP! • READ THE RFP!!!

14. Information Sources • Annual Reports • Federal Register Notice -www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/fedreg/frcont07.html • Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance -12.46.245.173/cfda/cfda.html • IRS Form 990 – www.grantsmart.org • Funder Guidelines • Agency Website • Foundation Directory – foundationcenter.org • Contact the Funding Agency

15. Additional Considerations • Necessary resources to implement the project and evaluate its progress? • Staff expertise to develop and implement the project? • Proper facilities and resources? • Value of the project? Replication? Reinvention? • Sustain project beyond funding? • Time and resources to write and implement?

16. Letters of Inquiry • Alternative to a call or visit (Investigate organization to find preference) • Do homework before the letter for previous funding history, types of projects, amounts • Provide information about your organization • Provide information about your proposed project

17. Letters of Inquiry • 1-2 pages! • Par 1 -- Who are you? Mission, organization, you are seeking funds • Par 2 -- Why this agency? You understand their priorities • Par 3 -- What is the need? Clear and brief • Par 4 -- What's the plan? Bullet goals/objectives • Par 5 -- Why fund you? Uniqueness, qualifications • Par 6 -- How much? Broad categories • Par 7 – Closing – thank you, contact information, whether you will follow up with a phone call

18. Introduction Why you are writing Mission and population served Project Description Link funder’s priorities and project goals Needs Demographic and statistical evidence Solution How it addresses need Best practices Project Plan Activities, timetables, methodology Organizational Capacity Ability and commitment Previous work and staff qualifications Budget Funding request, organizational support and other resources Sustainability Project continuation Letters of Intent

19. Planning the Grant • Planning and Development • Start with an innovative idea that addresses a specific challenge and/or need (purpose). • Start documenting need. Social/Economic Costs, Beneficiaries, Nature of the Problem, Impending implications? • Scan and identify grant opportunities. • Target a grant • Make sure your focus aligns to the grant criteria • Make contact with grantor agency! • Review successful and recent awards. • Identify partners, define roles and build partnerships as well as community support.

20. Key Planning Questions • What new projects (or program expansions) are you planning for the next two to three years? • Which projects are most compatible with your current mission and purpose? • Who else is doing this project or similar projects?   • What need/community need does each of your projects address? • What would an improved community/situation look like? • How can your organization/project improve the situation? • What members of your community – including civic leaders and groups, political figures, the media, professional organizations, and your own clients could support the project? • Does your organization currently have the expertise to undertake each project?

21. Proposal Components • Organization/Partner Descriptions • Proposal Summary/Abstract • Statement of Need – Problem and Background • Project Description: Goals and Objectives • Methodology (Design and Timeframe) • Evaluation - Outside Evaluators, Quantitative and Qualitative Measures Aligned to Goals • Budget and Sustainability • Attachments – Commitment letters, Resumes, Charts —All Partners and Industry

22. Compelling Needs Statements Heart of your entire case for support!

23. Key Considerations • Relate need, have clear relationship to your organizations mission and goals. • Focus on need in the community, target population or clients. • Support need with evidence. • statistical facts, expert testimony, literature • Be consistent with entity’s ability to respond. • Make proposal easy to read and understand.

24. Using Statistics • Statistics Tell • How much? How many? How often? • How severe? How costly? • Sources • US Census Bureau: www.census.gov • Bureau of Labor Statistics: www.bls.gov • Oklahoma Department of Commerce: www.okcommerce.gov • Employment Security Commission: www.oesc.state.ok.us • Oklahoma Regents for Higher Education: www.okhighered.org • Local universities, school districts • Local Chambers of Commerce, nonprofits, professional associations

25. Creating Sense of Urgency • Statistics • Approximately ___women were murdered in the US by their husbands or boyfriends in 1993. • Leader/Expert Quotes • Dr. Flock said children who witness spouse abuse have a ___ percent chance of …. • Case Statements • Mary Quick, a typical Family Outreach Center client, suffers from ….. • National Need Compared to Local Need • In the US, is estimated that ___percent of teenagers have tried drugs by age 17; this means that at Glory Side school ___ of seniors may have…..

26. Questions to Consider • Who are the people with the need? • Where are the people with the need? • What is the need? • When is the need evident? • Why does the need occur? • What evidence do you have to support your claim? • What are the consequences of the need? • How is the need linked to your entity?

27. Sample Needs Statements (see handouts)

28. Student support to go to college… When 24-year-old Tyesh Penn decided to attend Tulsa Community College – Metro Campus (TCC-Metro), she almost quit before walking through the door. Trying to navigate the complexities of enrollment through the Internet, Tyesha, an African-American single mother of two, found the process overwhelming. “I was confused,” she says. “I wanted to go back to school for a better future for my kids, but I felt like I was in over my head.” With an income of…

29. Undergraduate research and education for science, technology, engineering and mathematics student majors….. Seventy-five percent of high school seniors intend to go to college. Of those, 43 percent actually enroll in college, and one-third of these becomes a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) majors (Science and Engineering Indicators, 2002). College freshmen who plan to pursue a career in STEM disciplines too often become discouraged, sidetracked into other majors, or committed to other life-style choices and fail to matriculate to graduation. Regional universities in Oklahoma retain 67 percent of all first year, full-time freshmen, but graduate only 29 percent (OSRHE 1999-2000). Barriers to retention of all students in college apply as well to STEM students…

30. Medical research project… Drug treatment has fallen short of getting most treated hypertensive to go (BP below 140/90 mm Hg). A highly promising behavioral treatment is guided breathing, which involves a device that guides the patient to slow the breathing rate 6 to 10 breaths/minute (the typical respiration rate is 16 breaths/minute or more). The guided breathing intervention is typically used….

31. Tutoring program for at-risk students…. The Johnsonville School District has the highest high school dropout rate in the state of Texas. The district has found that the three most common reasons students drop out of high school are failing grades, a lack of interest in school, and a lack of parental support. To combat the dropout problem, the Johnsonville School District is seeking grant funding to implement the Stay in School Program district-wide. The program will…..

32. Project Plan or Description What you plan to do to address the need.

33. Project Description • What? • Goals and Objectives • Why? • Best Practices/Effectiveness • How? • Tasks/Activities • Who? • Program Personnel • When? • Time Line

34. Effective Goals/Objectives • Goals - Broad statements reflecting ultimate results of accomplishment. • Decrease dropout rate…. • Objectives – Measurement of what the organization will do to accomplish goal. • Hold 54 tutoring sessions for….between Sept. and May 07 • Activities Specific Tasks or Strategies Implemented. • Design and develop tutoring model ….. • Outcomes – Measure change as a result of project. • 85% of students participating in….returned to school…

35. Q: How many grant writers does it take to change a light bulb? A: 100. Ten to do it, and 90 to write document number GC7500439-001, Multitasking Incandescent Source System Facility, of which 10% of the pages state only "This page intentionally left blank", and 20% of the definitions are of the form "A ------ consists of sequences of non-blank characters separated by blanks".

36. Project Personnel • Who will manage the project? • Who will be involved in the project? • What are their qualifications? • What are their responsibilities? • What is the management/organizational structure for the project? • Are you using existing personnel or hiring someone after the award? If hiring, add a job description

37. Project Personnel Documentation • Assure funding agency you have the qualified staff to carry out the project. • Job Description • Vita or Resume • Key Responsibilities • Project Experience • Organizational Chart

38. Questions to Consider • Are goals/objectives/activities logically derived from needs statement? • Have you explained why you selected activities or methods? • Is the timing and order of events clear and understandable? • Is it clear who will perform specific activities? • Are proposed activities feasible considering resources? • Is the proposal easy to read? Use simple and direct language. www.plainlanguage.gov/

39. A grant writing professor was lecturing to his Federal and State Initiatives workshopone day. “Use the Plain English style to write clearly. In English," she said, “A double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

40. Evaluation Plan Documenting Results and Impact

41. Evaluation Benefits • Strengthens proposals in eye of reviewers. • What works best. • Learn what is going well and what is not. • Program improvement during the implementation • Ensures project is operating effectively. • Recipients of public trust. • Create a replicable model for others to use.

42. Planning Evaluation • What questions will evaluation answer? • What are the specific evaluation plans and time frames? • What data will be collected? • Who will be evaluated/what will be measured? • When will data be collected? • What strategies, tools, or instruments will be used? • Who will conduct the evaluation? • Who will write and receive the report? • How will the information be used to improve the project?

43. Evaluators • Internal versus external evaluator – or both • Funder requirements • External outside entity • Funding availability – rule of thumb approximately 10% of project cost • Qualified candidates • www.okhighered.org/grant-opps/(click on Grant Writing Resources)

44. Assessment Measures • Quantitative • Number driven • Bottom line • Qualitative • Quality • Perceptions and experienced participants • Adjust programs and procedures

45. Evaluation Processes • Formative Evaluation • Ongoing process assessing project effectiveness • Regularly scheduled data collection • How well completing project activities • Summative Evaluation • Final results • Length of grant • Goals and Objectives

46. Project Timeline Goal: Primary goal of the Meal Consortium is to allow homebound elders to live independently. Objective: Reduce number of individuals leaving the Meal Consortium by 5 percent.

47. Timeline Sample Activity Month 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 • Hire coordinator ● ● • Recruit two social workers ● ● ● • Identify target elders ● ● ● ● ●

48. Budget Budget justifies expenses and aligns with proposal narrative.

49. Budgeting Steps • Establish budget period. • Estimate expenses. • Decide whether and how to include overhead costs. Remember that overhead costs are real! • Estimate donated goods and services based on real costs and valid sources. • Estimate project revenues.

50. Direct Expenses • Consider: Implementation, continuation, and phase-down costs. • Salaries and increases. • Utilities, insurance, rental space, and equipment. • Food, transportation, and telephone. • Evaluation systems, audits, accounting systems, and dissemination activities. • Materials and supplies.