Planning and Project Development

1. Planning and Project Development

2. Agency Capacity/Credibility

3. Are all of the ducks in a row? • DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet) number • Register with Central Contracting (CCR) • Register with Grants.gov • Audited Financial Statements Before You Apply

4. Reimbursement • Cash-up-front. Assess Cash Flow

5. Organizational Structure/Chart

6. Who will evaluate the project? • Who will submit narrative reports • Who will submit fiscal reports • Who will train staff? • Who will collect data? How? Database, spreadsheet, etc.? • How long have all of these people served in their current roles/positions? Identify Roles

7. When did the agency begin? • Why did the agency begin? • What is the mission of the agency? • How big is the annual budget? • How many full time staff equivalents work for the agency? History of Your Agency

8. Federal money? • State money? • Previous grant awards? • What is the allocated source of funds? • 20% Federal • 30% State • 20% Fundraising • 10% Donations • 10% Memberships • 10% Foundations Experience with Grants and Contracts

9. If you are planning to write a proposal for your organization, make sure you have permission from the right authority. • Review any policies the organization has regarding grant administration. • Review any Fiscal Policies around grant proposal development. Does the fiscal director need to approve budgets? Final Cautionary Words

10. How do I assess the overall effectiveness of our grant effort? • How do I evaluate my organization’s grant proposal writing • How do I evaluate the management of grants we receive? • How do I address the strings attached to grant awards? What Does the Executive Director Need to Know?

11. Ethics, compliance with legal, financial and programmatic needs • Policies that promote efficiency and accountability across the organization • Clear standards for pre and post award functions • Financial and administrative systems • Grant managers and staff trained to carry out specific grant functions as proposed • System of monitoring and evaluating design to control quality of services Grant Administration Requires

12. Opportunities • Proposals Submitted • Analysis of Proposal Submission • Proposal Tracking Report • Grant Award Tracking • Accounting Reports (by fund) • Progress Reports • Evaluation Reports • Audit Reports Grant Administration Tracking Reports

13. Is related to the purpose and goals of the agency • Is reasonable for the agency to address • Supported by statistical evidence and research • Describes the condition as it exists NOW • Always from the point of the beneficiary • How big is it? (How many beneficiaries?) • Who is affected? (Their demographics or special characteristics) • Why is this a problem? Why now, why our agency (qualifications), what happens if nothing changes? Identify the Problem(s)

14. A problem is generally not a “lack of method”. • Example: In the past two years, serious swimming accidents have occurred in Fast Running River, resulting in the deaths of 10 children. Caring Community needs a swimming pool to teach swimming lessons and prevent further drowning accidents in Fast Running River. Problem/Need Pitfalls

15. The problem statement describes the need based on the agency, rather than a beneficiary focused need. Example: Youth Involvement Agency serves 400 youth each year that come from families characterized by domestic violence and alcoholism. Youth Involvement Agency needs to hire a Youth Counselor to council Youth. Problem/Need Pitfalls

16. Don’t make assumptions. Example: Everyone knows that high-school drop-outs are more likely to have children early, live in poverty and use drugs. (We don’t all know this! Support your claims with documentation from reliable sources.) Problem/Need Pitfalls

17. Focus the statistics on your community, but relating the broader societal consequences can be helpful in seeking funding. • Funders like to see projects that can be replicated in other communities and have the same positive impact Community Need or Societal Need

18. Brainstorming Exercise: What is the problem? Who is effected? (Characteristics) How many? Why do we care? (Societal impact) Why does it fit our agency? Why does it fit you (funding source) What happens if we do nothing? Research must support this! What is the Current Condition

19. Related to the organizations purpose/mission • Reasonable size • Supported by statistical evidence • Statements from authorities • Stated in terms of beneficiaries • Beneficiaries participate in proces • Not a “lack of a method” All Needs Must Be Completely Described

20. Office of Financial Management http://www.ofm.wa.gov/ Poverty Population Density Population of Urban/Rural School District Data – free and reduced lunch Number of Vehicles Amount of State Funding Population by age group Changes in population Data Sources for Special Needs

21. American Communities Survey http://www.census.gov/acs/www/ This is a census bureau survey on a much smaller scale than the census to assist communities in planning. Data Sources

22. National Survey of America’s Families http://www.urban.org/center/anf/nsaf.cfm The National Survey of America's Families provides a comprehensive look at the well-being of children and non-elderly adults, and reveals sometimes striking differences among the 13 states studied in depth. The survey provides quantitative measures of child, adult and family well-being in America, with an emphasis on persons in low-income families. Data Sources

23. Archived NSAF Data http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/ICPSR/sdatools/studies/4582 This site allows choosing of data subsets to customize reports. Data Sources

24. Google Public Data http://www.google.com/publicdata/directory This site has searchable data. ESRI Non-Profit Community Analyst http://www.esri.com/nonprofit/esri-community-analyst Data Sources

25. City or County Planning Departments Regional Transportation Planning Organizations Department of Social and Health Services • Licensed Adult Family Homes, Nursing Homes Other Data Sources

26. The more rural the area of interest, the more difficult to find data. For planning purposes, focused and detailed information is often best. Data Limitations

27. Surveys (publicize and allow call-in, ask for outside critique) • Community events (fair, public meetings) • Community gathering locations (post office, laundry mat, church, school, senior center) • Locations where special needs populations live or gather Collecting Data

28. In order to get valuable and accurate information, it is imperative to get as “close” to the beneficiary as possible. -Not usually the administrator that knows -Even friends and neighbors don’t always know -Just be aware that the info is not completely reliable Stakeholders and Service Providers

29. Analyze the data to try and answer the questions: • Who needs (client characteristics), what, how many times (frequency), for how long, from where (origin) to where (destination)? • How many folks with similar needs and similar origins and destinations are in my service area? Now What?

30. Based on the data start with lowest intervention, lowest cost and work up: • Is there a need for ANY service? Some areas do not have enough need to warrant daily, or even weekly service. Is there some level that makes sense? • Would a shared ride system work – enough capable drivers to support carpool or other shared system. • Are there service requirements that can’t be served by 1 and 2? (Wheelchair riders, elderly and frail) • Are there enough passengers with similar origins and destinations at the same time of day to warrant the cost of a bus and driver? What size bus? Tailor the Service

31. Project Evaluations • Did the project perform as promised? • # of clients enrolled • # of services per client • Process Evaluations • Did the process deliver the promised outcomes • Did the participants experience the desired change? Build in Evaluation

32. Provide a direct visual representation of the inputs for your project and the expected outcomes. • By using a logic model, you can involve other staff members and professionals to ensure that your logic is sound. • It should show a direct correlation between the proposed inputs and outcomes and be measurable. Logic Models

33. Surveys and goal setting by participants is one way to measure progress toward improvement • Goal Attainment Scaling is presented in the PP and PW and is used to measure a clients perceived initial status at enrollment. • Periodic review of progress toward meeting the goal is ranked by the individual to establish their personal progress. Surveys of Participants/Riders

34. Surveys can be a quick and easy tool to establish progress toward a goal. • Pre and post activity surveys can be used to establish the effectiveness of a particular training or intervention on a persons knowledge attainment. • Surveys require the person participating to be available Survey Limits

35. Goal measurements are only as good as the initial goal setting. • Some progress is easy to objectively measure (weight loss, strength, quitting drugs, smoking cessation or improved blood sugar) • Other progress is more difficult – improved anxiety level, healthier family communication, better coping skills Goal Attainment - Difficulties

36. Evaluation must be built into the project design in order to ensure some measurement and connection between the problem and the objectives. • Evaluation can be scary. • Good evaluation is done without emotion, is based on the facts/data and looks at all aspects of the project. • Good evaluation reviews the management, staff, clients, outreach, and model to arrive at recommendations for improvement and change. Evaluation from the Start

37. Kellogg Foundation • Evaluation Handbook • Logic Model Handbook • http://www.wkkf.org/knowledge-center/publications-and-resources.aspx Evaluation Resources