There's Gold in Them Thar Grants

by Ernest Shubird

Weary of rejection slips? Tired of trying to recycle articles and stories? Depressed because of negative responses to queries? In need of money to keep you going as you work on that novel or nonfiction book? Searching for new horizons for your writing? Then grant proposal writing might be just what you’ve been looking for, either as a profitable sideline or a new specialty. Here’s why.

Those who run the schools and colleges, civic organizations, local government agencies and community service organizations always need additional funds for their operation and special projects. A major source for those extra funds is the thousands of foundations, corporations and government agencies that give away billions in grants each year. But there’s more to getting some of that money than just asking for it: In order to obtain a grant, the requesting agency must prepare a proposal that persuades the grantor (grantmaking foundation or agency) to give the money. The catch is that most administrators are not professional writers, cannot afford the time for proposal writing or lack in-house personnel with proposal writing expertise. And that’s why you can help them and make some good money at the same time.

Here are some suggestions to help you explore the grant proposal writing business, followed by an introduction to proposal writing requirements.

• Become familiar with the major funding sources. There are three major sources of information on grants: the Internet, The Foundation Center directories, and government publications. By logging on to your favorite search engine (Lycos, Infoseek, Hotbot, etc.,) and typing "grants" or "foundations," the Web will open up a world of possibilities. From the US Department of Education, for example, you canl learn how to access the major documents such as the Federal Register and Commerce Business Daily (both published each working day) and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Programs. The major source for nonprofit and corporate foundations is the Foundations Center, available online by subscription and its numerous directories and references housed in Cooperating Collections Libraries of which there are several in each state. (See sidebar.)
• Learn the basics of grantwriting. As a writer, you already have the needed research and writing expertise. Still, there are a few things you should learn such as format, specifications and style. Several good books are available at Cooperating Collections Libraries, and the Foundation Center has a free online course in proposal writing.
• Set your rates. Some proposal writers charge by the hour, $30 and up, while some prefer to charge a percentage of the awarded grants. Until you become established, it is probably best that you start with a reasonable hourly rate and then move up to a percentage -- five percent is a reasonable charge. You might also consider an hourly rate plus percentage.
• Obtain your clients. Once you start looking, you’ll find potential clients are everywhere. Public and private schools. Colleges. City and county government agencies. Community organizations. Social service organizations. Others too numerous to mention. Some of the ways to contact them: Attend conventions, conferences and workshops that bring potential clients together; arrange for one-on-one interviews with administrators and directors; and send out letters, along with resume of your writing background.

When you find a clients and a compatible, promising funding source, you are ready to start writing the proposal. Basically, an acceptable proposal should provide satisfactory answers to these questions:

1. What is the problem, and why is it significant or worthy of funding?
2. What can be done to solve the problem?
3. Why has nothing been done before?
4. What is the proposed project expected to accomplish, and who will it benefit?
5. Why is the requesting agency qualified to do the project?
6. How will the project be conducted, managed and accounted for?
7. How will the money be used?

A proposal is also a selling document, for it will be attempting to sell the grantor on the merits and ultimate benefits of your client’s project or program. Here is a summary of the important selling features generally included in a grant-winning proposal.

A Fundable Need or Problem: Grantors expect a specific need or problem which is not only clearly stated and supported with sufficient evidence but one which is significant enough to fund. They expect needs rather than wants. There are two characteristics that differentiate needs from mere wants:

1. Deficiencies that are causing problems. Examples: Too many students are failing basic academic subjects and thus affecting both the school retention rate and local employment. The adult literacy rate is too high, causing local industries to import workers from other areas. Training is obsolete because of old equipment; as a result, graduated are not being prepared for high-tech jobs. No day care is available for children of unemployed single mothers in training, jeopardizing their prospects of employment.
2. Project or program which, if funded, could correct the deficiency or problem. What will be required to improve student academic grades? How can the adult literacy level be raised? What state-of-the-art equipment will be required? What type of day care is needed? You must be able to describe such a program.

Clearly Described Solution: Not only must a proposal sell the grantor on the need for the project, but it must also sell the proposed project or solution with a concise and accurate description. Will it be a new program to provide services? A research project to provide answers and solutions? Acquisition of state-of-the-art equipment? Expansion of an existing service such as counseling or referral? The description should include enough information to inform the grantor of the exact nature and essential features of the proposed program.

Plausible Reasons Need Has Not Been Met: The proposal must anticipate and answer this important question: Why has the requesting agency not been able to meet the need or correct the problem. To answer that question, the proposal must include information on local conditions (such as dropout rates, unemployment, economic levels) and those constraining factors beyond local control that have contributed to the unmet need or unsolved problem. Some such constraints might be lack of funds due to budget cuts, loss of personnel, and industrial or demographic changes. The proposal should also explain how the client agency has attempted to meet the need or solve the problem. In other words, grantors are more likely to help those who have tried, albeit without complete success, to help themselves.

Expected Results of the Project or Service: A good proposal must also sell the grantor on the expected results and benefits of the project or solution. That sell requires clearly stated goals or objectives such as raise the literacy level of adults, decrease the high school dropout rate, improve the qualifications of job applicants, decrease unemployment, and others. And it also requires an explanation of how the targeted population (student body, school, industry, community, area or nation, etc.) will benefit from the project.

Convincing Agency Qualifications. Before they decide to give away money, grantors must be sold on your agency or organization itself. They will want to know: Does it have personnel qualified to do what is included in the proposal? What are their backgrounds and areas of expertise? Does the agency have a track record of innovating improvements in education? What improvements have been made in the past? What other grants have been awarded? What were the results of the projects funded by those grants? Are there personnel who are qualified and capable of managing the project? Does it have qualified program developers? If consultants will be used, what are their qualifications? Are the teachers certified according to state laws? What special training of development personnel will be required? Are resumes of key personnel included?

Management of the Project: In this part of a proposal, the requesting agency must satisfy the grantor that the money, if given, will be placed in good hands and will be used to accomplish the stated purposes. For that reason most grantors require a description of the proposed management. While there is no standard format for this description, the management plan should convince the grantor that the project will be properly supervised, established timelines will be followed, and all accountability requirements will be met, such as progress reports and dissemination of results.

A Reasonable and Acceptable Budget: If the proposal can sell the project’s merits, it must then show how the requested funds will be used, for seldom will a grantor give money without a budget delineating the expected expenditures. While budget formats differ widely among grantors, there are some common elements: total amount requested, salaries and benefits (if applicable), travel, equipment and materials, printing and mailing, telephones, and administrative costs. Needless to say, a budget must be realistic and related directly to the proposed project. The grantor must be assured the money will be used only for the proposed project.

When your first proposal is in the mail, don’t stop. Begin working with another proposal or seeking other clients. It is essential to keep developing and sending out other proposals. The more you have out, the more likely that your clients will be funded and your fees or percentages will increase.

Sources of Funds

The two main sources of grants are foundations and the federal government.

Foundations: The primary source of information about foundations and corporations is the Foundation Center (telephone 1-800 - 424 - 9836), Web address: http://fdncenter.org/), a service organization founded and supported by grant-giving foundations to provide information on foundations and corporate giving. Its programs are designed to help grantseekers find funders from more than 34,000 foundations. The Center also publishes reference books, guides, indices and bibliographies and provides a free online course in proposal writing.

Major publications of the Center are summarized as follows in order to show the magnitude of funding opportunities available.

• Guide to US Foundations, their Trustees, Officers, and Donors
• Foundation Directory
• Foundation Directory Part 2
• Foundations 1000
• Foundation Grants Index
• National Directory of Corporate Giving

The Foundation Center has a network of Cooperating Collection Libraries with several located in each state. For the one nearest you, access the Internet or call the Foundation Center. Each Library contains the Center’s main publications; some can provide them on CD ROM.

Federal Government. Hundreds of grants are available from most agencies of the federal government, and information about them is readily available. In each state are several Federal Depository System Libraries (usually housed along with the Foundation Center’s Cooperating Collections) which contain the major federal grant publications, including:

• The Federal Register which is published daily and announces all grants that are being awarded, along with application directions. The Federal Register in now available online from the Internet.
• The Commerce Business Daily, published each working day, lists all announcements for government contracts. Like the Federal Register, it is also available online via the Internet.
• The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Programs is published annually and lists all grants for the federal agencies for each budget year. Available at Federal Depository Libraries, the document is available on line and on CD ROM or diskette prepared in December and June of each fiscal year.

-- ES
©1999 Ernest Shubird

In his pre-retirement position as administrator with the Alabama Department of Education,Ernest Shubird wrote, edited and supervised the development of proposals that brought in several million dollars. He recently developed for PACE Learning Systems a grantseeking resource kit and manual and conducted a series of workshops on grants. As a freelance writer, he has written for many educational organizations, as well as Alabama Living, Army Magazine, Mississippi Magazine, Grit, Guideposts and Writer’s Digest.