Grantwriting 101

Brought to you by the Council of State Governments Justice Center &

International Community Corrections Association

With support from the Public Welfare Foundation, Joyce Foundation, and Annie E. Casey Foundation

Speakers• Jane Browning

Executive DirectorInternational Community Corrections Association (ICCA)

• Jessica NickelDirector of Government Affairs Council of State Governments Justice Center

Developing Your Grant Writing Skills

Jane Browning Executive Director

International Community Corrections

Association

Secret of Grant Writing Mystique

• There isn’t one• If you can write a cogent business letter, you

can write a grant proposal• Writing a grant proposal is plain, hard work

First, Create a Case Statement

• Who are you?• What is your track record?• How are you a leader? An innovator?• Why should funders trust you with their money?• Make the reader say “Wow!!”

What’s in a Grant Proposal• Cover Letter• Abstract• Introduction• Statement of Need• Statement of Purpose• Goals• Objectives

• Activities• Timeline• Personnel• Target Audience• Dissemination Plan• Evaluation Plan• Budget• Attachments

Cover Letter and Abstract

• Do these lastor

• Draft letter to get the writing started

Introduction

• Provide background and history• Make your case statement

Statement of Need• Describe the problem• Document your claims• Use current data and statistics• Quote target audience representatives• Explain what has been done to date and what

remains to be done• Make the reader say, “Oh, how terrible! What

can we do?”

Statement of Purpose

• Briefly describe your project• State the amount of money you need• Explain why your project does not duplicate

existing services• Address possible collaboration• Explain how this project fits within your

agency’s mission statement

Goals

• Global vision of what you aim to achieve• Usually more than one

Example: Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Prevention

Goals:• Reduce the incidence of FAS• Prevent pregnant women from consuming

alcoholic beverages• Educate teens on risk of drinking alcohol• ID/Support families of children with FAS• Provide pregnant alcoholic women access to

residential treatment

Objectives

• Specific outcomes leading towards achieving each of your goals• Focus on what will get done, not what you will

do• Set reasonable, conservative measures

Goal: Reduce the incidence of FAS

• Objective 1: Recruit and train a speakers’bureau of 20 qualified volunteers• Objective 2: Schedule at least 40 speaking

presentations in area middle schools• Objective 3: Provide 40 middle school

counselors with FAS prevention resource packets

Activities

• Step by step actions leading to accomplishment of each objective• Include the collection of evaluation measures

Objective 1: Recruit and train a speakers’ bureauActivities:

1. Produce and mail press release to 5 local papers

2. Contact 5 newspaper columnists and send information

3. Secure cable TV bulletin board site4. Arrange to be on 2-3 local talk shows

Outline of Goals and Objectives

• Goal I. Reduce the incidence of FAS▫ Objective A. Recruit and train 20 speakers

Activity 1. Send press releaseActivity 2. Do radio interviews

Timeline

• Organize activities month by month• Display on a “Grant Chart”

Grant Chart

Acts Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.

1.a. X X

1.b. X--- ----- ----- ---X

1.c. X X X

1.d. X

Personnel

• Job titles with single paragraph job descriptions• Names of individuals with qualifications (or

skills you’ll seek if hiring)• Include advisors, consultants, volunteers• Assign major activities to specific people

Target Audience

• Describe population; use statistics• Describe your relationship to the target

audience, past history• How will you identify them?• How will you engage them?• How will you reach them?

Dissemination

• Describe your plans to publicize your activities• Describe the ways in which your target

audience in involved in outreach efforts• How will project outcomes and finding be

disseminated?

Evaluation

• Tie evaluation plans directly to objectives• Describe the tools you will use to collect the

measures you’ve outlined• Be sure to include customers in determining

degrees of success• Describe how evaluation findings will inform

future planning

Budget• Second way of reading and writing a grant

proposal• Check items against list of activities• Show the basis for computation• Use real market bids and values• Always show matching funds• Separate pages for separate years• DOUBLE CHECK THE MATH!!

Budget Elements• Personnel• Fringe benefits• Consultants• Staff travel• Volunteer travel• Mileage• Space rental• Equipment

• Materials• Supplies• Telephone• Printing• Postage• Sub-totals• Indirect costs• Totals

Budget Page

Item Big Fund Applicant Total

Director (FTE) 30,000 10,000 40,000

Benefits @ 20%

6,000 2,000 8,000

Mileage500 @ .22

105 105

Sub-Total 36,105 12,000 48,105

Attachments• Letters of agreement from collaborating

agencies• Letters of support, especially from

representatives of target audience• List of Board members & affiliations• Mission statement• Annual report• Audit report

Cover Letter and Abstract

• Concentrate on purpose and outcomes• Be sure to include the amount of your request

in the cover letter• In the case statement hasn’t fit elsewhere, put

it in the cover letter

Review

• Let the proposal rest and return a few days later to re-read, re-work• Share with a disinterested friend, someone

outside your field, for “reality check”• DOUBLE CHECK YOUR MATH!!

Writing Tips

• Cut the jargon.• Use the active voice.• Substitute strong, forceful verbs for weak ones.• Don’t use acronyms, spell things out.• Make it easy on your reader. Prepare your

proposal with your reader in mind.

Jargon, anyone?“Examination of the univariate correlations between the variables and the OSL decision rating (rated from minimum = 1 to maximum =3) reduced the pool of candidate predictors from 176 to 39…”

Active v. Passive Voice

• “The project will be conducted by staff of the organization…”The Project Director and Assistant will design, organize and undertake …• “Specifically, it was believed that there would

be no differences ….”The project organizers believed that there would be no differences…

Forceful verbs, colorful descriptions

• People exiting prisons and jails …▫ May have trouble finding jobs▫ Face enormous challenges in the work place▫ Collide with barriers to finding employment▫ Experience stigma and discrimination

Grant Writing Tips

• Allow PLENTY of time.▫ It ALWAYS takes longer than you think it will!• Answer the application guideline’s questions;

follow the rules.• Study the guidelines thoroughly, become

intimate with their details.

More Tips…

• Get acquainted with the program officers, listen to their advice, do as they say.• When you get turned down (and you will!) ASK

WHY. Learn from your mistakes.• Volume: “If at first you don’t succeed… try, try

again.”

Believe!

A project that is worthy WILL find support!

More information?

Jane BrowningInternational Community Corrections Association

202-828-5605jbrowning@iccaweb.org

Federal Grant Reminders

Jessica NickelDirector of Government

AffairsCouncil of State

Governments Justice Center

This presentation was prepared by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, in partnership with Jane Browning, Executive Director, International Community Corrections Association. Presentations are not externally reviewed for form or content. The statements reflect the views of the authors and should not be considered the official position of the CSG Justice Center, the members of the Council of State Governments, the Public Welfare Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, or the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

4630 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 650 Bethesda, MD 20814

www.justicecenter.csg.org

www.reentrypolicy.org

100 Wall Street, 20th Floor New York, NY 10005