How to Write Grants:
The Best Kept Secret in the School Business
Technology is
expensive. Innovation is beyond the
reach of most school budgets. Continuous
improvement requires continuous funding.
So how does a school district, building or classroom teacher fund the
exciting products that they need to improve student learning? The answer is external grants. But, grants require grant applications. Few, if any undergraduate colleges or
graduate programs have courses or workshops that teach educators how to write
grants. Few professors write them successfully. Rural schools have too few people doing too
many jobs. Urban and suburban schools
are often shrouded in frustrating bureaucracy.
But, well written external grant funding can make a huge difference in
technology access, updates and instructional innovation.
Grants opportunities have
many things in common. The grant
announcements come at the busiest time of the year. The timeline is always short. The applications are complex.
The documentation you need
is never readily available. Nobody wants
to do it. The chance of getting the
funding is very low. And most importantly,
nobody knows how to do it. We propose
that the most important stage in successful grant writing systems development
begins before one word of grant text is written. We recommend putting in place simple tools
and systems that let the members of a grant writing team when they have the
time and opportunity to add what only they can do best.
Developing an Action Summary Page can be done by a
secretary. The secretary takes all the
important submission information from the Request for Funding Application (RFP)
and puts it on one page. This
information includes:
The Project Name
Submission Due Date and Time
Days remaining Until the Due
Date
Mailing Address to Submit
Application
Prior notification date and
contact
Number of copies
Preferred font, margins and
spacing
Page limit and location of
page numbers
Preferences and eligibility
requirements
Restrictions on grant money
use
Goals of the funding
What the grant money can be
used for.
Requirements for signatures
and assurances
Everyone associated with the
grant application builds a folder on his or her workstation labeled with the
grant name. This Action Summary Page is the first document stored in that project
folder. From this point forward everyone
associated with the grant application knows all the important particulars
associated with the correct and timely submission of the proposal. The coordinator of the grant writing team
keeps track of the date and days left until submission. Key terms are in bold face. The more important the particular, the larger
the font size on the Action Summary Page.
Every member of the team needs to be focused on what the grant will and
will not fund every time they open the file to write. Anyone who is required to provide an
assurance or signature needs to be told NOW that the grant application is being
developed and will require their attention when it is completed. There should be no surprises for district
superintendents or treasurers.
The leader of the grant writing
team should construct this Vocabulary Highlight Page. The leader should review the RFP for all
terms and phrases that characterize the goals and expectations for the
funding. This page should be taped
right next to any computer being used to write the grant application. The vocabulary of the grant RFP should be the
vocabulary of the grant application because this vocabulary will appear in any
evaluation form used to review the application.
Terms and phrases like those below would make up a Vocabulary Highlight
Page.
Enhance student learning
Real-world examples
Hands-on, student activities
Enhance educational content
Multimedia
Integrating technology into
teaching and learning
Technologically literate
Learning styles,
New learning strategies
Engage students in learning
Access to information
technology in their classrooms, schools, communities and homes.
Achieve high academic
standards
Transform teaching and
learning.
Digital content
Networked applications
A secretary can also
construct the online Grant Template.
RFPs have parts. The parts have
expectations. The parts are sometimes
weighted in the evaluation process. The parts should clearly relate to one
another. The best way to make sure all
the sections of the application are connected is to write them in one place and
constantly review whether or not they meet the expectations of the RFP. Below is an example of a Grant Template. If is it possible to post this template in a
district web-based environment where all members of the writing team can
contribute their best thinking and resources, the application moves to a draft
stage that much quicker. The grant
writing is done ON this template. Only
after the grant application is completed are the guidelines removed so the text
can be made appealing and easy to read.
Proposal Cover Page (provided by SchoolNet)
Proposal Abstract (1 page of copy and paste sentences from grant sections. Write the
abstract last)
Narrative How will you use multimedia to enhance
student learning using real-world or active learning approaches? Identify two or three real-world
examples Explain how teachers and
students will use multimedia. What are the expected results or outcomes, goals
benchmarks, How will you know you have achieved your goals? Who will data be
reported to? What will the process be for delivering the information
Need (What is the need for technology at your
building? Support this with data. How will the grant address this expressed need?
Planning and Strategy (How will you scale up? What professional development
strategy will be used? What skills will be achieved? Level of support? Stakeholder commitment?
Parents and community involvement? Integration into building technology plan
and CIP. How will the project enhance learner performance?
III. Project Action Plan (What forms of multimedia will be used? How will
multimedia increase student performance? How will the plan address state proficiency
outcomes? How will real-world active learning models be incorporated? Special
needs students? Collaboration? Resource
sharing and lesson learned, dissemination?)
IV. Evaluation Plan (What are the goals and
benchmarks? Deliverables? Indicators of success? Evaluation Plan? How will you
collect data and demonstrate success at enhancing teaching? Impact? )
Budget
(Page provided by SchoolNet)
Budget Narrative (One page description of how you intend to use the funding. Include any additional resources and include
plans for sustaining the work after the funding cycle is completed. Use the
Evaluation Plan as a guide)
Appendix (Not to exceed 3 pages)
Federal Assurances (This is a signature page in most grants. USE THEIR VOCABULARY)
District Commitments (This is usually a signature page. USE THEIR
VOCABULARY)
Signatures
(The signatures will vary but why not get this signed early so you don’t have
to worry about the superintendent being out of town)
All grant applications are
evaluated by someone or a team of readers.
The people doing this evaluation have preferred learning styles, but
they all appreciate clarity. Clarity in
the application invites enthusiasm in the evaluation process. Some writing tips are listed below that
improve clarity.
•Name the project
A grant that seeks funding
for digitally supported lesson development was called “Project Lesson Builder.”
Then this project name is used to begin many of the sentences in the
application.
•Take the position of the grant reader
Put yourself in the role of
the grant reader, not the grant writer.
Too many grant writers just want to tell their story, rather than
consider what the reader is looking for.
•Write abstract last from copied text
Cut and paste appropriate
sentences from the text to build the abstract. This way the abstract actually
reflects sections of the manuscript.
•Avoid personal pronouns
Instead of writing “we hope
too….” Write “Project Lesson Builder
will…..”
•Use: and 1); 2) style for clarity
Rather than use commas to
separate lists, use a colon and number that parts for easier reading.
•Use short sentences to clarify
Edit out long sentences and
construct shorter, more high impact sentences.
•Use white space and graphics in text for clarity
A common mistake is to use
as much page space as possible for content.
Instead indent for emphasis.
Often placing a reduced graphic in the text helps the visual reviewer to
understand the vision of the project.
•Connect goals with objective, actions, tools, budget
and evaluation.
Each goal has objectives.
Objectives have actions. Actions require tools. The budget pays for the actions
and tools. The evaluation is organized
around the objectives. Make these
connections very clear in the text.
•Widen the appeal of the grant with “unique features”
The creative application of
an online communications software to support professional development might
make an impression on a grant reader.
•Create “action teams,” and “phases or stages” to implement the grant
Any “team” in a grant is
more impressive to a reader if it is called an “Action Team.” Proposals that are constructed to reflect
“phases” or “stages” make implementation seem more thoughtful and likely to
succeed.
•“Comb the text” as new text is written to insure
continuity and clarity
When the online template is
used to create the text, the author can review prior segments of the grant text
to make sure one section connects with another.
Start a new writing session by reviewing what has already been written.
•Group edit the text using a large screen projection
and individual laser pointers
Project the grant text on a screen or wall using an LCD projector
and give the editing team laser pointers to review the manuscript. Assign someone the task of only typing in
changes.