Date: July 21st 2009



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Volume 2, Issue 15
July 21, 2009


Three Big Hurdles to Writing a Winning Grant Proposal

by Don Peek

Over the years I've talked to hundreds of people about writing grants. As I think back over those conversations, most of them seem to center on three big hurdles that grant writers face before they can write a winning grant proposal.

The first of those hurdles is understanding the grant process in general. Why do foundations, state governments, and the federal government give grant money to schools? There are many different reasons, but the main ones include improving student academic programs, fostering teacher training, or building positive relationships. (As a general rule, granting agencies don't tend to give money for trips to Europe, football stadiums, or band uniforms.) By researching and studying the grant process, you -- as a grant writer -- can come to understand why and how free money is given to schools. If you don't understand the process, your chances of getting grant money will be limited.

The second hurdle is finding the grants that match your school's needs. Most grants are listed someplace on the Internet. You can find them if you are willing to dedicate time and effort to that task. Of course, search engines can be helpful too. And grant newsletters can provide some direction. But the easiest way to match your school's needs with grants is by using a grant database. First know the problems your school is experiencing, then use a grant database to match those needs to available grants.

The third common hurdle is simply getting started. There are many good reasons for making the effort to capture some of the grant money that's out there. Unfortunately, there are ten times as many reasons for putting off getting started. There are an unlimited number of excuses to put off grant writing, but if you can get started you will win grant money. Now don't get me wrong -- you might not win the first grant for which you apply. You might have to apply two, three, or even four times before you get your first grant. Winning grants is a numbers game. But the main number is One. If you don't apply for your first grant, I'll guarantee you'll never apply for a second or third one.

Do you really want to write winning grant applications? You can do it. You just need to thoroughly understand the process, find the grants that match up with your school's needs, and get started -- now!

Tackle those three hurdles, and you'll be getting grant money for your school or classroom before you know it.

Don Peek is former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. Learn more about The School Funding Center at the bottom of this newsletter.

 

Grant Name:
Striving Readers Program

Funded by:
U.S. Department of Education

Description:
The purpose of the Striving Readers program is to 1) raise literacy levels of adolescent students in Title I-eligible schools with significant numbers of students reading below grade level and 2) build a strong, scientific research base for identifying and replicating strategies that improve adolescent literacy instruction.

Program Areas:
Reading

Recipients:
Public Schools

Proposal Deadline:
8/10/09

Average Amount:
$750,000 to $1.3 million

Contact Person:
Marcia Kingman

Telephone:
202-401-0003

Email:
Marcia.kingman@ed.gov

Website:
http://www. ed.gov/programs/strivingreaders/applicant.html

Availability:
All States

Grant Name:
Access to Artistic Excellence

Funded by:
National Endowment for the Arts

Description:
To encourage and support artistic excellence, preserve our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans. Grants support projects that provide short-term arts exposure or arts appreciation for children and youth as well as intergenerational education projects.

Program Areas:
Arts

Recipients:
Public School, Private School, Higher Education, Other

Proposal Deadline:
8/13/09

Average Amount:
$5,000 - $150,000

Website:
http://www.nea.gov/grants/apply/Artsed.html

Availability:
All States

Grant Name:
NEA Foundation Green Grants

Funded by:
NEA Foundation

Description:
Over the past decade, the NEA Foundation has invested more than $5.9 million in grants to support and grow the ideas of more than 2,000 educators nationwide. Public school educators PreK-16 are invited to apply for the popular Student Achievement and Learning & Leadership grants at www.neafoundation.org/grants. A new online application makes applying easier and more convenient than ever. For those grant writers who have questions, the Foundation has posted an instructional video to guide grant writers through the process step by step. Deadlines for applications are June 1, October 15, and February 1. This year, the Foundation will emphasize "green" grants, because some of the most innovative and impactful projects involve students learning about and engaging in environmental preservation and protection. From publishing books on ecological restoration to designing lessons on renewable energy, NEA Foundation grantees are getting results.

Program Areas:
Science/Environment

Recipients:
Public Schools

Proposal Deadline:
10/15/09

Average Amount:
$2,000 to $5,000

Website:
http://www.neafoundation.org/grants.htm

Availability:
All States

Grant Name:
Union Pacific Education Grants

Funded by:
Union Pacific Foundation

Description:
Giving on a national basis in areas of company operations to support zoos and aquariums and organizations involved with arts and culture, education, the environment, health, youth development, human services, community development, and leadership development.

Program Areas:
Arts, Community Involvement/Volunteerism, General Education, Health/PE, Library, Professional Development

Recipients:
Public School, Private/Charter School, Higher Education, Other

Proposal Deadline:
8/15/09

Average Amount:
$1,000 to $200,000

Telephone:
402-271-5600

Average Amount:
$1,000 to $200,000

Email:
upf@up.com

Website:
http://www.up.com/found

Availability:
All States

Grant Name:
Mockingbird Foundation Educational Grants

Funded by:
The Mockingbird Foundation

Description:
Grants given to support K-12 music education on a national basis. Education may include the provision of instruments, texts, and office materials, and the support of learning space, practice space, performance space, and instructors/instruction. Mockingbird is particularly interested in projects that foster self-esteem and free expression, but does not typically fund music therapy that is not education or music appreciation that does not include participation. The Foundation is interested in targeting children 18 years or younger, but will consider projects that benefit college students, teachers, instructors, or adult students. In addition, the Foundation is particularly (though not exclusively) interested in programs that benefit disenfranchised groups, including those with low skill levels, income, or education.

Program Areas:
Arts, At-Risk/Character, All Other

Recipients:
Public Schools, Private/Charter Schools

Proposal Deadline:
8/1/09

Average Amount:
$500 to $5,000

Email:
grants@mbird.org

Website:
http://www.mockingbirdfoundation.org/funding/guidelines.html

Availability:
All States

 

In each issue, Don Peek recommends a Web resource, book, software program, or another useful tool of interest to the grants community.

This week's resource is a Web site that I've mentioned before. The site is more valuable than ever in the current economic climate; it will keep grant writers updated as new stimulus grants are announced.
Ed.gov
http://www.ed.gov

This site announces all government grants that are related to schools. You should check this site every week or two because new grants are constantly being listed.

The Education World Grants Newsletter is written by Don Peek, former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. The School Funding Center Grant Database attempts to list every grant available to schools across the United States. It is updated daily and currently contains more than 110,000 grant opportunities worth more than $6.5 billion.

If you are serious about getting grant money for your school, you may want to subscribe to The School Funding Center Grant Database.
12-month subscription: $397.00
6-month subscription: $249.00
2-month subscription: $ 99.00
When you order the 12-month subscription, you get a copy of Successful School Grants, a step-by-step grant-writing manual by Dr. Deborah Porter, one of the foremost grant writers in the country, free with your subscription.

Order your subscription today!

  • Use a credit card to order your subscription online
  • Call in your credit card order to 1-877-856-7400
  • Fax your order to 1-903-856-5272 (signed purchase order required)
  • Mail your order to The School Funding Center, 449 Rusk Street, Pittsburg, TX 75686

    Don't forget that you can do limited free searches in our huge school grant database by going to http://www.schoolfundingcenter.com.

     

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    LEAVE 'EM LAUGHING
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    What's the World Coming To?

    A man standing in line at the checkout counter of a grocery store was taken by surprise when a very attractive woman behind him said, "Hello!" Her face was beaming. He gave her that "who are you look" and couldn't remember ever having seen her before. Then, noticing his look, she figured she had made a mistake and apologized.

    "Look," she said "I'm really sorry, but when I first saw you I thought you were the father of one of my children." Then she turned and walked out of the store.

    The guy was dumbfounded and thought to himself, "What is the world coming to? Here is an attractive woman who can't keep track of who fathers her children!" However, he had to admit to himself, he was quite flattered that he might resemble one of her former lovers. Then, again, he got a little panicky. I don't remember her, he thought, but maybe… during one of the wild parties he had been to when he was in college… perhaps he did father her child!

    Back in his car, he sat for some time, holding his head in his hands… never realizing that the woman he was puzzling over was his son's second-grade teacher.

    The Interview

    The college applicant sat across from the dean of admissions as the dean fired question after question. One question in particular struck the student as a bit odd…

    "If you could have a conversation with someone, living or dead, who would it be?" the dean asked.

    The student thought over the question for a few moments before responding…"The living one."

    A Waste of Time

    A little girl had just finished her first week of school. "I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother. "I can't read, I can't write, and they won't let me talk!"

    Little Johnny Strikes Again

    Civics Teacher: Where was the Declaration of Independence signed?

    Little Johnny: At the bottom!

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