PEARLS OF WISDOM

1
PEARLS OF WISDOM

• FROM A DEVELOPER AND WRITER OF GOVERNMENT GRANTS
• DR. MARGARET P. OLSON
• [phone]
• mpolson_at_westnet.com
• April 11, 2008
• Association of Development Officers

2
ITS YOUR MONEY

• GOVERNMENT FUNDING IS SUPPORTED BY TAXPAYERS
  DOLLARS. THERE IS
• ? Accountability
• ? Transparency
• ? Equity
• ? Equitable distribution

3
POLITICS, POLITICS, POLITICS

• At all levels of government local or city,
  county, state and federal, public money is
  offered and awarded in a political environment.
• George W. Bush Abstinence Only
• Governor George Pataki Advantage After School
  Program
• Every Chief Executive and Every Legislator

4
Appropriate Responses to the Political Environment

• Make sure all your local legislators local,
  city, county, state and federal know your
  organization, your mission, your accomplishments,
  those whom you serve, their needs and your needs
• BEFORE Ask your legislator for a letter of
  support ONLY if the grantor is accepting letters
  of support
• AFTER Tell your legislator that you have
  applied for a grant and send a copy of the
  proposal
• AFTER Ask your legislator to put in a good
  word if you have reason to believe the decisions
  will be political. If unsure, ask the legislator.

5
Lets get to the proposal

• ? DATA
• ? DATA
• ? DATA
• ? DATA
• ? DATA

6
GO/NO GO Responding to a Request for Proposals
(RFP)

• ? First Check Eligibility Criteria
• ? Then Check how many grants will be awarded
• ? Then Check how much money is available
• ? Then Have a strategy session within your
  organization and include major decision makers

7
WORK BACKWARDS

• ? From the Deadline
• ? Read, Read, Read and Read again
• ? Create a checklist
• ? At the beginning The Memory File
• ? Create a Chart Meetings, Timelines, Tasks,
  Responsibilities, Check in Times
• ? Initial planning/brainstorming session with
  all who will be potentially involved/affected

8
TRANSFERABLE SKILLS THE BASICS ARE THE SAME

• ? NEED FOR THE PROJECT (15 POINTS)
• ? QUALITY OF PROJECT SERVICES (20
  POINTS)
• ? QUALITY OF PROJECT PERSONNEL (15 POINTS)
• ? QUALITY OF THE MANAGEMENT PLAN (15 POINTS)
• ? QUALITY OF THE PROJECT EVALUATION (20 POINTS)
• ? ADEQUACY OF RESOURCES (15
  POINTS)

9
CONSIDER YOUR AUDIENCE

• If you are writing for a national competition,
  the reader will not know anything about your
  geographic location or your organization. In
  large states like New York, they are unlikely to
  know about you and your location or they will
  have stereotypes i.e., Westchester
• Assume a general audience, rather than a
  professional audience
• Take special care with the appearance of the
  proposal remember readers are reading many
  proposals at a time

10
WATCH OUT FOR THE GOTCHAS

• Page limits
• Font size
• Spacing requirements
• Conflicting guidelines found in different
  sections of the RFP
• The number of copies to submit
• Pre-proposal notification
• Partner requirements
• Stipulations about attachments
• Deadline phrases like postmarked by or due on.

11
GOOGLE, GOOGLE, GOOGLE

• Extensive data sources available on the web
• Each federal and state agency maintains sites
  with funding information some have sample
  proposals many have forecasts
• A number of professional listservs Bring Home
  the Bacon, Charity Channel (both low cost)
• Many grants newsletters available electronically
• Many grantwriting aids and resources are
  available on the web

12
JUST DO IT!

• EXPERIENCE IS THE
• BEST TEACHER