WEEB Grant Writing Webinar

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WEEB Grant Writing Webinar

• January 15, 2009

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Webinar Agenda
400 pm Webinar begins - Housekeeping items 405
pm General WEEB information 415 pm Questions
regarding WEEB in general 420 pm Request For
Proposal (RFP) outline 425 pm Narrative
components 440 pm Questions regarding
narrative 445 pm Budget components 500
pm Questions regarding budget 510 pm Final
details 520 pm Questions regarding grants in
general 530 pm Webinar ends
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Grant Writing First Steps

• Get support for your ideas talk with others
• Gather data/statistics
• Inventory resources available
• Be sure to meet the funders expectations and
  needs (be education focused for WEEB)
• Figure out who is going to do what

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What is the WEEB?

• The Wisconsin Environmental Education Board is a
  State board created in 1989 to promote
  environmental education within
• all segments of society.

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Who is the WEEB?
The WEEB is made up of 17 members representing
the sectors below

• Agriculture
• Business Industry
• Conservation Environmental Groups
• Energy
• Environmental Educators
• Forestry
• Higher Education
• Labor
• Nature Centers Zoos

• Wisconsin DNR
• Wisconsin DPI
• University of Wisconsin System
• Wisconsin Technical Colleges
• Senators (majority and minority)
• Representatives (majority and minority)

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What does the WEEB do?

• Provides leadership in environmental education
• Supports development of local leaders
• Advocates environmentally-based curricula
• Encourages professional development for
  environmental educators at all levels
• Obtains private funds to supplement grants program

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Why does the WEEB do what it does?
The WEEBs mission is to provide leadership in
the development of learning opportunities that
empower Wisconsin citizens with the knowledge and
skills needed to make wise environmental
decisions and to take responsible actions in
their personal lives, workplaces, and communities.
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The WEEB Grant Program
The program awards grants to develop,
disseminate, and implement environmental
education programs in Wisconsin. The program
supports the goals identified within EE2010 A
Plan for Advancing Environmental Education in
Wisconsin. Projects must address the Fundamental
Tenets of Environmental Education.
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Eligibility

• Varies by category, but generally
• WI corporations (nonstock, nonprofit)
• Public nonpublic education institutions (see
  application for specifics for nonpublic)
• All units of government

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(No Transcript)
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Timeline for Funding

• Grants must be postmarked February 14, 2009 (or
  hand-delivered to the WEEB office at UWSP by 430
  pm on February 13, 2009)
• Review is conducted March-April 2009
• Grants are approved by the WEEB at their April
  2009 meeting
• Awards are announced in May 2009
• Grants are made for the period July 1, 2009
  December 31, 2010

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• Questions??

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WEEB RFP Outline

• Cover page
• Consortium verification
• Narrative
• Applicant, Title, (School Forest)
• Statement of Need
• Goals, Objectives, and Activities
• Dissemination
• Project Evaluation
• Staff Qualifications
• Continuation
• Budget

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Narrative

• Narrative
• Applicant, Title, (School Forest)
• Statement of Need
• Goals, Objectives, and Activities
• Dissemination
• Project Evaluation
• Staff Qualifications
• Continuation

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Narrative

• Narrative
• 8 ½ X 11 paper
• Single or double spaced
• At least one inch margins
• At least 10 point font
• 1 page for mini-grants (lt/1,000
• 2 pages for small grants (1,001 - 5,000)
• 6 pages for large grants (gt5,000)

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Project Title / Applicant

• Title Identifies the Project Use It to Your
  Benefit
• Applicant- Should Spell Out Acronyms
• Include the School Forest(s) Names Included in
  the Grant

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Project Title/Applicant (examples)
Which Title Tells the Story Best?

• Title Using the School Forest More
• Applicant Pinedale SD School Forest 1
• - OR -
• Increasing the Utilization of the Pinedale School
  Forest Through Curriculum Development and
  Professional Development
• Applicant Pinedale School District
• School Forest Pinedale School Forest 1

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Statement of Need
Includes 5 Interrelated Segments

• Target Audience
• Need
• Goal Addressed
• Evidence of Need
• Previous Effort

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Target Audience

• Statement clearly describes
• The makeup and number served by the grant
• Those directly and indirectly served

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Target Audience (examples)

• Increasing the Utilization of the Pinedale School
  Forest Through Curriculum Development and
  Professional Development
• Who is the Target Audience? Direct Indirect
• Interested teachers
• - OR -
• 27 K-12 teachers in the Pinedale School District
  who will teach over 700 students each year.

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Need

• A good need statement precisely identifies
• What is the problem that requires a solution?
• What is the solution to the problem?
• Why is the solution warranted?

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Need

• Increasing the Utilization of the Pinedale School
  Forest Through Curriculum Development and
  Professional Development
• Problem?
• Students environmental literacy and outdoor
  experiences
• Solution?
• Curriculum Planning Professional Development
• Why Warranted?
• Currently doesnt exist, so hard to utilize

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Need (examples)

• Our school districts needs a lot of stuff so that
  we can take kids outside. The district will buy
  the stuff we need to overcome the barriers so we
  can teach outside.
• - OR -
• The K-12 students in the Pinedale School District
  need experiential, outdoor opportunities to
  increase their environmental literacy. To
  accomplish this, K-12 teachers comfort,
  available tools, and knowledge of teaching at the
  school forest need to be enhanced through
  curriculum development and professional
  development. Currently no curriculum or
  professional development is available for use at
  the school forest.

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WEEB Priority Addressed

• Which EE 2010 goal does the need address
• Focus content of EE on holistic outcomes
• Support and enhance cooperation and communication
  within the EE community
• Support and enhance EE in preK-12 schools
• Support and enhance the implementation of
  environmental literacy in higher education
• Support and enhance the expansion of non-formal
  and non-traditional EE
• Develop research and evaluation agenda for EE

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Evidence of Need

• What Proof do you have that the need exists?
• How do you assess and document the need?
• -Key informant
• -Community forum
• -Case studies
• -Survey
• -Studies (relevant research)

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Evidence of Need (examples)

• Students environmental literacy is very low
  according to discussions with the districts
  curriculum coordinator and high school teachers.
  A review of the available K-12 curriculum map
  shows very little environmental education being
  provided. According to a survey conducted in
  December 2008, only 5 of teachers reported
  integrating EE into their curriculum and only 2
  teachers (of 27) reported using the school
  forest. Major barriers identified were lack of
  knowledge (85) and lack of curriculum (74).
• - OR -
• Very few teachers use the school forest. Kids
  dont have much knowledge of their environment.
  We think this is because teachers are afraid to
  take their kids outdoors and dont know how to
  teach outdoors.

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Previous Effort

• What efforts have been taken to address the need?
• If something has been done, why does more have to
  be done?

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Previous Effort (example)

• A teacher workshop was conducted in 1995 by the
  county conservation department. The workshop was
  useful, but no curriculum was provided, there
  wasnt planning time available to connect to
  existing classroom curriculum, and most of the
  teachers who participated are no longer with the
  district.

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The Narrative Goals, Objectives, and Activities

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• How?
• Why?
• Everything should be connected to the identified
  need.

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Grant Writing Tip

• Remember WEEBs primary mission is to provide
  EDUCATIONAL opportunities not stuff!

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The Narrative Goals, Objectives, and Activities

• Goal 1
• Objective
• activity
• activity
• Goal 2
• Objective
• activity
• Objective
• activity
• activity

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Goals, Objectives, and Activities

• Goal 1 Increase K-12 students awareness and
  knowledge of forest ecology and management by
  increasing the available curriculum by developing
  and utilizing school forest lessons (EE 2010 III)
• Objective 1 Write seasonal activities for each
  grade level that are integrated with classroom
  curriculum
• Activity 1 Project Director (director) recruits
  one teacher from each grade level to write
  curriculum (referred to as curriculum team) (July
  2009)
• Activity 2 Director facilitates an initial
  meeting for curriculum team to review project
  (August 2009)
• Activity 3 Curriculum team reviews the SF
  education plan to determine what learner
  objectives will be addressed at each grade level
  (August 2009)
• Etc.

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Goals, Objectives, and Activities

• Goal 1 Increase K-12 students awareness and
  knowledge of forest ecology and management by
  increasing the available curriculum by developing
  and utilizing school forest lessons (EE 2010 III)
• Objective 2 Get district teachers and
  administrators feedback on the curriculum
• Activity 1 Director presents draft curriculum
  to school administrators and requests their
  feedback (January 2008)
• Activity 2 Curriculum team presents curriculum
  at district-wide in-service (April 2008)

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Goals, Objectives, and Activities

• Goal 2 Increasing teachers comfort in teaching
  outdoors at the school forest.
• Objective All K-12 teachers will participate in
  an in-service at the school forest to explore
  activity ideas.
• Activities?

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Dissemination

• How will the non-audience members be informed of
  the project?
• How will WEEB be recognized for support of the
  project?

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Project Evaluation

• Formative Assessments
• Each objectivehow will you know you
  achieved them?
• Summative Assessments
• How do you know the overall project was a
  success?

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Project Evaluation

• Summary of how the project will be evaluated
• Describe the tools that will be
  used -pre/post testing
• -review by outside personnel
• -surveys
• If you say you are going to do it, have a
  purpose

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Staff Qualifications

• Of the key staff involved
• Show they have the skills and knowledge to
  complete the project
• If hiring someone
• summarize desired qualifications and
  anticipated contract time
• If compensating someones salary
• indicate contracted percent time length of
  contract

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Continuation

• How will the project be continued?
• What other activities or projects may result?
• Where will funding come from?

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• Questions??

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Budget Basics

• Each expenditure must be correlated to the
  project narrative
• Itemize all expenditures

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Budget Basics

• Eligible Expenditures
• -salaries and honoraria
• -fringe benefits
• -in-state travel, meals, lodging
• -materials and supplies

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Budget Basics

• What is a capital item?
• -nonconsumable over 100
• -can be used in multiple years
• What is considered site enhancement?
• -anything that physically alters the site
• -includes materials, tools, rentals,
  contracted services, labor
• -must have a strong educational focus

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Budget Basics
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Budget Basics - Match

• Match must be 25 match of requested amount from
  WEEB
• If ask for 10,000, need 2,500 in match value
• Can come from
• Monetary
• Supply
• Service

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Grant Writing Tip

• Your budget speaks more than just numbers!
• Can your project be accomplished?
• Are costs reasonable?
• Is it consistent with proposed activities?
• Is there sufficient budget detail and
  explanation?
• What in-kind and matching revenue is committed?

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Budget Basics
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General Grant Writing Advice

• You are generally better off describing a smaller
  scale project in detail than promising the world
  and not providing specifics.
• Evaluation of what you will do is important.
• You are not limited on the number of budget
  pages. (you can put detail there that you might
  not be able to in the narrative)
• Your proposal will be a unique creation based on
  the needs of your target audience and the
  resources available to meet those needs.

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• Questions??

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Final Details

• Cover page
• Consortium verification
• Format and submission
• Checklist

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• Questions??

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Contact Information
Grant Hotline [phone] Email
weeb_at_uwsp.edu School Forest and Forestry Grant
Contact Jeremy Solin jsolin_at_uwsp.edu (715)
346-4907 Energy Grant Contact Melissa Rickert
mrickert_at_uwsp.edu [phone]