1. Grant Writing For Teachers who Dream Big! Lisa Rankl Hazlet Township Public Schools March 2010

2. By the end of this workshop you will: Understand what a grant is and what one could be used for. Gain awareness of the plethora of monetary resources available to educators. Discover where and how to find such resources. Learn the basic parts of a grant. Believe that you can be a successful grant writer.

4. Ask around – Survey other teachers, parents and administrators.Don’t forget – Think BIG!

5. What is a grant? “A grant, also known as a cooperative agreement, is a monetary award given by a grantor to a grantee. A grant request is an advance promise of what you or your organization (the grantee) proposes to do when the grantor fulfills your request for funding.” Excerpted from “Grant Writing for Dummies”

6. Getting Started Find a small group of colleagues to form a grant writing team (Grade level or department partners, school media specialists, building administrators). Come up with an idea for an exciting project that would enhance student learning. Decide what you would need to complete the project and how much it would cost. Discuss your idea with your building principal. You will need administrative support to apply for a grant, receive the money and carry out the project.

7. Involving Stakeholders Take all the help you can get! Find people with grant writing experience such as colleagues, parents and people in the business sector. You may need to obtain information from the business administrator, curriculum supervisor or building administrator. Everyone involved should have specific responsibilities, but one person should be in charge of meeting the final deadline.

8. Where can I find grant opportunities? Try searching the Internet using keywords such as: Local Sources – Look for businesses that have a connection to the community Professional Associations – NJEA, NEA Private Foundations and Big Business Grants Education Grants Grants for teachers

9. Basic Parts of a Grant: Executive Summary or Abstract Statement of Need Project Description Budget Organization Information Indicators of Success Evaluation Outcomes Conclusion Not all grants include all of these parts. Most have applications that need to be followed carefully. Read the application carefully and determine whether the grant meets your needs.

10. Executive Summary Gives the reviewer a brief overview of your project, similar to an abstract Describes your project in a nutshell Try writing this part LAST May be the ONLY part that ever gets read, so make it good! Include a “Hook”

11. Statement of Need Why is this product needed? How will it help the students? Who determined the need? Write in positive terms, reviewers want to know that you have an optimistic outlook towards your situation. Do not focus on WHAT you need, focus on the problem that needs to be solved. Use data to support your claims – test scores, graphs and charts.

12. Project Description What are you going to achieve? How will you achieve it? How will you evaluate it? Be clear and concise, avoid educational jargon. Discuss how your project will be sustainable after the grant period is over. Discuss how you will share your resources and involve others in your project. Will you provide professional development to colleagues to help spread the word? What will the end product be?

13. Budget How much will everything cost? Read grant guidelines carefully, some are specific about what the money can and cannot be used for. Call vendors and ask for the GSA (Government) rate that schools are entitled to. Schools do not pay tax. Ask your principal for the Tax ID #. Beware of grants that require matching funds! Use Excel when you can. Be specific and accurate. Do not pad the budget, the reviewer can easily find out the prices of what you are asking for.

14. Organization Information Research! Check grant application for specific information that is requested. Keep a folder with all of the information you collect – you will need it again each time you apply for a grant. Good sources of information are: Building principals School secretary Business administrator (Monetary data) Curriculum director (Test Scores, other data) Allow plenty of time for these people to respond to your requests for information. They are very busy!

15. Evaluation Outcomes How will you know if the initiative has been successful? What will be your indicators? Use words from Bloom's Taxonomy to describe what your student will be learning and accomplishing. What standards are you meeting? Include information about the NJCCCS. What tools will you use for assessment? Examples include rubrics, project-based activities, performance assessments and authentic assessment.

16. Indicators of success Set achievable and measureable goals that indicate your success. Examples of Indicators of Success: After-School Program Goal: A minimum of 95% of the 12th grade students in our afterschool program will enroll in college after graduation. This is a 2.5 % increase from last year. Workforce Readiness Program Goal: A minimum of 85% of our participants will go on job interviews within 3 months of completing our workforce readiness courses.

17. Conclusion Your last chance to impress them! Leave a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. Clearly summarize all of the information in your proposal. Do not add any information that is not supported elsewhere in the document.

18. Before You Submit: Proofread, proofread, proofread! Have a non-educator read your writing to make sure it is clear to someone who is not familiar with educational jargon. Check and double check your grammar – do not trust spell check and grammar check on Word. Make sure you have the appropriate signatures. Make sure you have not gone over the word limit.

19. Common elements in winning proposals: Winning Proposals: have clearly defined needs and describe how those needs were identified. describe what kids and teachers will do. present the material in a logical manner. are written in positive terms. do not overuse educational jargon. present detailed budgets that match the proposed program. give something back. follow all the guidelines specified in the Request for Proposal. are professional looking. are not too short or too long. Complete article written by Gary Curnow is located at http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4173

20. Final Thoughts: You cannot win a grant that you do not apply for! Even if you do not win, many reviewers return your grant with feedback that will help you improve for next time. Recycle and improve parts of your grant and try again with a different grantor.

21. Resources/Webliography Go to www.delicious.com/lisarankl to view all of these sources in one place and explore websites bookmarked by others. Many of these sites include lists of additional web resources. http://grantwrangler.com/ http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/fundingConnection/index.html http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev039.shtml http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grant_writing http://grantproposal.com/ http://www.learnerassociates.net/proposal/ http://lone-eagles.com/granthelp.htm

22. For More information: Please contact me via email: Lisa Rankl, Director of Technology lrankl@hazlet.org