Advice For
Successful Grant Writing
Bonnie Kline
Executive Director
Colorado Wool Growers Association
Colorado Sheep & Wool Authority
Technical Background
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Bachelor’s degree in Geology
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Technical writing experience:
industrial construction, geology, healthcare, and the livestock industry
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Technical writer for projects
submitted to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U. S. Department of Energy, the
United Nations, the World Bank, and the Agency for International Development
What is a
grant?
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A grant is money provided to you
by a funding source to carry out specific actions and to achieve specific
goals.
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A grant is a legally binding
contract, and grant money may have to be paid back to the funding source if the
recipient does not meet the obligations outlined in the grant proposal and
contract.
Presentation
Format
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This presentation is designed to provide a basis to assist you in
developing a successful grant project.
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It is not a presentation to identify specific funding sources.
Grant
Funding Sources
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Federal & State governments
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Private Foundations
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Corporations
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Research why a specific entity is
awarding grant money, before you start developing your grant proposal.
Define Who
You Are
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Some organizations learn that
grant writing takes too much time and effort, and diverts resources away from
their main objectives. The best organizations are not grant driven, but mission
driven.
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What does your organization do,
and how does that fit with the goals and objectives of the funding source?
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What does your project have to
offer to the funding source, and how does your project further
their goals?
Define Who
You Are
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Funding Source: USDA NSIIC -
The National Sheep Industry
Improvement Center (NSIIC) was established as a revolving fund by the 1996 Farm
Bill to aid the nation's sheep and goat industries. The mission of the NSIIC is
to assist the US Sheep and Goat Industries by strengthening and enhancing the
production and marketing of sheep, goats, and their products in the United
States.
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Grant Proposal:
High Country Woolens
is a value-added product development program
designed to sell washable wool blankets made with black and blackface wool.
Advice For
Successful Grant Writing
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Defining Your Project
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Getting the Job Done
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Creating Your Budget
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Evaluating the Outcome
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Grant Writing Tips
Defining
Your Project
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Goals
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Executive Summary
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Management Team
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Introduction or Rationale
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Project Description
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Industry Commitment/Strategic
Partners
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Timeline/Benchmarks
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Budget
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Project Evaluation
Defining
Your Project
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Defining your project is a
“balancing act”
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Develop a plan that you can
realistically execute all phases of the program.
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If your project is too narrow in
scope, you are unlikely to receive funding because your project will not have a
broad enough impact.
Defining
Your Project
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Too large of a project can appear
to lack focus and management parameters, as well as creating unrealistic
expectations about meeting project goals and measuring outcomes.
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These projects may be equally
unsuccessful as projects that are too narrowly defined.
Example
of a
Successful Project Definition
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High
Country Woolens is a value-added product development program designed to sell
washable wool blankets made with black and blackface wool. Program objectives
include: creating a market for blankets made with black and blackface wool;
keeping blankets at an affordable price to encourage sales and get blankets and
industry information into the hands of consumers; using our blankets as a
mechanism to raise awareness of and promote the American sheep industry; and
providing producers a better price for their black and blackface wool.
Defining
Your Project
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Your program shouldn’t end when
the grant money has been expended.
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Grant money should be seed
money to perpetuate a long-term project
(although some pilot programs/demonstration
projects may get funded to “test the waters” to research a project’s
feasibility).
Defining
Your Project
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Introduction/Rationale
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Describe what problem your project will address, and what results
you would like to achieve.
Example
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Historically, wool has represented 5 to 20 percent of the revenue for sheep
ranching operations, but there has been an overall decline in domestic wool
prices for the last decade. Since the mid 1990’s producers have seen a
significant drop in prices as a result of the Asian financial crisis (Pacific
Rim countries are major players in the textile market); worldwide production in
excess of demand; and lost market share due to competition with synthetic
fibers. The recent Emergency Wool and Mohair Market Loss Assistance Program,
and the inclusion of a Wool Marketing Loan Program in the 2002 Farm Bill attest
to the severity of the market instability for domestic wool industry.
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Black
wool has almost no value to the commercial textile industry, and blackface wool
has significantly lower value than white wool because textile manufacturers are
reluctant to process wool that contains dark fiber. The lack of marketability
for black wool (for the remainder of this document the term “black wool” is
meant to include black and blackface wool) primarily stems from difficulty in
dyeing the fiber, and not from the actual quality of the fiber itself. Dark
wool limits the range of colors that fabric can be dyed, and consequently makes
the black wool undesirable to the textile industry. The High Country Woolens
program focuses on turning the disadvantage of black wool into a value-added
marketing opportunity. Working with the limitations of the dyeing process for
black fiber, black wool can still be made in to beautiful natural and dark
colored blankets.
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Colorado feeds more lambs than any state in the nation, ranks 4th in
stock sheep numbers, and 5th in wool production. Commercial range
producers in Colorado have a primary emphasis on meat production, with wool
production being an important, but secondary component of their operations. As
a result of the emphasis on meat production, a significant amount of blackface
wool is produced every year. Range producers also use a large number of
“marker” sheep so there is a substantial amount of black wool sheared annually.
Unfortunately, producers receive little or no money for these types of wool.
Creating a market for black wool products will help producers to receive a
higher price for this portion of their wool clip.
Getting the
Job Done !
(after you receive grant money)
The two most important components
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Financial Accountability
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Project Implementation
Financial
Accountability
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Does your organization/entity have the capability to appropriately
handle grant funds, and manage the proposed project through to completion?
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Although some funding sources do allow individuals to apply for
grant money, generally speaking, most funding sources require that a grantee
have some type of formal business structure in place.
Financial
Accountability
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Grant recipients are always
required to follow a specific accounting method. In many cases it is the
“Generally Accepted Accounting Procedures”. Make sure to understand the method
expected and any additional tracking requirements outlined in the contract.
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Grant recipients may be subject to
financial and/or performance audits by the Grantor.
Project
Implementation
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Identify your management team
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Establish benchmarks & timeline
Project
Implementation
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Management Team
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The Advisory Board for High Country Woolens is comprised of
the following individuals: Bonnie Kline (Program Director), Robert Woodbury
(co-chairman), Steve Raftopoulos (co-chairman), Ernie Etchart, John Bartmann,
and Wendy White.
Project
Implementation
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Bonnie
Kline is the Executive Director for both the Colorado Wool Growers
Association and the Colorado Sheep and Wool Authority. She actively works with
producers and feeders to promote Rocky Mountain Natural Lamb and
Colorado Lamb. In June of this year Ms. Kline went to Mongolia as a
consultant for Land O’Lakes Corporation to help Mongolian herders establish
pasture and water and livestock associations, with the goal of improving the
marketability of their camel and cashmere fiber.
Benchmarks &
Timelines
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A benchmark is a standard that is used to measure performance.
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Benchmark 1:
Purchase 2,000 pounds of blackface wool
(February 28, 2003)
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Benchmark 2:
Ship 6,000 pounds of wool to Faribault Woolen
Mills. Mill must receive wool by March 15th. (March 1, 2003)
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Benchmark 3:
Complete logo design and order blanket tags
(March 15, 2003)
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Benchmark 4:
Determine blanket design/colors (March 15, 2003)
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Benchmark 5:
Contact Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation regarding
selling HCW blankets in the fall gift catalog. Work with Colorado
Department of Agriculture to identify and contact at additional retail outlets
in Colorado. Apply for Colorado Proud product designation with the CDA.
Contact Routt County Woolens to discuss potential marketing options (April 30,
2003)
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Benchmark 6:
Design and build displays (July 31, 2003)
Program
Implementation
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Concisely define how you will implement your program, if you can’t
do this on paper then it may be perceived that you lack the management ability
to implement your program if you receive funding.
Example
®
The
established benchmarks and corresponding time lines will be the framework that
guides the Advisory Board through the implementation phase for High Country
Woolens. The Program Director is responsible for the overall management and
execution of the program as determined by the Advisory Board. Advisory Board
members will meet (via conference call or one-on-one phone calls) on an
as-needed basis to ensure the successful implementation of the program. The
Advisory Board will use the High Country Woolens objectives, benchmarks, and
program rationale as the basis for management decisions. The Program Director
will be responsible for the following activities:
Example
®
Coordinate with the Advisory Board
and set up meetings or phone calls on an as-needed basis to insure program
implementation as outlined by the benchmarks and time line.
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Work with Colorado Department of
Agriculture to development the logo, promotional materials, and to identify and
contact additional retail outlets.
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Work with Faribault Woolen Mills
during the manufacturing process.
Developing
Your Budget
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Creating your budget is another “balancing act.”
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Budgets that grossly overstate or underestimate expenses, make the
statement that the project managers do not know what they are doing.
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Even if you have a terrific narrative, your project will not
receive funding if it has an unrealistic budget.
Developing
Your Budget
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Do your homework
and research actual project costs and projected income. Even though it is
understood that your budget is estimated, it is very important to estimate
actual income and expenses as accurately as possible.
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Matching funds are extremely
important !! They demonstrate your ability to leverage grant dollars.
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In-Kind
Contributions may or may not be considered as matching funds, so carefully read
the instructions on your grant application.
Developing Your Budget
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In-Kind contributions are another way to demonstrate your ability
to leverage grant dollars. In-Kind contributions can come in many forms and
help reduce the total amount of cash required to implement your project:
donated labor, shipping costs, storage, etc.
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Matching funds and in-kind contributions are an excellent way to
showcase your strategic partnerships.
Developing
Your Budget
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The CWGA has strong working
relationship with the following entities, and these strategic partnerships have
been instrumental in developing programs:
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Colorado Sheep &
Wool Authority
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Colorado
Department of Agriculture
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Colorado State
University
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ACF – Colorado
Chefs Association
Reporting
Requirements
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Written progress reports and financial update requirements will be
outlined in your contractual agreement with the grantor.
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Usually the grantor will provide forms for the financial reporting
segment of your grant.
Dear Mr. Wilson:
The following is
a performance report on High Country Woolens Program activities through
September 15, 2003:
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Benchmark 5:
Application for Colorado Proud designation has been completed, and High
Country Woolen promotional materials are now authorized to use the Colorado
Proud logo. The CWGA contacted Routt County Woolens to discuss potential
marketing options, but Routt County Woolens has not responded to our last
several inquires about working together on a collaborative basis to market wool
blankets in Colorado.
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Benchmark 6:
Mill costs were originally estimated to be
$20,302. However, because our wool yielded so high we were able to have
additional blankets made and final mill costs totaled $29,350. The additional
mill costs used up our remaining project funds and we were not able to build any
display shelves. However, this hasn’t proved to be a problem with the
retailers that we have worked with so far. We are providing retailers with
11”x17” laminated posters to display. The posters are similar to brochures and
blanket inserts (see attached).
Evaluating the Outcome
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Address every goal and benchmark
outlined in the management plan. Did you meet this benchmark? If not, explain
the circumstances that kept you from achieving your goals.
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Be honest, things rarely go
according to plan. identify why things got off track and what measures were
taken to correct the problem.
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Share the lessons learned so that
other can learn from, and build on, your experience.
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If your project was easy to do you
wouldn’t be receiving grant money to execute your program. Evaluate what went
wrong, adjust your management plan accordingly, and keep moving forward.
Example
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The final amount of grant
money utilized is significantly less than requested in our December 2003 grant
application. In our original application, the CWGA was approved to receive
$7,158 in ALB funding; and actual expenditure of ALB funds totaled $4,073.
There are three main factors that contributed to this difference: 1) the CWGA
was able to obtain a substantial amount of donations for our Lamb Industry Tour;
2) the CWGA utilized American Lamb Board printed materials for the statewide
mailing and national checkoff education program, and therefore incurred reduced
printing expenses; and 3) due to unforeseen circumstances, the CWGA was unable
to have a representative attend the Taos Wool Festival, and therefore did not
incur expenses for that part of the grant project.
Reporting
Requirements
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A grant is a legally binding contract, and grant money may have
to be paid back to the funding source if the recipient does not meet the
obligations outlined in the grant proposal and contract.
Grant
Writing Tips
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READ & FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS
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Good technical writing skills are
an absolute must, if you don’t write well hire somebody that does. The best
project in the world won’t get funding if it is not presented well on paper.
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Grantor will look for projects
that leverage their grant dollars.
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Grant money should be seed
money to perpetuate a long-term project.
Grant
Writing Tips
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Identify the project you would
like to do and then read the evaluation criteria for receiving grant funding
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Identify scoring criteria, write
grant proposal to address scoring criteria:
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Brainstorm and
capture all relevant ideas
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Sort ideas into
categories (goals, rationale, benchmarks, etc)
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Write, write, and re-write your
grant proposal until it looks perfect
Grant
Writing Tips
DO
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Be concise
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Did I mention,
“READ AND FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS?”
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Find the right
funding source - don’t expect to be funded if your project doesn’t meet the
grantor’s goals.
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Allocate
sufficient time to write your grant proposal
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Use section
headings as identified in the RFP, don’t make up you own or change the order.
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If you get
turned down for funding, find out why, this information will help you prepare a
better proposal next time
Grant
Writing Tips
DON’T
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Ask funding sources to change their guidelines for you
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Oversell your intent or capabilities
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Use jargon and acronyms
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Write a novel
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Be overly descriptive
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