American Approaches: Project Management, Grant Writing and Fundraising

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American Approaches Project Management, Grant
Writing and Fundraising

• Jason Gilpin
• NGO Facilitator, United States Peace Corps
• M.A. (Candidate), International Administration
• Graduate School of International Studies
  University of Denver

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Instructor Introduction

• Instructors background
• B.A., International Relations, West Chester
  University of Pennsylvania, 2001 European Union
  Expansion
• Peace Corps Volunteer, Group 32, NGO Facilitator
• Currently working on Masters Thesis on
  International Project Management, will obtain
  degree from the University of Denver in 2009
• Lived in four countries, 13 cities and six US
  States
• In Sevastopol, I work with public organizations
  to obtain international grants and plan,
  implement and evaluate effective social projects
• Current Projects

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Questions for Students

• Tell me about yourself!
• What is your name?
• What university do you attend OR what
  organization do you work for?
• Have you ever written a grant or done a project?
• Why are you here? What do you want to learn?

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Information on Slides

• Some of these slides and information from my
  Professor at the University of Denver, Dr. Tom
  Laetz, who is also a Project Manager with the
  Government Accountability Office (GAO) in the
  United States Federal Government.
• GAO is the independent investigative arm of the
  Congress
• Examine how US taxpayers money is spent
• Advise lawmakers and agency heads on best
  management practices
• The GAO stops government corruption, unfair
  contracts between the US government and
  businesses, and misuse of US government funds

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History of American Project Management Approaches

• Of course, project management goes way backthink
  about the ancient monuments like the pyramids
  (e.g., track building of Panama Canal)
• 1950s 1960s modern PM started with operations
  research in military and space (moon, Vietnam)
• 1960s shifted into business community
• 1970s 1980s new theories and methods in
  construction industry
• 1990s international use in government, non-profit
  sectors
• Computerized systems, professional certification

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International Aspects of Project Management
differ from American Project Management

• Hostede describes four types of cultural values
• Individualism versus collectivism dimension
• Long-term versus short-term dimension
• Masculinity versus femininity dimension
• Strong versus weak uncertainty avoidance
• 5. Also add Authoritarian versus Consensus

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Management Skills

• Developing the skills necessary to be a
  successful project manager is important for many
  professional fields, including international
  affairs
• It makes sense in a new business world that is
  less hierarchical and more team centered, more
  fluid, based on changing problems and
  opportunities, and more accountable for tracking
  results
• People skills (authority and persuasion)
• Integrative skills (coordination)
• Technical skills (generalist vs. specialist)
• Knowledge of organization (culture and power
  centers)
• Customer service skills

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Risks Links to Process Groups

• PMR, page 11

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PM Process

• SBS, p. 52

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Project Management Steps

• 1.) Problem/Needs Assessment (Project Charter)
• 2.) Project Planning
• 3.) Funding Procurement/Financing
• 4.) Implementation/Monitoring
• 5.) Evaluation
• 6.) Reporting

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Thinking about starting a project

• Many people start projects the WRONG way! They
  look for , then make a project to suit that
  grant.
• WRONG WAY I found a grant from the European
  Union to stop bear attacks on people! Lets write
  a project for Sevastopol!
• RIGHT WAY After looking at many problems in
  Sevastopol, I found that there is a lot of drug
  abuse in Sevastopol. Lets look for grants and
  ways to fund programs which fight drug abuse.

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Thinking about starting a project

• What are community needs?
• ?
• Project Planning
• ?
• Find financing

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Identify NEEDS first. This is called 1.) Needs
assessment

• Source of project
• Mission of organization be sure the project
  FITS your organizations purpose and mission
• Stakeholders (Who benefits from the project?)
• Identify who they are and get them involved in
  process
• Determine needs and wants RESEARCH THE PROBLEM!
• Scope research - determine what is in and out
  of the project
• Gather data and collect information on the
  problem
• Types of Projects
• Market-driven (opportunity to meet need)
• Crisis-driven (specific problem)
• Change-driven (to avoid a problem later)

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A Project charter will help you with identifying
needs and start your project planning

• Problem statement (need for intervention)
• Scope baseline
• Purpose of intervention (project)
• Specific project objectives or deliverable
• List assumptions (what you think the conditions
  are where you want to do the project)
• List constraints (what are things that might keep
  you from achieving your objective?

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Project Charter Problem Statement

• Need to have a brief statement that
• Has a hook to the project
• Brief description of the problem (background)
• Identify the key stakeholders
• Example Problem Statement A study by the
  Sevastopol Center on Preventive Maintenance for
  and Struggle with HIV/AIDS published on
  01.07.2007, revealed the total HIV-infected
  population in the city of Sevastopol to be 1581
  persons (people between the ages of 18-35
  comprises 80 of this number).

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Project Charter Scope/Baseline

• Scope baseline
• Purpose of intervention (project)
• Objectives
• Project deliverables (can be considered
  milestones if deliverables occur at various
  stages of the project)
• Specific, Measurable, Agreed Upon, Relevant and
  Time-bound (SMART)
• Exclusions

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Project Charter Scope/Baseline Example

• Purpose To raise the level of knowledge
  concerning preventive measures of HIV-AIDS
  infection and to impart a tolerant attitude with
  regards to HIV-positive people targeting youth
  ages 15-24 in Sevastopol.
• Objective By October 2008, these competent pier
  educators will present to 525 young people aged
  15-24 with HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness
  raising activities that deliver accurate messages
  on HIV transmission. As a result, 420 (80) of
  these young people will both correctly identify
  the ways to prevent HIV transmission and reject
  major misconceptions about HIV transmission.
• Exclusions This project is limited to
  Sevastopol, full-time competent students at 5
  pre-identified local universities.

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Project Charter Assumptions

• Assumptions It is important to identify any
  assumptions that are pertinent to the project
  success
• No changes in scope without changing time and
  cost
• Funding will be available when needed
• Staff resources will be adequate to accomplish
  tasks

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Project Charter Constraints

• Constraints It is important to identify any
  predetermined constraints on
• Schedule
• Completion date
• Resource availability
• Project budget
• Constraints are related to the risk assessment

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2.) Project Planning
a.) Background/Problem Info b.)
Project charter finding objectives scope
baseline c.) Work plan, tasks table
timeline d.) Risks Assessment
e.) Outputs/Outcomes f.)
Monitoring/Indicators g.) Partnerships
h.) Sustainability i.) Reporting,
Media, Public Relations Evaluation j.)
Cost Analysis look - you already
have a) and b) done!
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c.) Work planning Who and What

• What work needs to be done to make this project
  possible?
• -Brainstorm to create a long list, from
  start to finish. This will be your first draft.
  You will add A LOT to this as you continue
  project planning
• Who will be working/volunteering on this project?
  What are their specialties?
• -Think about who among your team is good
  with people and who is good with technical
  aspects and tasks. What kind of leadership skills
  do they have? Are they dependable?

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c.) Work planning When and Where

• Think very carefully about when each task needs
  to be completed by.
• Where will each task take place?
• Now start a simple tasks table like.

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c.) work planning - Tasks table example
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c.) work planning

• The example I gave you regarding work planning is
  VERY SIMPLE, but will be much more complex if you
  have a big project with many people.
• The bigger the project, the more detail you need
  regarding work planning.

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d.) Managing Project Risks

• Questions What is risk? Why think about risk?
  Why is it important?
• Expected loss (consequences) multiplies by
  likelihood (probability)
• You should be able to think about and identify
  bad things that may happen to your project and
  find ways to respond if these things happen. We
  call these risk mitigation strategies

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d.) Risk management example Risk Registry
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e.) Outputs/Outcomes

• An output is what the quantitative work will be
  created by the project
• An outcome is what qualitative things will be
  created by the project.

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e.) Outputs/Outcomes example All-Ukraine Youth
Think Tank

• Output 1.) A four-day Youth Summit involving
  thirty youth and ten university faculty
  participants, and ten trainers/think tank
  professionals from eight different oblasts
  (regions) throughout Ukraine with the purpose of
  creating a permanent youth think tank
• Outcome 1.) Creation of a permanent,
  self-sustainable think tank for youth which will
  continually post original, thoughtful ideas and
  opinions about topics of importance to their
  future and to the future of Ukraine.

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f.) Monitoring/Indicators

• You must monitor your project to make sure you
  are achieving your objectives. How do you do
  this?
• You need indicators of success!

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f.) Monitoring/Indicators All-Ukraine Youth
Think Tank

• Monitoring
• Youth Summit Surveys (2)
• Focus Groups (2)
• Indicators
• Youth summit surveys the prevalence of positive
  comments regarding acquired information, cultural
  awareness, understanding of opposing viewpoints,
  satisfaction with the summit content and genuine
  motivation to participate in the organization.
• Verbal Feedback and focus groups questions Were
  the participants vocally involved in the
  proceedings? Did they need to be prodded for
  their opinion? Did they seem interested and
  motivated in the summit proceedings? What aspects
  of this organization are least attractive to
  them? What would they like to change about the
  think tank? Do they think this organization is
  viable? Have they made friends at the summit?
  Will they communicate with others after the
  summit?

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g.) Partnerships

• The more partnerships you can have with local
  public organizations, local and regional
  government and private individuals and
  businesses, the more competitive your project
  will be to acquire grant funding and the more
  likely it will be to succeed.
• GO OUT AND NETWORK!!!!

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h.) Sustainability

• What is Sustainability?
• Why is it important to think about
  sustainability? Why do donors look at
  sustainability?
• Sustainability can apply to public projects,
  government projects or private business projects.

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h.) Sustainability how do you make projects
sustainable?

• 1.) Training people and helping them acquire
  skills
• 2.) Training people to teach others
• 3.) Making projects self-sufficient after grant
  funding ends (social enterprise, memberships,
  fundraising)
• 4.) Creating permanent organizations which are
  well structured

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i.) Reporting, the media, public relations and
evaluation

• You should always schedule at least two
  evaluation meetings during a project one in the
  middle of the project and one at the end.
• Why? Because evaluations help make your projects
  and people better! Therefore, be very honest with
  project progress and your evaluations will be
  worth the time.
• Evaluations check indicators has the project
  met its goals and objectives? Why or why not?

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i.) Reporting, the media, public relations and
evaluation continued

• The media can often help evaluate the success of
  your project.
• They can also help send out information on your
  project to a large number of people making your
  project more sustainable and effective.
• Therefore, it is very important to inform the
  media at the beginning, middle and end of your
  project. Now go back and put these news
  conferences in your work plan!!!

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j.) Cost analysis

• Now it is time to determine how much everything
  will cost. You must put a price on everything.
  First determine what you already have in the
  community and in the organization to do the
  project.
• the cost of volunteer labor (how much is a
  volunteer accountants time worth per hour?)
• Materials you already have a computer that you
  will use on the project. How much would it cost
  to rent that computer?

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j.) Cost analysis continued

• Next think about things you need. Estimate a
  reasonable price needed to buy those items.
• Usually, your budget should include no more that
  30 for salaries.
• The community contribution should be at least 40
  of the total cost of the project.

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j.) Cost analysis budget example
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Good Project Management!

• What is successful Project Management?
• Completing agreed upon scope of a project or
  program on time, within budget and meeting
  quality standards without burning out staff
  resources
• What are the elements of Project Management?
• Set of principles, methods, and techniques to
  effectively plan and control project work
• What is the strategy of Project Management?
• Traditional balance of three sides of a triangle
• Set and track project milestones and resource use
• The key is optimizing resource use

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Quality Control, Communication Customer Service

• Manage the QUALITY of the project by a lot of
  monitoring
• LISTEN to those working in the project ask for
  their ideas and feedback
• COMMUNICATE with your team and tell them when
  things are going well AND when theyre not!
• Provide CUSTOMER SERVICE to participants in your
  project treat them like you are happy that they
  are there!

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Financing Your Project

• Ways to finance your project
• 1.) Grant writing
• 2.) Fundraising
• 3.) Social enterprise
• 4.) membership fees

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1.) Grant Writing

• Grant writing is the most popular method of
  finding funds for social projects in Ukraine.
• International grants are only given
• 1.) to registered public organizations,
• 2.) organizations who have a bank account
• 3.) and a organizations who use a
  professional accountant!

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Finding Grants

• How do you find those who give grants (donors)?
• Answer THE INTERNET
• Start with a google search enter your problem
  statement, look for donors who fund projects in
  Ukraine
• Look at Embassy websites, European Union websites
  and foundation websites.
• There are too many grants to tell you about, so I
  will not list them individually

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Grant writing tips I

• 1. Good grant writing involves simply following
  all directions very carefully!!!
• 2. Some grants will ask you to first submit a
  letter of intent or a letter of inquiry where
  you will BRIEFLY (2-3 pages) tell them about your
  project in a professional letter.
• 3. Some grants have applications you fill out.
• 4. Some grants will ask you for a full grant
  proposal which will have all the details of your
  project, including budget (20-40 pages)

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Grant writing tips II

• 1.) BE PROFESSIONAL Always return calls and
  emails within 24 hours. Be polite and courteous
  at all times.
• USE PERFECT ENGLISH WHEN WRITING. If you do not
  have near-perfect English ability, ask for help
  from a good translator or native speaker. It is
  not so important to the donors that your spoken
  English is not perfect. Most of your
  correspondence will be by email anyway.

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Grant writing tips III

• Question What information do you need to write a
  grant?
• Answer If you did the project management steps I
  talked about, you already have all the
  information you need!

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Problems of international donors funding
projects here

• Projects may expose internal stakeholders to
  outside scrutiny from donors
• Cannot change values, only practices across
  cultures
• Economic and cultural dynamics of corruption
• Less awareness of potential human and natural
  disaster risks
• Training requirements, but opportunities for
  empowerment
• Acceptance of different values

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Grant writing in Ukraine

• Many organizations in Ukraine have become
  grant-dependent meaning that 80-100 of their
  budget and expenses are paid by grants.
• This is bad because those who give grants
  (donors) will not fund projects for a long time
  (usually only for one to three years) and donors
  will not be interested in giving to Ukraine
  forever.
• Therefore, you should look for alternative,
  self-sustainable forms of financing!

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2.) Fundraising You CAN do it!
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Social Enterprise

• Got an idea for a good business AND you want to
  help make Ukraine a better place?
• If so, you could start a social enterprise!
• A social enterprise is two organizations a
  non-profit public organization and a
  for-profit business. The profit from the
  for-profit business finances the non-profit
  public organization!

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Starting a Social Enterprise

• First, you need to have a registered public
  organization.
• Next, you should start a business plan
  (information available through Jason).
• Once you have a business plan, you need to
  register the business with the local government.
• Example of a successful social enterprise USTA
  in Bakchasarai.
• More information is available.

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Membership Fees

• If your public organization has a club-type
  activities (like parties, trips or events), you
  may be able to charge a small fee for membership
  in order to help the cost of your organization.
• Usually, membership fees do not account for much
  of a budget and are used in addition to grants
  and fundraising.

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QUESTIONS?????

• Contact information
• Jason Gilpin
• jjgilpin_at_yahoo.com