Getting Started in Library Grant Writing An Infopeople Workshop

1
Getting Started in Library Grant WritingAn
Infopeople Workshop
Instructor Holly Hinman hinmanh_at_infopeople.org Ma
rch-April 2005
2
Workshop Overview

• The world of grantsmanship
• Planning to write
• Anatomy of a grant proposal
• Need
• Goals, objectives/outcomes
• Evaluation
• Budget
• Finding a funder

3
Quick Grant QuizTrue or false

• You can get grants to make up for budget cuts.
• You can pay for personnel from grants.
• Grants are free money no strings attached.
• Grants must be for something totally new.
• Its important to establish a personal
  relationship with the funding source.
• After you take this workshop you will be 100
  successful in your quests for grant funding.

4
Sources for Grants

• Government
• Federal
• State
• Local
• Foundations
• Private
• Community
• Corporations

5
Grant Seeking vs. Fundraising

• Written application
• Standard format
• Formal
• Relatively high level of effort

If you need only a small amount of money,
fundraising may be a better way to go!
6
What Makes a Good Proposal?

• Matches funders interests and priorities
• Demonstrates strong need
• Offers something new or creative
• Offers a model that can be replicated
• Has tangible outcomes or products
• Has a reasonable, defensible budgets
• Can be accomplished in finite timeframe
• Follows directions and is well written!

7
Getting Ready to Write

• Grant resource file
• library fact sheet, org chart
• latest guidelines/info from funding source
• sample successful proposals
• Internal planning/writing team
• Advisory group including end users
• Needs assessment involving end users
• Personal contact with funding source

8
General Advice for Grant Writers

• Develop a personal relationship with your funding
  source
• Read and follow directions!
• Write so grandma can understand
• Be kind to the grant reviewers
• Use 12-point, clear font
• Number pages
• Find out how your proposal will be evaluated

9
Group Questions

• Now that weve discussed some criteria for
  successful grant proposals, do you think the idea
  that you came with would be successful or not?
• What could you change to make your grant concept
  stronger?

10
Anatomy of a Grant Proposal

• Summary
• Introduction
• Needs assessment
• Goals and objectives
• Plan of action
• Evaluation
• Budget

11
Project Summary

• Appears first
• Written last
• Important because
• its used for screening
• may be only section read
• Do not exceed space limit
• Can cut-and-paste from other sections

12
Introduction

• Basic info about applicant
• May be separate section
• Often part of narrative (needs or plan of action)
• Boilerplate OK here
• Not needed for state LSTA

13
A Good Needs Assessment

• Provides the foundation for the rest of the
  proposal
• Is written from the users perspective
• Involves the users in identification of need
• Is supported by evidence
• hard data
• soft data

14
If the Need Is for a Thing..

• Reevaluate!!!
• Weak The Large County Library needs a
  bookmobile.
• Stronger Residents of rural areas in Large
  County need access to library materials .

15
The 5 Ws of Needs Assessment

• Who are the people with the need?
• Where are they located?
• What is their problem or need?
• When does the problem or need occur?
• Why does the problem or need occur?

16
More Needs Assessment Questions

• How does the need relate to
• Funders mission and current priorities
• Librarys mission, programs, and priorities?
• Who else is interested?
• What will be the community impact?

17
Rewrite These Needs Statements

• We need more computers.
• The school library needs more books.
• Anytown PL needs a community meeting room
• Poor County Library needs a literacy program.
• Main Library needs a book security system.

18
Anatomy of a Grant Proposal

• Summary
• Introduction
• Needs assessment
• Goals and objectives
• Plan of action
• Evaluation
• Budget

19
Goals

• Broad, long-range, general
• Not measurable
• Related to mission
• May not be attained
• Example The goal of this project is to provide
  free and convenient access to library resources
  to all people in Large County.

20
Objectives

• Measurable
• Time-specific
• Reflect change in target group
• Relate to needs
• Should show improvement
• Can be evaluated and should be attained

21

• When agencies fund your project, they are
  actually buying your objectives. When evaluators
  evaluate your project, they are measuring whether
  you accomplished what you said you were going to
  do in your program objectives.
• -- Stanley Levenson, How to Get Grants and Gifts
  for the Public Schools, 2002.

22
Developing Good Objectives

• Start from needs assessment
• Select measurement indicators
• Set performance standards
• Determine time frame
• Write the objective
• Evaluate the objective

23
Objectives Answer Questions

• Who is going to be impacted or changed?
• What is going to happen?
• When will it happen?
• How much change will take place?
• How will change be measured?

24
Standard Objective Format

• To ltaction verb and statement of results and
  measurement indicatorgt
• by ltdegree of changegt
• by ltdeadlinegt
• Example To increase by at least one grade level
  the reading skills of 75 of the children who
  complete the Reading Enrichment Program.

25
Verbs Used in Objectives

• increase
• decrease
• improve
• reduce
• expand
• eliminate
• enhance

• diminish
• augment
• add
• lessen
• maximize
• minimize
• access

26
Fix the Objective

• To implement a public computer training program.
• To train library staff in MS Word.
• To digitize 10,000 photographs from the local
  history collection.

27
Common Problems

• Confuse methods with objective
• Write in terms of the institution instead of the
  user
• Fail to quantify
• Set unrealistic degree of change

28
Anatomy of a Grant Proposal

• Summary
• Introduction
• Needs assessment
• Goals and objectives
• Plan of action
• Evaluation
• Budget

29
Plan of Action

• Narrative
• Often has page limits
• Includes
• Personnel
• Timeline
• Publicity

30
Key Questions

• Who will be involved in the project?
• target group
• project staff
• consultants
• What activities will take place?
• connect to objective
• provide detail
• When will each step take place?
• include timeline
• Why is this approach being used?
• describe alternatives

31
Graphics/Attachments

• Timeline
• Organization chart
• Resumes
• Sample materials, products
• RFPs

32
Anatomy of a Grant Proposal

• Summary
• Introduction
• Needs assessment
• Goals and objectives
• Plan of action
• Evaluation
• Budget

33
Evaluation

• Will your project make a difference?
• Program evaluation serves 2 purposes
• To determine if the project has met objectives.
• To gather information to improve the project.

34
Types of Evaluation

• Process evaluation
• Summative evaluation
• Outcomes measurement

35
Outcomes Measurement

• Outcome Impact on end user
• Impact changes in
• Behavior
• Attitude
• Skills
• Knowledge
• Condition/state
• -- Rhea Rubin, So What? Using Outcomes
  Measurement to Assess the Impact of Library
  Programs, 2005

36
Evaluation Plan

• Results you expect
• Data you will collect
• Data collection techniques
• What records will be kept
• Who is responsible
• When evaluation will take place

37
Anatomy of a Grant Proposal

• Summary
• Introduction
• Needs assessment
• Goals and objectives
• Plan of action
• Evaluation
• Budget

38
The Bottom Line Your Budget

• Budgeting is simply the process of translating
  the project plan into fiscal terms.
• ---Mary Hall, Getting Funded A Complete Guide to
  Proposal Writing

39
Budget Basics Steps to Take

• Review funders guidelines and requirements
• Follow your organizations budget practices
• Identify every cost element in plan of action
• Create a budget worksheet
• Put calculations into required format

40
Basic Budget Terms

• Direct costs
• Indirect costs
• Matching funds
• In-kind contributions
• Personnel
• Non-personnel

41
Anatomy of a Grant Proposal

• Summary
• Introduction
• Needs assessment
• Goals and objectives
• Plan of action
• Evaluation
• Budget

42
Finding a Funder

• Start with
• Local foundations and corporations
• State programs and state foundations
• Federal programs and national foundations
• Federal or state programs national foundations

• If your project
• Focuses on local needs
• Can be a model for other libraries in the state
• Can be a model for programs in other states
• Affects a multistate area

43
Resources for Government Grants

• Federal
• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
  (available online)
• Federal Register (available online)
• Agency mailing lists
• State
• State agency websites
• State agency mailing lists
• Local
• Personal contacts

44
Resources for Private Grants Foundations and
Corporations

• What the CFDA is to researching federal grants,
  the Foundation Center and its publications are to
  researching foundation grants.
• www.fdncenter.org

45
Foundation Center

• Libraries
• San Francisco
• 22 Cooperating Collections in CA
• Key publications
• Foundation Directory
• also available online
• Foundation Grants Index

46
Tips for Finding Foundation Funding

• Location, location, location
• Check eligibility
• 501(c)3 status
• Types of support
• Purpose/areas of interest
• Contact before submitting

47
Getting Corporate Funding

• Start with corporations in your community or area
• Corporations give where they live
• Make a personal connection
• Find out how the corporation handles giving
• Show how company or employees will benefit

48
Library-Friendly Funding Sources

• State LSTA programs
• Other library-specific state programs
• IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services)
• NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities)
• ALA
• Community Foundations
• Local corporations (Target, Walmart)

49
Post-Submission

• Dont call or email the funder
• If you are funded Celebrate !
• Then
• Notify appropriate officials/staff
• Send out a press release
• Begin preliminary activities
• Thank the funder

50
If Youre Not Funded

• Ask for a copy of the reviewers comments
• Strategize a new approach
• revise and resubmit
• revise and submit to another source
• Dont give up!