Maybe there’s a grant for that…

PowerPoint Adapted From: Teresa Evans, Ph.D.Career Development Coordinator Graduate School of Biomedical SciencesUTHSCSA • June 24, 2014

First things FirstWhat activity or equipment do you long to

provide for your students, if only the funds were available?

Could a grant provide the necessary financial support for you, your students, or your school?

Why would your idea matter to someone else so they would be willing to pay to support your idea?

Grant Writing is an Investment

Before writing the grant: Get permission from your principal AND department chair Identify school or district protocols regarding grants

Writing the grant: Likely to be a lag time between proposal and award (don’t

spend $ before it is awarded) The larger the grant, the greater the time commitment

During and after the grant: Keep the funder informed through progress reports Essential for continued funding

How’s Your Aim?Develop a specific aim (your big idea)

What activities are you planning?What do you hope to achieve?How will you measure the success?

Zooming in on the Target

NETWORK!Find others who have successfully

submitted a grantMentoring is keyUse resources like

VBTA colleaguesC3 Event workshops

Writing a Grant is Like Playing a Game

You have to Play by the Rules

GET the guidelinesREAD the guidelinesREAD the guidelinesFOLLOW the guidelinesREAD the guidelines

Following the Guidelines

You must follow the guidelines exactly. Respond to all sections.Adhere to any format restrictions.Topics must be covered in order presented in

guidelines. Use headings that correspond to the

guidelines.

The Next Step after Reading the Guidelines

Find the Mission Statement

READ the mission statementFOLLOW the mission statementThis is your new mantraDoes your idea fit the mission

statementUSE the mission statement

Possible Parts of a Grant Application

Cover Page

Table of Contents

Abstract

Problem or Needs Statement

Goals and Objectives

Methodology

Quality of Key Personnel

Evaluation

Dissemination

References Cited

Budget & Narrative

Vitae

Appendices

Forms, Certifications and Assurances

You are writing for the Reviewer not

yourself

How to psych out your reviewers – Part I

Clear and ConciseTell a StoryScannabilityMake sure that all pages are not just solid textUse bulleted items

How to psych out your reviewers – Part 2

Use graphics in methodology and needs sections Use headings and subheadings, bold, underline or italics

(BE CONSISTENT) Look at each introductory sentence of a paragraph, it is

the most important part, it is all they may read

Use type faces with serifs, like Times, they are easier to read

Do not justify

EditingA fine balance to establish clarity

Editing your GrantAfter you have finished your draft:

set it aside for a dayrevise

Have someone else read itCan they explain what the project is

about?Guest Editor

Clear and conciseNo jargonNo first person

14 Reasons Why Proposals Fail – Part 1

1. Deadline not met

2. Guidelines not followed

3. Nothing intriguing

4. Did not meet priorities

5. Not complete

6. Poor literature review

7. Appeared beyond the capacity of PI

14 Reasons Why Proposals Fail – Part 2

8. Appeared beyond capacity of PI

9. Methodology weak

10. Unrealistic budget

11. Cost greater than benefit

12. Highly partisan

13. Poorly written

14. Mechanical defects

RememberGetReadFollow

The GuidelinesThe Mission Statement

The Fatal Mistake

The Biggest Mistake of All

Not completing a grant application!

Examples of places to search for grants

Federal Government grants.gov

State Government http://www.tea.state.tx.us/grants/ District Foundation

Local Agencies Southwest Research Institute

Websites GrantsAlert.com www.grantwrangler.com

Examples for smaller grants

Lowes - http://www.toolboxforeducation.com/

Dollar General Literacy Foundation - http://www.dollargeneral.com/dgliteracy/pages/grant_programs.aspx

Target Grants for Education - http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031700

We Are Teachers - http://www.weareteachers.com/

Donors Choose - http://www.donorschoose.org/

PowerPoint Adapted From: Teresa Evans, Ph.D.Career Development Coordinator Graduate School of Biomedical SciencesUTHSCSA • June 24, 2014