Grant proposals submitted to the federal government are generally reviewed first by a peer review panel. This panel consists of people in related fields of interest who are instructed to offer an unbiased assessment of the grant proposals that have been submitted. The members of this panel will assign ratings according to the criteria that they are given. There are many different areas of interest.
When I first started, we were required to travel to Washington, DC. Today you will probably be able to perform your review services online. The rate of pay varies according to the different agencies. What you will appreciate besides the pay is the opportunity to learn just how the granting process works. It will also help to develop your skills as a grant proposal writer. This article will show you how easy it is to apply to become a federal grant reviewer. More...
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Requested Information in Grant Proposals
In my experience with developing grant proposals, I have found that while headings may vary, Requests for Proposals (RFPs) tend to have common requirements for information. Whether you are preparing a grant proposal for an individual, Foundation or Government Agency, there are certain types of information that are generally required. The following is a list with brief description of common requirements for the contents of a grant proposal:
1. Needs Statements and Problem Statements: A Problem Statement is not the same as a Needs Statement. A Problem Statement clearly identifies the social, financial, economic, physical, community institutional problems that are in critical need of a solution. A problem is something that causes pain and suffering for others. On the other hand, a Needs Statement demonstrates the lack of resources and solutions that are required in order to solve a problem. For example: If Substance Abuse is the problem, then the social isolation caused by Substance Abuse may produce a need for developing skills in socialization.
2. Goals and Objectives: A goal is a general statement about the intent to reduce or eliminate a problem. It summarizes the answer about what the plan is to make the problem go away. Objectives are specific steps that can be measured to help meet the goals. For example the goal could be to prevent youth (ages 18-24) from going to jail for substance abuse related charges. An objective (to meet the stated goal) could be to develop alternative sentencing options for 50 youth arrested for substance use related charges.
3. Project Activities (Implementation/Methodology/Scope of Services): Project activities are generally given in Grant Proposal sections called Implementation, Methodology or Scope of Services. This section details a project design that lays out the plan to meet the goals and objectives. This will clearly describe what will be done and how the activities will be carried out. It will also determine the type of people and resources needed to make the project successful. This documentation should be a walk-through of what clients or participants will actually experience when they participate in your project.
4. Proving Capacity: After the plans to reduce or eliminate a problem have been effectively described, the proposal still needs to prove that the applicant has the ability to make it happen. This section should demonstrate that the applicant has a good idea of what it will take to run the project which includes adequate staffing and resources. The Capacity is the sufficiency of the staffing, resources etc. to make sure that the project produces favorable results.
5. Evaluation Plans: Everyone who receives funds for their projects will be required to prove to what extent their project was beneficial. They have to demonstrate how things have changed as a result of what was done. They will need to collect and report information that provide facts and figures about the effect on the goals, objectives and project implementation. An evaluation allows donors to have a measurable accounting of how impacting their contribution was.
6. Budget & Budget Narrative: A project budget is different from an organizational budget even though both must be considered in a proposal. Many organizations make the mistake of making the project budget the same as the organizational budget. A project proposal budget needs to be complete with details that show calculations about how each cost was determined. A budget narrative is required to describe how expenses are calculated, justified and relative to the stated goals, objectives and project implementation.
7. Abstract : An abstract is a summary of the project that generally includes the points about the Problem and Needs, and overall plan, target population, experience of the applicant and the cost. This is the information that may be used for press releases.
8. Executive Summary: An Executive summary is a more expanded detail that will include a summary of every section in the proposal. Both the abstract and the Executive Summary are developed after a proposal is completed and is generally the first documentation that a reviewer will read.
1. Needs Statements and Problem Statements: A Problem Statement is not the same as a Needs Statement. A Problem Statement clearly identifies the social, financial, economic, physical, community institutional problems that are in critical need of a solution. A problem is something that causes pain and suffering for others. On the other hand, a Needs Statement demonstrates the lack of resources and solutions that are required in order to solve a problem. For example: If Substance Abuse is the problem, then the social isolation caused by Substance Abuse may produce a need for developing skills in socialization.
2. Goals and Objectives: A goal is a general statement about the intent to reduce or eliminate a problem. It summarizes the answer about what the plan is to make the problem go away. Objectives are specific steps that can be measured to help meet the goals. For example the goal could be to prevent youth (ages 18-24) from going to jail for substance abuse related charges. An objective (to meet the stated goal) could be to develop alternative sentencing options for 50 youth arrested for substance use related charges.
3. Project Activities (Implementation/Methodology/Scope of Services): Project activities are generally given in Grant Proposal sections called Implementation, Methodology or Scope of Services. This section details a project design that lays out the plan to meet the goals and objectives. This will clearly describe what will be done and how the activities will be carried out. It will also determine the type of people and resources needed to make the project successful. This documentation should be a walk-through of what clients or participants will actually experience when they participate in your project.
4. Proving Capacity: After the plans to reduce or eliminate a problem have been effectively described, the proposal still needs to prove that the applicant has the ability to make it happen. This section should demonstrate that the applicant has a good idea of what it will take to run the project which includes adequate staffing and resources. The Capacity is the sufficiency of the staffing, resources etc. to make sure that the project produces favorable results.
5. Evaluation Plans: Everyone who receives funds for their projects will be required to prove to what extent their project was beneficial. They have to demonstrate how things have changed as a result of what was done. They will need to collect and report information that provide facts and figures about the effect on the goals, objectives and project implementation. An evaluation allows donors to have a measurable accounting of how impacting their contribution was.
6. Budget & Budget Narrative: A project budget is different from an organizational budget even though both must be considered in a proposal. Many organizations make the mistake of making the project budget the same as the organizational budget. A project proposal budget needs to be complete with details that show calculations about how each cost was determined. A budget narrative is required to describe how expenses are calculated, justified and relative to the stated goals, objectives and project implementation.
7. Abstract : An abstract is a summary of the project that generally includes the points about the Problem and Needs, and overall plan, target population, experience of the applicant and the cost. This is the information that may be used for press releases.
8. Executive Summary: An Executive summary is a more expanded detail that will include a summary of every section in the proposal. Both the abstract and the Executive Summary are developed after a proposal is completed and is generally the first documentation that a reviewer will read.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Technology: Benefits and Challenges in Grant Proposals
In my grant proposals, the sections where I mentioned how our organization uses technology always gave me high scores. I would include our using Quickbooks Pro® to manage our financial activities and reporting. I would also describe how we used Microsoft® Access database to log our activities and other information.
However some of our technical abilities that we mentioned when submitting our first grant proposal actually did more harm than good. This is an area where I still disagree with fellow grant reviewers. Ours was a situation where the knowledge base was not the same as what was generally known.
There was a section where I was describing how long it would take for us to produce DVDs that featured drama addressing lifestyles and solutions regarding HIV/AIDS. I had stated that it would take us 4-6 weeks to complete each DVD. The grant reviewers’ comments stated that this was not a reasonable amount of time. In reality, it took us even less time than that because of the technology that we were using.
Unfortunately, our proposal did not help the grant reviewers to understand that we had tapped into a little known ability at the time (before 1998). Even the Microsoft support people did not know that their package could include an embedded video using their Pack and Go feature. I hounded the Microsoft support people by telephone and on-line to get them to tell me how to include video with my self running presentations on CD. They all told me the same thing. “You can not have a self running CD with embedded video using this package.” They were wrong. I stumbled upon how to do it by noticing that during the error process, the CD would be looking for the video from the file on the computer. So I simply copied all of the files onto a CD and reconstructed the presentation, drawing the files from the CD instead of from the hard drive.
We went on to apply this new revelation to developing multi-media presentations that could be used for training and development. We got so good at it that we could actually complete the whole process in even less time. The only obstacle that would take us longer was that my husband was so picky about the sound. He would often go to his keyboards and develop the music scores for our scenes rather than use the canned sounds that I chose from the software package. He would cringe at most of the canned sounds and music that came with the software.
When it came to detailing our project in the grant proposal, I simply could not see that they would accept our little known ability to generate self running video-enhanced multi-media presentations using Microsoft® PowerPoint. I did not see that it would benefit us to include that my husband is a gifted musician who scored our presentations with original music. Many people already found it hard to believe that he could play and record audio tracks with all of the instrumentation, including drums (that actually sounded like real drums) along with strings, horns, etc. People often doubted our claim that our music and multi-media productions were generated in the petite studio that resided in our living room. We had to give people demonstrations to get them to see that it was even possible.
With all of this doubt, I did not dare mention any of this in the grant proposal- which brings us to another lesson. Tell the truth about any technological enhancements, and let the reviewers sort it out. I only realized that this was the best way to do things after I became a grant reviewer. If you have a technological ability that is little known, you may include it with a brief explanation about how and why it works with your project. Your challenge is convincing the reviewers that you truly understand what you state that you are using. It is not always necessary that they understand it as long as they are convinced that you understand it. You must also be able to show how this complicated technology will be effective with producing the results that you claim.
However some of our technical abilities that we mentioned when submitting our first grant proposal actually did more harm than good. This is an area where I still disagree with fellow grant reviewers. Ours was a situation where the knowledge base was not the same as what was generally known.
There was a section where I was describing how long it would take for us to produce DVDs that featured drama addressing lifestyles and solutions regarding HIV/AIDS. I had stated that it would take us 4-6 weeks to complete each DVD. The grant reviewers’ comments stated that this was not a reasonable amount of time. In reality, it took us even less time than that because of the technology that we were using.
Unfortunately, our proposal did not help the grant reviewers to understand that we had tapped into a little known ability at the time (before 1998). Even the Microsoft support people did not know that their package could include an embedded video using their Pack and Go feature. I hounded the Microsoft support people by telephone and on-line to get them to tell me how to include video with my self running presentations on CD. They all told me the same thing. “You can not have a self running CD with embedded video using this package.” They were wrong. I stumbled upon how to do it by noticing that during the error process, the CD would be looking for the video from the file on the computer. So I simply copied all of the files onto a CD and reconstructed the presentation, drawing the files from the CD instead of from the hard drive.
We went on to apply this new revelation to developing multi-media presentations that could be used for training and development. We got so good at it that we could actually complete the whole process in even less time. The only obstacle that would take us longer was that my husband was so picky about the sound. He would often go to his keyboards and develop the music scores for our scenes rather than use the canned sounds that I chose from the software package. He would cringe at most of the canned sounds and music that came with the software.
When it came to detailing our project in the grant proposal, I simply could not see that they would accept our little known ability to generate self running video-enhanced multi-media presentations using Microsoft® PowerPoint. I did not see that it would benefit us to include that my husband is a gifted musician who scored our presentations with original music. Many people already found it hard to believe that he could play and record audio tracks with all of the instrumentation, including drums (that actually sounded like real drums) along with strings, horns, etc. People often doubted our claim that our music and multi-media productions were generated in the petite studio that resided in our living room. We had to give people demonstrations to get them to see that it was even possible.
With all of this doubt, I did not dare mention any of this in the grant proposal- which brings us to another lesson. Tell the truth about any technological enhancements, and let the reviewers sort it out. I only realized that this was the best way to do things after I became a grant reviewer. If you have a technological ability that is little known, you may include it with a brief explanation about how and why it works with your project. Your challenge is convincing the reviewers that you truly understand what you state that you are using. It is not always necessary that they understand it as long as they are convinced that you understand it. You must also be able to show how this complicated technology will be effective with producing the results that you claim.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
PROBLEMS: A LESSON ABOUT HANDLING THEM
Today I can say, “thank you Lord for sparing us.” One of the first lessons that I began to learn is that every problem is not for me to solve. I am not sure how or why it began, but I would hear about problems that I took on as my duty to seek solutions. What made it difficult for me to resist the problem solving mode was that I was generally successful with finding effective solutions. In preparing grant proposals for others, this skill was actually be a stumbling block. I helped people get funded that really should not have been.
A dear friend of mine, Midge Lansat helped me understand that this was over functioning. I also realized that it made me appear to be a control hound. I was only trying to help. But my helping often over burdened myself and my reluctantly obliging family.
This lesson that “every problem is not for me to solve” was coupled with “just because I could do something did not mean that I should do something.” I am sure to get more than a few “Amens” in agreement with that statement.
I used to wonder why Jesus did not simply stand at the top of the highest mountain, stretch out his hands and say, “every body in the world - be healed.” I knew that he could do this and all suffering from sickness would end at that instant. But as I learned more about the purpose of human development on earth, I realized that if Jesus took away all of the pain and suffering on earth, many of us would be robbed of the opportunity and responsibility that is developing us for our next level of existence.
Many outreach oriented people like me are doers. We want to do something about a problem that really bothers us. We are natural “wanna be” problem solvers. This mindset is further complicated by having the ability to actually do a number of tasks well.
You may ask, “what is wrong with wanting to help where you can make a difference?” What is wrong is that the constant pull of new problems can greatly interfere with fulfilling the true calling that God has ordained. When people operate in what they have been anointed to do, there is a certainty of success. With each success comes an awareness that the journey and efforts are on the correct path. There is also a sense of nearing a state of completion- not lacking anything.
On the journey to completeness, there is no space for emptiness or time for regrets. There are many doers that fill empty. I believe that this emptiness is the result of not connecting with what they were intended to accomplish. My understanding about the importance of operating in your calling began to sprout with my first serious effort to produce a government grant proposal.
When writing a government grant proposal, you will be forced to settle upon a single problem or else you will find it quite difficult to complete the documentation. You will be required to thoroughly account for every effort that you presented as necessary. This accountability is what helped me to become much more disciplined in my own stewardship of time as well as resources.
Fortunately, I ultimately realized that every problem is not mine to solve. I realized that I must account for the time and effort that I contribute towards trying to solve problems. In being accountable, it became harder for me to justify spending time with issues that could possibly return income, but little results. However the problems that I was prepared to address offered compensation as well as a track record for success.
A dear friend of mine, Midge Lansat helped me understand that this was over functioning. I also realized that it made me appear to be a control hound. I was only trying to help. But my helping often over burdened myself and my reluctantly obliging family.
This lesson that “every problem is not for me to solve” was coupled with “just because I could do something did not mean that I should do something.” I am sure to get more than a few “Amens” in agreement with that statement.
I used to wonder why Jesus did not simply stand at the top of the highest mountain, stretch out his hands and say, “every body in the world - be healed.” I knew that he could do this and all suffering from sickness would end at that instant. But as I learned more about the purpose of human development on earth, I realized that if Jesus took away all of the pain and suffering on earth, many of us would be robbed of the opportunity and responsibility that is developing us for our next level of existence.
Many outreach oriented people like me are doers. We want to do something about a problem that really bothers us. We are natural “wanna be” problem solvers. This mindset is further complicated by having the ability to actually do a number of tasks well.
You may ask, “what is wrong with wanting to help where you can make a difference?” What is wrong is that the constant pull of new problems can greatly interfere with fulfilling the true calling that God has ordained. When people operate in what they have been anointed to do, there is a certainty of success. With each success comes an awareness that the journey and efforts are on the correct path. There is also a sense of nearing a state of completion- not lacking anything.
On the journey to completeness, there is no space for emptiness or time for regrets. There are many doers that fill empty. I believe that this emptiness is the result of not connecting with what they were intended to accomplish. My understanding about the importance of operating in your calling began to sprout with my first serious effort to produce a government grant proposal.
When writing a government grant proposal, you will be forced to settle upon a single problem or else you will find it quite difficult to complete the documentation. You will be required to thoroughly account for every effort that you presented as necessary. This accountability is what helped me to become much more disciplined in my own stewardship of time as well as resources.
Fortunately, I ultimately realized that every problem is not mine to solve. I realized that I must account for the time and effort that I contribute towards trying to solve problems. In being accountable, it became harder for me to justify spending time with issues that could possibly return income, but little results. However the problems that I was prepared to address offered compensation as well as a track record for success.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Overcoming Rejection Letters from Your Proposal
The tension was high and tempers were agitated. The clock was typically uncooperative as it warned us that the hands of time were waving good bye. Good bye to the opportunity to get $450,000 in grant funds to run our program. We knew that if we did not assemble our proposal package and send it off in the next few minutes that all of our efforts would have been wasted.
There had been three of us scrambling to complete our $450,000 document. Our newfound friend who convinced us to apply for the grant in the first place was working feverishly with my husband and me. I was determined that this grant proposal was going to arrive on time and in tact if I had to drive to the airport and personally book it on a FedX flight. I had not heard of doing that before, but I was desperate. My mind was swirling with frantic concoctions to ensure that our proposal was submitted on time.
My husband and I were busily making some order of the 45 page grant proposal document that required five copies with one original. We were not exactly sure what that meant so we simply made all of the copies alike. We decided that it would be safest for us to make each copy as complete as an original. That way the readers will not have to search for which one was the original.
We tried to make our proposal easy to read and preferable to receive an award. I had a table of contents with nice page numbers. I even included attractive tables and shaded headings to make each category stand out. Our friend, who used to work for the Department of Health and Human Services, helped us to develop our ideas for our first government grant proposal. She had given us many specifics to consider that I would not have included without her. I was so impressed with our proposal that I was already planning how to spend the money.
Finally after months of waiting, I had gotten the notice that we had been waiting to receive. But the contents did not read as I had expected. Everything else around me went fuzzy as I began reading, “Thank you for submitting your proposal. However”…blah blah blah and so forth.
I could hardly believe what I was reading. We had done all of that work for weeks only to get a “thanks, but no thanks” letter from the government. They must not have known how much work went into putting that entire document together. They could not possibly imagine how this whole ordeal sucked up weeks of our lives from our family and friends. Whoever signed the letter had to be totally oblivious to all of the research, office supplies, travel and postage that went into our efforts to submit a quality package.
Tears of disappointment formed in my eyes as I read and re-read the rejection letter. I even checked to see if the letter and envelope were really addressed to us. It could have been delivered to us by mistake. As I re-examined the entire document, I realized that there were comments from readers that actually explained why our proposal was rejected.
I later learned that the rejection letters would add to my foundation for learning how to develop a winning grant proposal. Many people are discouraged by the rejection letters. But once the injury to pride and disappointment melts, it is time to get down to business and scrutinize the comments and reasons given. Plan to turn that “No” into a “Yes” or at least a “Close, but Not Yet”
The Lesson here is to learn how to use rejection notices to make your proposals better. Remember that when you ask “why not”, to make sure that you understand the answers. You may be surprised to find that the donors actually want to give you the funds to help make the world a better place.
There had been three of us scrambling to complete our $450,000 document. Our newfound friend who convinced us to apply for the grant in the first place was working feverishly with my husband and me. I was determined that this grant proposal was going to arrive on time and in tact if I had to drive to the airport and personally book it on a FedX flight. I had not heard of doing that before, but I was desperate. My mind was swirling with frantic concoctions to ensure that our proposal was submitted on time.
My husband and I were busily making some order of the 45 page grant proposal document that required five copies with one original. We were not exactly sure what that meant so we simply made all of the copies alike. We decided that it would be safest for us to make each copy as complete as an original. That way the readers will not have to search for which one was the original.
We tried to make our proposal easy to read and preferable to receive an award. I had a table of contents with nice page numbers. I even included attractive tables and shaded headings to make each category stand out. Our friend, who used to work for the Department of Health and Human Services, helped us to develop our ideas for our first government grant proposal. She had given us many specifics to consider that I would not have included without her. I was so impressed with our proposal that I was already planning how to spend the money.
Finally after months of waiting, I had gotten the notice that we had been waiting to receive. But the contents did not read as I had expected. Everything else around me went fuzzy as I began reading, “Thank you for submitting your proposal. However”…blah blah blah and so forth.
I could hardly believe what I was reading. We had done all of that work for weeks only to get a “thanks, but no thanks” letter from the government. They must not have known how much work went into putting that entire document together. They could not possibly imagine how this whole ordeal sucked up weeks of our lives from our family and friends. Whoever signed the letter had to be totally oblivious to all of the research, office supplies, travel and postage that went into our efforts to submit a quality package.
Tears of disappointment formed in my eyes as I read and re-read the rejection letter. I even checked to see if the letter and envelope were really addressed to us. It could have been delivered to us by mistake. As I re-examined the entire document, I realized that there were comments from readers that actually explained why our proposal was rejected.
I later learned that the rejection letters would add to my foundation for learning how to develop a winning grant proposal. Many people are discouraged by the rejection letters. But once the injury to pride and disappointment melts, it is time to get down to business and scrutinize the comments and reasons given. Plan to turn that “No” into a “Yes” or at least a “Close, but Not Yet”
The Lesson here is to learn how to use rejection notices to make your proposals better. Remember that when you ask “why not”, to make sure that you understand the answers. You may be surprised to find that the donors actually want to give you the funds to help make the world a better place.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Problem Statements and Needs Statements in Grant Proposals
A Problem Statement is not the same as a Needs Statement. A Problem Statement clearly identifies the social, financial, economic, physical, community institutional problems that are in critical need of a solution. A problem is something that causes pain and suffering for others. A problem statement expresses what is wrong and how others are suffering because of what is wrong.
On the other hand, a need occurs due to the lack of resources and solutions that are required in order to solve a problem. A Needs Statement expresses what resources are essential for correcting the wrong that has been causing pain and suffering. For example: If substance abuse is the problem that is causing pain and suffering. The social isolation caused by substance abuse may produce a need for developing skills in socialization.
Therefore the problem statement answers the question, “What issue or situation is causing pain and suffering for others?” While the Needs Statement answers the question, “What action and resources are required in order to help those who suffer from the problem?”
On the other hand, a need occurs due to the lack of resources and solutions that are required in order to solve a problem. A Needs Statement expresses what resources are essential for correcting the wrong that has been causing pain and suffering. For example: If substance abuse is the problem that is causing pain and suffering. The social isolation caused by substance abuse may produce a need for developing skills in socialization.
Therefore the problem statement answers the question, “What issue or situation is causing pain and suffering for others?” While the Needs Statement answers the question, “What action and resources are required in order to help those who suffer from the problem?”
Friday, November 21, 2008
Grants for Individuals
I received a call from someone looking for a grant to help pay bills. Before we were finished talking, she wanted a grant to start a business. She also mentioned that she would like money for school. The fact is that there are funds available for all of those, but most people (that I speak with) are not willing to take the time to prepare the proposal needed to compete for those funds.
Donor dollars are not endless wells of flowing funds. And whoever distributes those dollars has to account for how the money is spent. The first thing that I advise people to do is to focus on one need at a time. If you appear to be scattered all over the place, you are generally indicating how unaccountable you will be as a grant recipient.
This is one of the reasons that I do not write grant proposals for people that I do not know. Every person or organization that abuses grant dollars encourages even stiffer regulations in order to prevent this abuse from happening again. These increasing prevention ordinances make it so much more difficult for those who truly have the passion to help, but lack the adequate knowledge base and skills to submit competitive proposals.
I suggest that individuals who are interested in social and human services formally establish themselves as social entrepreneurs. Then they can position themselves in partnerships with organizations that get funded. Some of my clients have found that it is easier and often more lucrative to pursue partnerships or collaborative projects than to simply go after direct grant awards. This is also true for faith based organizations and startups that are seeking to get in the door of granting opportunities.
However, remember that you should be ready with a complete grant proposal that clearly explains what you have to offer. There may be an organization that is submitting a proposal who needs your service, but will not include you because it would take too much work to document your role and what you bring to the table.
Donor dollars are not endless wells of flowing funds. And whoever distributes those dollars has to account for how the money is spent. The first thing that I advise people to do is to focus on one need at a time. If you appear to be scattered all over the place, you are generally indicating how unaccountable you will be as a grant recipient.
This is one of the reasons that I do not write grant proposals for people that I do not know. Every person or organization that abuses grant dollars encourages even stiffer regulations in order to prevent this abuse from happening again. These increasing prevention ordinances make it so much more difficult for those who truly have the passion to help, but lack the adequate knowledge base and skills to submit competitive proposals.
I suggest that individuals who are interested in social and human services formally establish themselves as social entrepreneurs. Then they can position themselves in partnerships with organizations that get funded. Some of my clients have found that it is easier and often more lucrative to pursue partnerships or collaborative projects than to simply go after direct grant awards. This is also true for faith based organizations and startups that are seeking to get in the door of granting opportunities.
However, remember that you should be ready with a complete grant proposal that clearly explains what you have to offer. There may be an organization that is submitting a proposal who needs your service, but will not include you because it would take too much work to document your role and what you bring to the table.
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