Grant Writing for Teachers and Educational Support Personnel (Online)

Lesson 1: Introduction to Grants

Develop an understanding of the grant writing process. Explore different types of grants and their sources, and analyze several Requests for Proposal (RFP) to gain familiarity with the type of information required by companies and organizations that provide grants.

Lesson 2: Find a Grant

Research companies and organizations that provide educational grants. A key component of this lesson is accurately aligning your needs with an appropriate grant fund. By taking a close look at past grants awarded and carefully reading the RFP, you will be able to determine if the purpose of the grant matches your need. This is critical and will improve your chances for the award. After researching available grants, you will select one and obtain the RFP.

Lesson 3: Developing a Winning Proposal

Explore best practices and tips for developing a well-written proposal. Learn what makes a great proposal and what makes a not-so-great proposal. Look at proposal outlines and templates to get started, then take a close look at your RFP and develop an outline for your proposal.

Lesson 4: Write the Needs Statement

Craft an explanation of your situation and why you need a grant. The key is to create a message that will convince the reviewer that you have a viable need and how the grant will benefit your students and school. Study examples of needs statements to gain an understanding of how to grab your reviewer’s attention

Lesson 5: Write the Goals, Objectives and Evaluation Plan

Your goals and objectives indicate the specific outcomes expected from the grant project and drive all other components of the proposal. Study examples of well-written goals and objectives, then write the goals and objectives for your grant project. Develop criteria for each objective that will measure how well the objective was met, and decide what methods of measurement will be used

Lesson 6: Write the Implementation Plan

The implementation plan describes what will be done to meet the goals and objectives of the project. Describe how your project will be implemented. What activities, lessons and methods will be employed to meet the project objectives? When will these activities occur, and who will participate? Who will be responsible for managing the project? This is the meat of the proposal, and it demonstrates that you have a solid plan for meeting your goals.

Lesson 7: Develop the Budget

The budget outlines exactly how the grant money will be used. Analyze examples to see what types of expenditures are normally incurred in school projects. Then develop your own budget that includes accurate cost estimates for every expected expenditure. This may be the most tedious part of the process for your team, but it is a vital component of the proposal.

Lesson 8: Review and Submit

A final review is necessary to make sure you have followed the guidelines in the RFP and have included all required elements. It’s also a chance to check for grammatical errors and make suggested revisions. It is recommended that someone outside of the grant proposal process conduct the review for objectivity. Explore tips and techniques to enhance your proposal, conduct a final review, revise and edit your proposal, and produce a final copy for submission.