Get Grants!

Lesson 1
Each year, nonprofit organizations receive billions of dollars from grant-making entities. How can your organization ensure that some of this money comes into your coffers? The goal of Get Grants is just that, and this lesson will you get started. The first step in getting grants is guaranteeing that you have a fundable project. What's that? You'll find out in this lesson. We'll also talk about how to take an idea and develop it into a proposal.

Lesson 2
This lesson will provide you with the anatomy of a grant proposal. You'll learn the eight parts of a typical grant and in what order you should develop them. And then, because time is always of the essence, we'll examine how you create a workable timeline so you never frantically work on a proposal only to discover that you missed the deadline. And finally, we'll go into detail on the first part of the proposal?the introduction or, what we might call your section on bragging rights.

Lesson 3
Today, we'll get to the heart of the proposal, or the why. The problem statement or needs assessment is where you'll be convincing the funding source why you need their support. But ah, there's a hitch: Funders don't particularly care about things you lack or things that would make you happy?they care about funding projects that address issues or resolve unmet needs that mesh nicely with their priorities. It's a tall order, but after this lesson, you'll have a very good handle on how to detect a real need and then write a concise, clear, and well-documented need statement that makes funding agencies take note.

Lesson 4
Perhaps the most confusing part of a proposal is figuring out the difference between goals and objectives. But never fear, in this lesson we'll examine the difference so that it becomes crystal clear. We'll see how these goals and objectives flow from the need statement and then flow into developing the specific measurable outcomes grant makers require. By the end of our discussion, you'll never commit the commonly made mistake of confusing activities with objectives or objectives with goals.

Lesson 5
Accountability. It's a word that's been cropping up more and more, especially from grantors who want to ensure that their support is being used in a meaningful way. Evaluation is another word that you hear a lot in the grant-writing world. It's the way you show the grant makers that yes, the outcomes of your project are what they want to support. Today you'll learn about evaluation types and the purposes of each of them. More to the point, by the end of the lesson you'll be able to design evaluations that clearly demonstrate how your outcomes support your goals and the goals of the funding source.

Lesson 6
In this lesson, you'll learn how you're going to reach your grant destination. We'll talk about methods and activities. What are those? Simply stated, they're things that you'll be doing from the moment you receive your funding in order to reach your goal. Planning these steps can be a daunting task, but you'll see how to create a detailed roadmap so that you never get lost. You'll also understand how to match your activities to the objectives we developed in Lesson 4. By the end of this lesson, you'll be over the hump and on your way to getting grants.

Lesson 7
Numbers, numbers, numbers. If you're a numbers person, this lesson about the budget will be right up your alley. If you're not, this lesson will do the seemingly impossible?demystify the budget process. We'll go through each of the budget categories and explore and define the more confusing budgetary terms. Best of all, you'll get good models for both budget form and budget narrative. These will be of immeasurable help?especially when you work on a major federal grant.

Lesson 8
Grant writers frequently overlook two parts of the proposal. But after today, you'll never make this common mistake. Dissemination and future funding, while not always required by the funding agency, are vital pieces in convincing funders that their investment in your project will be maximized. You'll find out today what these two parts are and how you can best present them in your proposal.

Lesson 9
Although we're not yet finished with the class, we're at the point of the proposal process where we sum it all up. In this lesson, we'll look at the summary and how to go about giving this piece its due. We'll also talk about query letters and pre-proposals, discussing what they are, when you use them, and how to make them effective. And, while we're wrapping up the proposal, we'll also examine how to make successful first approaches to funding sources.

Lesson 10
Okay. You've written a great grant?now you need to send it out and get it funded. So today we'll talk about researching funding sources. By the end of this lesson you'll know who funds government programs and where to get the best information. You'll also know where to find out about private foundation and corporate funding. Finally, you'll come to understand the sometimes arcane language of guidelines and how best to extract the details you need.

Lesson 11
Image counts. At least that's the lesson we all get from Hollywood. So, as a grant seeker, what's the image you want to present to your funding sources? That's what we'll explore today. The tips you'll get?including ways to assemble and package your grant?will help you present your proposal in the very best light. We'll review what supporting data you'll need and talk about what you have to do after you've submitted your grant.

Lesson 12
We've talked about image. Now we'll look at how to make your proposal a star. In this lesson, we'll cover writing style?what works and what doesn't. You'll find out the seven deadly sins of grant writing and how to avoid them. And, though it may seem an odd time to do this, we'll talk about how to decide if your organization is grant ready. Finally, we'll discuss ethical grantsmanship and why it's the only kind of grantsmanship you'll want to practice. By the end of this lesson?the end of this course?you'll be well-equipped to get out there and get grants!