Grant Writing

Kim Gregory

kagregor@greenville.k12.sc.us

2nd Grade Teacher

Monarch Elementary School

Greenville County Public Schools

Workshop Session III 1-2pmWriting Winning Grants and Awards

Moderator: SCPTA Board MemberFacilitator: Kimberly Gregory, Monarch ElementaryDescription: Parents, teachers, and administrators will learn the best websites for educational-related grants, how to research whether your need is fundable, how to write the grant, and how to report the effectiveness of the grant. Ms. Gregory has a tremendous track record of finding and securing grant-funding for her classroom projects. She will share her insights as to how to be an effective grant researcher and grant writer whether you are at a Title 1 school or not.

About Me2nd Grade Teacher at a public school in Greenville County.

This school IS NOT a Title 1 School and on the opposite end of the spectrum.

Wife and Mother of 4 young children

Love making school so much fun that children do not realize they are learning.

Have limited money to spend on my classroom/school

Love to win prizes and receive freebies

Enjoy researching on the computer

Which makes me the perfect grant seeker!

My Grant Story

2009-2012

It all began with the PTA!

Yes- My first experience at grant writing was through my school’s PTA mini-grant application.

Each year, teachers could submit a mini-grant application to receive a set amount of money (typically around $100) to purchase materials for their classroom.

If you have the availability in your funds, please consider doing this for your teachers. This allows teachers to get their feet wet with grant writing, as well as provides the children with extra resources.

2010-2011$1,000 total

2010-11 Target Field Trip Grant ($800)-Battle of Aiken in Aiken, SC

2010-11 Pets in the Classroom Grant ($200)

2011-2012$850 total

2011-12 Target Field Trip Grant ($800)-Cherokee, NC

2011-12 Pets in the Classroom Grant Renewal ($50)

2012 -2013 $4,000 total

2012-13 Target Reading Grant ($2,000) - Family Reading Night "The Magic of Nutrition"

2012-13 Target Arts/Culture Grant ($2,000) - 3 in school culture assemblies

So, if you are wondering where my Target Field Trip Grant is- my best friend and co-worker in the 5th grade won it this year. Game on!

2013-2014$9,600 + 1 mini-ipad for the classroom2013-14 Target Field Trip Grant ($700)- Children’s Mus.2013-14 Wal-Mart Foundation ($700) - Reading Activities2013-14 Target Reading Grant ($2,000) - Book Bingo Family Reading Night2013-14 Target Arts/Culture Grant ($2,000) - 3 in school culture assemblies2013-14 Office Depot Grant ($800) - Student Council Service Project for the Greenville Children's Hospital

2013-14 Spartanburg Regional Foundation Grant ($3,400) - School wide pedometers and year long morning exercise program.

So, Where Do I find Grants?

That’s the easy part!

And then join grant email lists

Now let’s discuss the “Pieces and Parts” of grants

• Every grant has 2 major parts:

• A narrative: where you tell your story

• A budget: where you detail the purchases made with the funds

The Narrative of a Grant

• Project Summary

• Need Statement or Justification

• Goal/Objectives

• Evaluation

• Procedures and Activities

• Timeline

• Dissemination Plan

Project Summary

• Sometimes called Overview, Summary, Description

• Introduce a catchy title

• Give the who, what, when, where, how, why of the proposal

Tips for the 1st Section-“Paint a Picture”

• Avoid educational jargon

• Be specific and yet lively

• Start with a startling quote, statistic, or description of a situation

• Set the reader up for the next sections

• Bold-face the catchy title

Now Let’s Convince Them to Give You Money

• Justify Your Need

• With a mini case study

• With hard numbers

• With quotes from research

• With expert support

• With testimonials

Be careful with need....

• Don’t beg or whine

• Don’t say that children “have the right to”

• Do say “children will be able to”

• Don’t sound pitiful

• Do sound like you have a plan

Goals and Objectives-

We are in the business of student achievement. How is student learning impacted?

• Select goal and objective statements from “validated sources”, such as state or national standards

• Keep them brief and measurable

Exacting Evaluation Criteria

• Match ‘em 1 to 1 with objectives

• Set criteria

• Include assessment tools allowed

• Feel free to make up your own evaluation tools

Procedures and Activities

• Use bullets instead of text

• Insert a “Timeline” for implementing the grant

• BOLD-FACE Items from the budget and how they are used

• Emphasize action and skills acquisition

• With procedures: outline what the teacher/PTA does

• With activities: outline what the students do

Dissemination Plan

• How will you share your ideas with other teachers or parents?

• How will you give credit to your funding source?

How will your grant recognize your grant donor?

Now for the Specifics

• Be direct

• Be specific

• Be meaningful

Start With Smaller Grants

• Many “Big Grants” require a history of smaller grants

• Start with mini grants from a Community Foundation

501-c-3?

•

IRS Status for your organization or institution

EIN Number Required for Most Grants

Non-Profit

Tax Exempt

Grants have a Protocol

• Always inform administrators of your intent to pursue a grant

• With larger grants, school board permission is needed

How do I access Federal Grants?

• The best place: The Web

• www.ed.gov

• Click on : Grants and Contracts

• Be sure to print out and keep the document: What should I know about Ed Grants

Target Grants

https://corporate.target.com/corporate-responsibility/grants/field-trip-grants

• Field trip grants

• Early Childhood Reading Grants

• Target Foundation Grants

• Arts, Culture & Design in Schools Grants

Give With Target

• What is Give With Target and how can my school get involved?

• During the back-to-school season, Give With Target allows guests to help allocate up to a $5 million donation to schools across the U.S. to help them get more of the things they need. Beginning Aug. 14, 2013, guests can visit Target’s Facebook page to access an app and vote for a school of their choice once a week. Once a school has received 25 votes, Target will donate $1 per vote, with a maximum donation of $10,000 per school. The campaign runs through Sept. 21, 2013 or until up to $5 million has been allocated.

How about making a banner and have a volunteer walk the line during car line for these few weeks? It is worth $10K!

Pets in the Classroom

http://www.petsintheclassroom.org/

Foundations, Foundations, Foundations

• Walmart Foundation

• Office Depot Foundation

• SAMS Club Foundation

• Dollar General Literacy Foundation

http://www2.dollargeneral.com/dgliteracy/Pages/family_literacy.aspx

You can search just about any organization and add the word “foundation” to the end to find numerous grants.

The School Funding Center (SFC)

• http://www.schoolfundingcenter.info/federal-grants-by-state.aspx?

Donors Choosehttp://www.donorschoose.org/donors/search.html?matchingId=-1

Other Grants

Youth Service America – service/leadership related grants (all ages of students-particularly teens. http://www.ysa.org/

Grants for Teachershttp://www.grants4teachers.com/

Public Education Partners – Greenville Co. Granthttp://publicedpartnersgc.org/

Dollar General Youth Literacy GrantsDeadline: May 22Youth Literacy Grants provide funding to schools, public libraries, and nonprofit organizations to help students who are below grade level or experiencing difficulty reading. Grant funding is provided to assist in the following areas: implementing new or expanding existing literacy programs; purchasing new technology or equipment to support literacy initiatives; and purchasing books, materials or software for literacy programs. Maximum grant award is $4,000. http://bit.ly/1i0oLDc

Other GrantsH&R Block Grants - Teachers of grades 4-12 are eligible to compete for grants ranging from $1,000 to $3,000 in the “How Big is a Billion?” contest. Applicants must create a math assignment that effectively illustrates the concept of $1 billion. To access the application, “like” the H&R Block Dollars & Sense Facebook page. For more information, click HERE. Deadline: April 14, 2014.

Saucony Run for Good Foundation - The Saucony Run for Good Foundation provides grants of up to $10,000 to prevent and reduce childhood obesity through running and healthy lifestyle programs. Application criteria and the application are available by clicking HERE. Deadline: June 13, 2014.

Other Grants

Captain Planet Foundation - Grants of up to $2,500 are available to support projects that motivate children through science, technology, engineering, and math. Projects should use innovation, nature-based design to technology to address environmental problems in the community. Priority given to schools that have matching funds or in-kind contributions secured. Click HERE to review criteria for submission. Deadline: May 31, 2014.

Get Creative

Fun idea- How about asking Dell to donate x number of computers to the school. Wrap all of the computers in gift wrap, call the local media and let the children open the computers (without knowing what is inside). This is a powerful marketing/publicity tool for the donor and benefits the children. Win-Win!

You could do the same with a shoe store (running club), fitness equipment, ipads, even school supplies for those in need.

You can do this!!!!!

If you want to walk on water,

you have to get out of the boat.