Oh the things I get from professors doors…
Life In Practice
Daily accounts of a Summer Research-Action Project. An Attempt at soliciting advice, encouragement, and criticism. Click the number at the bottom of the posts to see them in full. Look at the FEEDBACK tab and CLICK!!!
“ In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
— Jan L.A. van de Snepscheut
“what kind of resistance is effective and acceptable to us?”
Arundhati Roy, writer, sexy beast
jeepneys on vegetable oil or Jatropha or water really… oh the days i wish i had political clout…
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Lessons learned on grant writing: Part 1 of a series called GET THAT MONEY
* not in order of importance: tips tricks and thoughts of a former slave intern and continual grant writer
1. Basics: Tell a story: think of your audience: make a strong case and remember to market it. Talk about your resources, financing, experience, reasoning, AND do it in a format that is easy to read, professional, and engaging.
2. Background check: look at their history of giving - just because they tell you they’re giving you money doesn’t mean they’ll follow through
3. Don’t make promises you don’t intend on keeping. Build your evaluation and monitoring system into your project in a way that helps YOU and not just serves to please your donors. If you have to write a grant proposal, the point is to have it serve you organization, not burden it.
4. Research: Align yourself with the right donor missions: (not to be mistaken with sacrificing your mission for theirs <-something you should never do) It’s all about reframing and using the right language. Look at what the grant is out there to do, and tell the story in a way that directly connects with the mission of the grant.
Try this out: what does a medical service have to do with providing a community with a safe living environment?
4.a Remember that donors are looking for something to gain as well: play to those needs: there is no such thing as free money
5. NEVER build a project to be grant dependent. 10 years ago the rule was to make only 20% of total costs satisfied by grants… in today’s market… we should be decreasing that percentage significantly
6.Tap all resources, and make resources out of what you have. Don’t be ashamed of the cold call or the random e-mail BUT remember, your friends can become your greatest assets, welcome their advice, and ask for people they can connect you to. You’re more likely to get a grant, if there is some personal/professional connection already established.
7. Before you even begin your research, stop and think: Look at the grand scheme of your project and its relationship with the donor. Will you be helping a company’s PR efforts in looking “green” even though their practices may not be? If you get this grant, how many other groups with similar missions are missing out on this assistance, and how does that contribute to the overall goal? (if money is project based) How much of that money will REALLY go to your operating costs / your salary? and can you convince yourself that that is where it should really be going?
(part 2 coming soon)
Music: The War, Denizen Kane, Brother Mins Journey to the West
