Grant Writing: Foundations and Charities -An Introduction Peter L. Kraus, M.Sc. (LIS) J. Willard Marriott Library University of Utah 4 th Annual Technology & Teaching Day, January 4, 2014

Sources Cited: Writing Your First Grant – Yale University Foundation Center (NY, NY), foundationcenter.org How to Write a Winning Abstract for Grant Applications – Yale University

Types of Grants Government (Federal & State) Private Foundations Industry Internal (e.g., Univ. Teaching Grants)

Foundations – What Are They? A foundation is a type of philanthropic organization set up by individuals, companies, or institutions as a legal entity (a corporation or trust) with the purpose of distributing funds in the form of grants to support causes in line with the goals of the foundation.

What We Will Cover Today  Getting started – politics & communication  Writing the proposal  Submitting your proposal  Researching funders

Why Write Grants To get money to support the research you want to do To support your career development Current reality: institutional funds to support research and researchers at most Universities are very, very limited If you’re going to become a PI, you will need to write successful grants This is not easy (especially right now)

The Current Economy It’s all about the dividend Foundations were giving based on 2007/08 earnings, which were weak. Although 2013/2014 earnings have improved, dividends are still not up to full strength Fewer resources, more demand

Grant Politics  University of Utah regulations, Office of Sponsored Projects, Office of Development and IRB  My Dean, my Assistant Dean, my Chair, Library Development Officer  Written and unwritten rules

Money Can we talk about?  What we earn  Debt  Outside income Money - the Ultimate Taboo?

Important Steps Before Starting Your Project  What do you want to accomplish?  Why is it important?  Who will benefit?

Things to Keep in Mind If this project is successful, why will the world be a better place? How does this project relate to the interests of the foundation? Use these to target the proposal to the appropriate funding agency and to sell the grant to the reviewers and program people

Submitting Your Proposal  Initial contact – communication is the key  Beginning of a partnership  Telephone contact

Key Words – Telephone Conversation Why are you writing this grant? What is the purpose of this grant? How will this grant meet your needs?

A Few Words on Readers You want people who are honest and critical You want both scientific comments and editorial comments Pick people who will take the time to read thoroughly and thoughtfully Yes, it is an imposition to ask a senior colleague to read your grant  Ask anyhow  It’s part of their job  Give them enough time With your peers: trade favors

Writing Style The Three C’s – Concise, Clear and Complete Remember the reader Begin with main point Be concise Be unemotional Use clear, specific language Write in a friendly professional style

Writing Style Use the active voice whenever possible Move from known information to new information – don’t bore the reader Avoid complicated sentences Use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation Fonts

Layman Abstracts Written for private foundation and corporations Should be widely understandable Contain longer background sections and significance sections

Sloppiness Is Absolutely Fatal to Grants “hear at Princeton….” “your vs. you’re” “I’m sorry I kissed you at our last faculty meeting”

Picking a Title for Your Project Sounds trivial…but isn’t Length may be quite limited Be informative:  Titles may be used to assign grants to review committees and to individual reviewers  Titles may be sent to reviewers to allow them to select grants they want to review Should be intelligible to non-specialists Don’t use jargon Don’t get cute

Specific Aims Short paragraph describing overarching goal of project Brief list of specific things you plan to accomplish  aims  May have sub-aims Length 1/2 to 1 page Broad overview of goals, hypotheses to be tested and approaches to be used, in telegraphic form

Executive Summary State your problem and solution  What is your problem?  How will you solve it?  Why does the problem exist?  Who is impacted by it? Identify your funding requirements Promote the University, your Department, and your expertise

Statement of Need  The question (problem) and issues the project addresses  Supporting facts and statistics

Project Description  Goals  Broad, general statement of what your project will accomplish  How will you solve the problem?  Why is this plan of action appropriate?  Objectives  Measurable outcomes in a specified period of time  Measurable timelines

Project Description (cont.)  Staffing and administration  Methods  What methods will you use to implement this plan?  What justifies the use of these methods?  Evaluation  Measure the outcome or product  Analyze the process

Project Description (cont.) Benefits  Who will benefit from this proposed solution?  How will they benefit?

Information About You and the Institution  Your CV  Who is qualified to execute this grant?  Why?  Your Department  The University

Supporting Materials  Letters of support  Financial documents

Budget  Expenses  Personnel  Non-personnel  Overhead  Income (fees)  Budget narrative  Notes to budget for unusual items

Budget Format and required information vary dramatically Some want budget details, some want none Give them what they want Use the forms or follow the format given in the instructions Check foundation guidelines: what costs are allowable and what are not?  You won’t get money for unallowable items  Watch how indirect costs (facilities and administrative costs) are handled

The Answer Is YES !!  Write a thank you letter  Keep the foundation/government agency informed  Submit reports as required  The renewal request

Your Proposal Is Refused  Don’t take it personally. All grant writers deal with rejection at some point  Find out why. If possible, get feedback from reviewers.  Inquire about the prospect for future funding  Don’t give up on your idea

More Thoughts on Rejection Do not make emotional arguments Make it clear you understand the mistakes and that you have addressed them Indicate how you have fixed the problems in the grant Never argue about the prior review Make it clear why this proposal is better than the last one.

Research Foundation Center   Tutorials  990 / 990 PF  Directories

Questions ??? Ask me –