A Workshop for Local Government Grant Writers Part 1 – Identifying Funding Sources Presented by Lisa A. Foster LIS 560 – Prof. Lorraine Bruce February 26, 2012

 Decreasing local revenues  Local agencies are cutting programs and laying off employees  Grant funds are used to maintain and staff a variety of programs, including police and fire services, libraries, environmental projects and community development

 In FY 2010, federal departments and agencies alone made nearly $490 billion available through the competitive grant process. (See for more information). McDonald, Dustin. “Effective Advocacy: What City Officials Need to Know About Pursuing Federal Grant Funding.” Western City (November 2010) n.pag. Web. Jan 2012.

City and county employees who write grant proposals are the heroes that match local needs with available funds. This workshop is designed for local employees who are beginning grant writers. They are:  Mid-level managers who often have other job duties such as budget work, contract administration and managing employees, especially in smaller agencies.  Well educated, with a college degree, or combination of higher education and experience.  Team players. Grant writing is time consuming – an average government grant proposal requires 80 to 160 hours to prepare. Grant writers often work in teams to prepare proposals. (Landau, Herbert. “Winning Grants: A Game Plan.” American Libraries Magazine. (Sept. 2010) Web. Jan 2012.

 General Grant Writing  How to Identify Funding  Determining Eligibility and “Mission Match”  Using Consultants  Describing the Project  Supporting Data/Statistics  Preparing a Budget  Agency Approval Process  Team Collaboration Tools  Writing and Proofreading Resources  How to Get References/ Community Support

Part 1 in a series of 3 workshops called “Show Me the Money.” Part 1 is about finding grant opportunities and consists of 5 parts: 1. Intro: “Alyssa’s Story” 2. Using Networking and Personal Contacts 3. Using the Internet 4. Using Consultants and Notification Services 5. Evaluation/Conclusion In each of parts 2-4, a lecture/slideshow presentation will be followed by a hands-on computer exercise and/or small group discussion.

Grant Funding Resources Web Sites – Foundations   Foundation Center   Fundsnet Services   GuideStar   Foundations on Line  Web Sites – Government   Grants.gov (Clearinghouse covering all 26 Federal agencies that provide grants)   GovSpot   Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance or   Federal Register   Dept. of Transportation  Dept. of Housing and Urban Development  Environmental Protection Agency  Dept. of Education  Federal Emergency Management Agency  National Institutes of Health  National Science Foundation  Subscription Services   Education Grants Alert  Capitol Publishing Group, P.O. Box 1453, Alexandria, VA ($329 per year)

Books   Getting a Grant, by Barbara Loos   The Only Grant Writing Book You’ll Ever Need, by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox   Grant Writing for Dummies by B.A. Browning  Classes, Guides and Tutorials   Foundation Center (free webinars and classes on grant writing, including “A Proposal Writing Short Course”   Grant Wrangler (grant writing tips and workshops)   Grant Writing Tools for Non-Profit Organizations (web based guides for novice grant writers with sample proposals)   The Grantsmanship Center   Grants and Grant Proposal Writing (St. Louis University)   Proposal Writing (Univ. of Wisconsin)   What Reviewers Look For (College of William and Mary)   Writing a Successful Grant Proposal (Minn. Council on Foundations)  Professional Organizations   The Association of Fundraising Professionals   National Network of Grantwriters

Grant Writers are Heroes! Questions or Comments? Please feel free to contact me at Lisa Foster