Writing A Grant—From Start To Finish Workshop 5: Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Educational Resource Development LCC Foundation November 10, 2015

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Last week we discussed: Documenting grant proposal work Running effective meetings Working with collaborative partners Evaluating your grant preparation process

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! This week we’ll discuss: Preparing to submit a grant application package: Prepare a proposal for submission Plan to implement the project if funded After you’ve submitted an application package: Follow up with potential funders Discuss LCC and LCC Foundation process when a grant is funded Prepare grant reports Build and maintain relationships with funders

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Personal Refection What were you able to work on last week (research, writing, collaborating, etc.)? What did you learn? If you were to continue working on this, what next steps would you take?

Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond! Preparing to Submit the Application Check all application requirements carefully—sections, table of contents, sequence, space or page limits, headers/footers, page numbers: x Cover page x Abstract x Project Narrative x Budget x Budget Narrative x Letters of Support/Commitment x Organizational Chart x Resumes/Vitae x Other Requirements

Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond! Preparing the Cover Letter Cover letters are generally submitted with a foundation or corporate grant request. They provide a brief (1 page) synopsis of: ¶ 1. Applicant name, project name, which grant you’re applying for project name, project goal (sometimes $ amount requested) ¶ 2. Overview or project highlights ¶ 3. Project partners—internal and external—and their roles ¶ 4. Thanks for considering us; contact person.

Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond! Preparing the Abstract Abstracts are generally required in a federal grant request, included as a separate document in the package. They provide a brief (typically 1 page) summary of the project, generally in fairly academic language. In addition: They will require information that is specifically laid out in the RFP. They sometimes have format requirements. They sometimes they count towards the application page limit; sometimes not.

Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond! Online Submission Package Examples: Capital Region Community Foundation Application%20NEW.pdf Michigan Humanities Council Kellogg Foundation 0d f25-44ff-bbc0-024f3fb5aa09&LanguageID=0 grants.gov grants.html?agencies%3DDOL|Department%20of%20Labor LCC Heart of Student Success: O:\Exec-Public\Provost-Office-Public\Heart of Student Success Grant- Public\2015 Heart of Student Success

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Submitting the Application ERD Process Need LCC review and approval to submit ERD circulates entire package for review and approval at least a week before the due date ERD finalizes and submits the grant package LCC Foundation Process Dean knows but no institutional approval needed No commitment of college resources

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Follow Up With Potential Funders (1): Foundation and Corporate Funders Some funders post their grant decision timeline on their website. If you can't locate this information online, many funders will respond to an or call about an application's status. However, plan to wait at least three months after submitting an application to contact them. Many boards of directors don’t meet monthly or may not have time to review applications at a regular meeting. Beverly A. Browning, Grand Writing For Dummies, 5 th edition

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Follow Up With Potential Funders (2): Federal Agencies Agencies follow-up by acknowledging receipt of the proposal and confirming on-time submission. Government departments discourage, and sometimes prohibit, contact with staff during the review process. Even though applicants cannot communicate with federal staff during review, they can contact their legislators to keep them apprised of the application.

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! If Grant Is Awarded:

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! LCC Grant Award Process Complete paperwork—acceptance forms and contracts; federal/state grants need to go through an approval process Touch base with Center for Data Science if they will be involved in the project Hold award start-up meeting Hold periodic grant expenditure review meetings LCC Foundation Grant Award Process: Complete any required paperwork Coordinate ongoing information exchange and funder

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! If Grant Isn’t Awarded:

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! If Grant Isn’t Awarded: Thank the funder for considering your proposal Ask for feedback on why project wasn’t funded Use as an opportunity to build a stronger connection with the funder Never become argumentative! Send federal program officer a thank you Contact your legislator, if appropriate

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! The Challenges of Moving Forward: Need to hire new staff for the project Need to replace project staff who leave Project partner withdraws Unforeseen organizational problems Delay starting project Project isn’t working as anticipated

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! When a Good Grant Goes Wrong It happens – Call the funder sooner rather than later about any major deviations from the project Seek funder approval if you need to change any aspect of how you spend the grant funds Don’t wait until the end of the project to reveal a problem – in a worst case scenario, you may have to repay all or part of the funds

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! What Happens If You Don’t Spend All the $$? Some funders will extend the funding period Sometimes you will lose unspent funds and weaken your relationship with the funder Regular grant finance meetings can help avoid this scenario

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Preparing Grant Reports Track project implementation and outcomes In some grants, tracking and reporting continue after the grant funds end Know who will be preparing and submitting reports Follow funder’s requirements, formats, and deadlines Work with Grant Finance and Center for Data Science as needed Send ERD a copy of your reports

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Dr. Samuel Johnson, to an aspiring writer: Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good. Using the skills you’ve learned in these grant workshops can help your grant writing be both good and original—and secure funds for your important work!

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Time to work on your own grant project idea!

Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond! Contact ERD and the LCC Foundation: ERD Jeanne Donado, Grant Development Coordinator ext Vivian Keeney, Grant System Coordinator ext LCC Foundation Dan McKean, Executive Director, ext Peggy Hellwig, Scholarship and Operations Coordinator, ext. 1989