Developing a Fundable Grant Proposal

Many organizations are limited in what they can accomplish by the available resources. Administrators often are willing to expand programs, and researchers are often interested in expanding their research efforts, but are frustrated by the limited funds available. One way young professionals can enhance their marketability is through grant-writing skills. Like many skills, grant-writing is improved with practice. Before beginning, an understanding of the process and procedures associated with grant-writing can improve your ability to secure funding.

Part 1 - Getting Started and Keys to Success  

Grant writing is a process that requires planning and organization. Understanding the process can help the applicant be successful in securing funding. In particular, there are a few basic steps and concepts that are helpful to understand before selecting a funding source to which you will submit a proposal. This section provides a brief background on the grant process, the types of grants, motivation to provide funding, and a few points to improve your success rate. This section provides tips for the grants/contract process, describes different types of grants, lists common reasons why grants are given, and describes important areas of consideration before applying for funding. more>>

Part 2 - Identifying Funding Sources  

Grant funders can generally be categorized into one of four types of organizations. These include government agencies, foundations, professional organizations, and corporations. This section provides a brief description of each, along with examples of funding agencies. more>>

Conclusion

Though this is a brief introduction to grantsmanship, clearly writing grants is a LOT of work (and we haven't even discussed the work involved in grant administration here!) So, why do people do it? They do it to: achieve goals, enhance their skill set and marketability, and to develop collaborations that can extend to other projects, to name a few reasons. With a team committed to the same goals, agreeing upon responsibilities and a timeline – grant writing can be worth well more than the time spent!

Application Activity

• Identify a topic or project of interest for which you would like to receive funding.
• Identify one or more funding agencies that match your interests; download and carefully read their call for proposals.
• Make a list of steps you need to take and a timeline for completing them by the deadline.
• Seek assistance from appropriate sources (grants and contracts office for budget assistance, experienced grant writer for aims and methodology, for example). As applicable, consider inviting those individuals to be part of your grant team.
• Begin! And remember...successful grant writers have huge stacks of unfunded proposals sitting on their desks. Do not be discouraged by rejections. Use that information to better your next application!

Acknowledgement

Many thanks are extended to Jeffrey K. Clark, Ball State University, who authored this tutorial.

References

CDC (2005). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Budget Request and Summary Fiscal Year 2006. Financial Management Office.

Kiritz, N. J. (1980). Program planning and proposal writing (expanded version). The Grantmanship Center.

National Institutes of Health (2007) NIH budget. Retrieved December 12, 2007.

Reif-Leher, L. (2005). Grant Application writer's handbook 4th edition. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

U. S. Department of Education. (2007). Promoting educational excellence for all people. Overview. Retrieved December 12, 2007.