Grant Writing by Valerie Mann
My article on Grant Central USA discusses grant and low-interest loan opportunities for businesses: http://bit.ly/12x7sE5 .
I have also contributed articles to Grant Central’s blog regarding law enforcement grants and fire protection grants. They can all be found at the link above, as well as an interview with me conducted by Rodney Walker of Grant Central USA.
There are many sources of funds for law enforcement agencies for such purposes as the hiring of new employees, overtime, and the purchase of equipment. A significant portion of the funding available to law enforcement agencies is passed from the federal government to the states for distribution to local police departments and sheriffs’ departments. In addition, many states appropriate funds from their own budget for this purpose. Generally, one agency plays the lead role in distributing the NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability), and accepting and reviewing applications.
In order to determine the agency which handles the funding for law enforcement in your state, go to the website for that state. Do a search for the state agency which handles law enforcement issues. In most cases, that is the agency which distributes the grant funds. In the state of Maryland, this agency is referred to as the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention. However, in New Hampshire, for example, the appropriate agency is referred to as the Department of Safety. In Nevada, the administering agency for law enforcement grants is the Department of Public Safety.
The single largest source of law enforcement funds is the U.S. Department of Justice. There are a number of programs administered by this agency which are channeled directly to local law enforcement agencies. A significant portion of the funds, however, are channeled to the states for distribution.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
This resource has both print and online versions which include 64 federal agencies, including all major cabinet level departments. The home page of the CFDA (www.cfda.gov) allows the grant seeker to download the 2009 print edition. It is not necessary to have an account on this site in order to search the catalog or view programs.
A basic search can be done by inputting a keyword or program number and/or the type of assistance (grant, loan, federal contract, training, federal employment, etc.). A list of program solicitations will appear. The searcher may then click on a particular grant opportunity and receive a very complete description of that program. However, no application forms are available, and the grant seeker is referred to the specific agencies for that information. The listing will contain all programs which make grants for certain types of projects (i.e., environmental, law enforcement, education, etc.) whether the opportunity is currently open to accept applications or not. Many federal programs accept applications once a year.
Advanced searches allow the grant seeker to input the following: full text, assistance type (grant, loan, etc.), applicant eligibility, use of the assistance, beneficiary eligibility (the types of persons which the program will ultimately benefit, such as job recipients in the case of an economic development program), functional codes (agriculture, natural resources, law enforcement etc.), deadline, date modified, date published, whether the opportunity is funded by ARRA money, subject terms and whether the opportunity is subject to the clearinghouse requirement.
Both the basic and advanced searches will produce the following information: authorization for the program, its objectives, the types of assistance available, applicant eligibility, application and award process, post-award reporting requirements, matching funds required, and timeline. A very handy user’s guide can also be downloaded. In addition, clicking on specific agencies will produce a list of programs administered by that agency. The user has the ability to click on a particular program and view it separately.
It could be deduced that searching on CFDA should yield more opportunities due to the fact that there are sixty-four agencies available on that site and only forty-two on Grants.gov. Of course, both sites contain listings for all of the major cabinet agencies. I would like to give a very interesting example of the widely varying results which can be obtained by searching both sites. I had a client who wished to open a school to train firefighters. While searching Grants.gov, I used the keyword “firefighter”, “firefighting”, and “firefighter training”. Much to my surprise, I only got one result, a program administered by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. On using the same terms in CFDA, I got over six hundred results.
There are many sources of funds for law enforcement agencies for such purposes as the hiring of new employees, overtime, and the purchase of equipment. A significant portion of the funding available to law enforcement agencies is passed from the federal government to the states for distribution to local police departments and sheriffs’ departments. In addition, many states appropriate funds from their own budget for this purpose. Generally, one agency plays the lead role in distributing the NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability), and accepting and reviewing applications.
In order to determine the agency which handles the funding for law enforcement in your state, go to the website for that state. Do a search for the state agency which handles law enforcement issues. In most cases, that is the agency which distributes the grant funds. In the state of Maryland, this agency is referred to as the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention. However, in New Hampshire, for example, the appropriate agency is referred to as the Department of Safety. In Nevada, the administering agency for law enforcement grants is the Department of Public Safety.
The single largest source of law enforcement funds is the U.S. Department of Justice. There are a number of programs administered by this agency which are channeled directly to local law enforcement agencies. A significant portion of the funds, however, are channeled to the states for distribution.
There are three separate categories of grants awarded by the U.S. Justice Department to localities. One of these is the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants. This funding was created by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. The theory behind this program is that crime can be reduced by having law enforcement interact with the community through special events and neighborhood- oriented patrols. This program also recognizes that such activities as Neighborhood Watch, Operation ID, and D.A.R.E. (Drug Awareness and Resistance Education) can also have a significant impact on reducing the crime rate.
In the grant field, critical thinking is absolutely necessary. The caveat here is to take nothing for granted. I would like to point out several areas where grant writers should think critically. These are just examples and it is incumbent upon the grant writer to use this type of big picture thinking in all aspects of their work. These examples are as follows:
There are many and various reasons for rejection of an application. Some of these are as follows:
Part of the problem is getting to the real root of the rejection. This can sometimes be difficult.
A debriefing is a discussion with the funding agency as to why the application was not funded. Many governmental agencies will be happy to discuss the reasons for rejection. However, I would urge the grant writer to listen to the debriefings with a bit of caution. Feedback is sometimes given by staff members who were not actually reviewers and were not charged with the responsibility of assigning points to the application. When this is the case, something can sometimes get lost in the translation.
Overall, however, it is an excellent idea to request a debriefing. This information can be invaluable in developing the proposal for a re-submittal or for a submittal to a different agency. This is especially true for beginning grant writers. As one gains more and more experience, it will be easy to see the weaknesses in your proposal even prior to submittal. I would definitely recommend that a proposal still be re-submitted even though there are minor flaws in it. Sometimes these can be worked out with the funding agency. Sometimes they are so insignificant as not to matter. It is important to take to heart the information received in a debriefing and attempt to remedy the problems identified.
The grantee should be prepared for many varying requirements in grant administration. I feel that it would be helpful to give a few examples showing the difference in the required paperwork for various granting agencies. All funding agencies will request documentation that the funds were spent appropriately and for the purposes specified in the grant application. This is the very least that one can expect in terms of documentation.
Probably the simplest grants to administer are those from private foundations. The application forms can be very simple, sometimes involving no more than two pages. Sometimes, no grant agreement is required. The grantee is still obligated to use the funds for the purpose for which they were intended. I am not aware of any foundation or government agencies which would simply send the money and not require some accountability.
Some foundations require several progress reports. It is also possible that special conditions may be attached to the grant in order to meet the specific preferences of the board members. These can vary widely. It may be that the foundation requires the grantee to only utilize American labor and products, or limits funding to certain geographic areas, or wishes to remain anonymous.
Most governmental entities will require the following once the grant is approved:
Most foundations require a letter of inquiry as the first contact. If the project seems to be within their guidelines and funding priorities, they will then invite the submission of a full proposal.
First of all, the grant writer should restrict the length of this letter to no more than two pages if the guidelines do not specify. In this letter, your only job is to convince the foundation that your project is a good fit with their fields of interest.
Prior to beginning the letter, a decision should be made on the amount to be requested. This will be dependent in large part on the resources of the foundation. Search material should discuss the total assets of the foundation, along with the average grant amount, the smallest grant, and the largest grant.
The first paragraph should clearly state the purpose of the project so that the reviewer will know exactly what will be done. This is also the place for the total project cost and the amount requested from the foundation. Lastly, a couple of sentences regarding how the project fits with the foundation’s funding priorities should be included. These basic facts are important to have in the very beginning, so that they will catch the reviewer’s eye and she will want to read on.
The next paragraph should go into detail regarding the need for the project and include as much statistical information as possible. This is also the place to make a strong appeal to the emotions of the reader. It is wise to give one or two specific examples of the distress suffered as a result of the need for the project. This is where the “human factor” comes in. The grant writer will be wise to combine hard data and emotion in this section.
Following this, a history of your organization should be given. This should include a description of similar projects which have been successfully undertaken. This is also the place to discuss your organization’s mission and its priorities. You want to convince the reader that your organization has the capacity to undertake the project, that your staff has the appropriate skill sets for the work, and that you will give it the priority it deserves so that it may be completed in a timely manner.
The next section of the inquiry letter should go into some detail regarding how the project will be implemented. It is important to detail each step in the process from beginning to end. By doing so, the reader may see the feasibility of the project and feel confident that your organization knows exactly what it takes to get the project completed on schedule and within the budget. Goals, objectives, and positive outcomes will also be discussed here.
Sustainability and evaluation should be discussed next. Having solid plans in place for both issues assures the foundation that your organization has thoroughly thought through the entire process. The foundation will want to know that resources have been identified to continue the project beyond the grant period and that a thorough evaluation will be performed in order to determine its effectiveness.
Close the letter by offering to meet with the foundation officials at their office, host a site visit, or discuss the project over the telephone. Emphasize your willingness to provide any additional information requested by the foundation.
My purpose in writing Getting Your Share of the Pie-The Complete Guide to Finding Grants was to disseminate a complete “how to” guide to the grant world. The reference component of the book gives the reader additional resources to consult as their grant writing career proceeds. This will ensure that the serious student is given the tools to keep up with the most current information in the field. I began with the very most basic element of receiving a grant-identifying the true need-and concluded with steps to be taken if the grant application is not approved. In the pages in between, I advised the reader on how to develop a fundable project, find the most promising grant sources, develop a strategy for which sources to approach, and write a successful proposal.
However, as in my own experience, time spent on the job is critically important. There are, as in any other profession, various nuances and subtleties which show themselves as one actually begins to work. No book can cover all of those situations. We all know how various judgment points are different at different parts of one’s career. The seasoned veteran will obviously think of the proper questions to ask and look behind the scenes to see what is not obvious, whereas a novice might tend to take the situation at face value.
One example of how experience is just as important as knowledge is my policy of looking for “deal breakers” in the very beginning of an assignment. I examine the project closely and consult the funding agency if there is any doubt as to project eligibility. This may sound like common sense, but the novice has a tendency to want to think that the project is fundable under a particular program regardless of any issues which may be a potential problem. He may not want to think that this potential source, which may have been very hard to find, may not be the right choice. I highly recommend that the grant writer minutely examine the program guidelines at least twice in order to ensure that the project is eligible for funding.
Another very obvious skill which the aspiring grant writer can only pick up with experience is making contacts within the various funding agencies. In my case, this has been carefully developed over the years. I am proud to say that the funding agencies I work with know me as an individual who lives up to her promises, meets deadlines without exception, and understands the restrictions under which that agency is working. I would advise the novice grant writer to deal with funding agencies with the utmost honesty. One of the worst things anyone can do is leave the impression that you are trying to “pull the wool over their eyes”. Most of the agencies can pick this up in a heartbeat. Needless to say, this leaves a very bad impression of the grant writer which can linger for years.
Private Funding
Private funding is supplied by wealthy individuals, corporations, banks and foundations. A “foundation” is a non-profit organization with a board of directors and trustees which provide funds for various charitable causes. Most foundations have been organized under federal or state charters. Others have been organized under trust agreements. The following generalities in regard to private foundation funding apply pretty much across the board:
