Grant Writing Techniques

The SUNY CPD Grant Writing Techniques workshops are typically two days and cover the topics in the description below. We would be happy to tailor a workshop to your needs.

A special one-day workshop is planned at this year's CIT in Plattsburgh. Please check out the CIT 2007 website and plan to join us in Plattsburgh May 29th!

Instructor

Dr. Daniel J. McCormack from Binghamton University presents this workshop. Dr. McCormack has been successfully writing grants for over 30 years. He currently teaches graduate courses in grant writing at Binghamton University and presents grant writing seminars and workshops on and off campus. He has written grants for the New York State Education Department; for colleges, universities, school districts, local governments; and various human services agencies.

Prerequisite Knowledge

Day 1: No prior experience or skills relevant to the grant writing process are needed.

Day 2: Participants should have attended Day 1 OR have some relevant skills in the grant writing process, acquired through coursework or direct experience.

Fees & Registration

Register Online!

• One Day Rate
• CPD Member - $80
• Non-CPD Member - $100
• Two Day Rate
• CPD Member - $145
• Non-CPD Member - $180

Course Outline - Day 1

• Introduction

• Discussion of what we want to accomplish in these sessions.
• What does a grant proposal look like?
• Handout 1: General Outline of Common Grant Proposals
• Overview of the Grant Seeking Process
• Handout 2: Grant Seeking Management Plan
• Handout 3: Overview of the Grant Seeking Process
• Handout 4: Project Fact Sheet
• Some general comments/questions about the grant writing process
• How difficult is it to write?
• What writing skills do you need?
• Why do some individuals think it is hard? Why do some give up?
• How long are grant proposals?
• How long does it take to write a grant proposal?
• What are common problems that impede new or experienced grant seekers?
• What types of Projects get funded? What areas interest you?
• Funding sources: General information and why they will fund us
• Handout 5: Federal Funding Sources
• Handout 6: General Information on Grantmaking Foundations
• Handout 7: Corproate Funding
• Handout 8: New York State Funding
• Local: service organizations, etc.
• Grant Seeking on the Internet
• Handout 9: The Foundation Center
• Handout 10: The Chronicle of Philanthropy
• Handout 11: Other Useful Websites
• Tools to enhance our efforts to find funding opportunities
• Handout 12: Tools to Enhance our Efforts to Find Funding Opportunities
• Creating a Needs/Problem/Opportunity Statement
• Handout 13: Creating a Needs/Problem/Opportunity Statement
• Handout 14: Needs/Problem/Opportunity Data Collection Sheet
• Examples of Needs/Problem/Opportunity Sections
• Handout 15: Needs Section of Upward Bound Program
• Handout 16: Needs Section of GEAR UP Program
• Other Examples
• Goals and Objectives
• Handout 17: Objectives and Objectives Worksheet
• Handout 18: Activities Worksheet
• Handout 19: Goals and Objectives
• Developing Your Own Proposal
• Handout 20: New York/New Jersey Area Common Application Form
• Suggested Readings to Prepare for our Second Session
• Proposal Writing Short Course: Foundation Center Learning Lab
• Improving Literacy through School Libraries: School Grants
• Sample Proposals
• From Non Profit Guides:
1. Public RFP
2. Public Proposal Response to Public RFP
3. Private RFP
4. Private Proposal Response to Private RFP
• What we will cover in Day 2

Course Outline - Day 2

• Review of First Session / Questions
• Handout 21: Review of the First Session / General Thoughts on the Grant Writing Process
• Review of Reading Assignments
• Handout 22: Important Points: The Foundation Center - Proposal Writing Short Course
• Handout 23: Important Points: The Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance: Writing Grant Proposals
• Critique of Grant Proposals
• Non-Profit Guides: Public Proposal Response to Public RFP
• Non-Profit Guides: Private Proposal Response to Private RFP
• School Grants: Improving Literacy through School Libraries
• Johnson City School District / Anderson Center Proposal to the Kennedy Center
• School of Education and Human Development Proposal to Housing and Urban Development (HUD): Center City Coordination Project (C-3)
• Handout 24: Why do proposals get funded or not get funded?
• General Information About Developing Grant Proposals
• Handout 25: Questions that need to be asked when developing a grant proposal
• Handout 25a: Project Model
• Handout 25b: How can we label the boxes?
• Handout 26: Twelve characteristics of a good proposal
• Handout 27: How can I increase my chances of getting funded?
• Handout 28: Characteristics of Successful TRIO Grant Writers
• Handout 28a: General Questions Asked by Foundations
• Evaluation
• Handout 29: Questions that need to be asked/answered when developing an evaluation plan
• Handout 30: Evaluation Summary
• Handout 31: Additional General Points about Evaluation
• Handout 32: Measuring Program Outcomes
• Handout 32a: Chart - Measuring Program Outcomes
• Handout 32b: Program Outcome Model
• Handout 32c: Performance Measures - Glossary of Terms
• Handout 33: Example Outcomes and Outcome Indicators for Various Projects
• Handout 33a: CYFERnet Home Page
• Handout 33b: CYFERnet Evaluation
• Handout 33c: Other Valuable Evaluation Websites
• Handout 33d: Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
• Handout 33e: General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)
• Handout 33f: Glossary of Evaluation Terms
• - Handout 33g: Web Resources on Evaluation
• Some Grant Proposal Writing Tips
• Handout 34: Writing to be Competitive
• Handout 34a: Grant Writing Tips
• Handout 34b: Introduction to FIPSE Proposals
• Handout 35: A Proposal Writer's Checklist
• Budgets and Matching Funds
• Handout 36: Budgets
• Handout 37: Matching Funds
• Review, Submission and Notification: Handout 38
• Strategic Planning
• - Handout 39: Strategic Planning and Needs Assessment
• Layout of Grant Proposal Material
• Other Web Resources for Grant Writers
• Glossary of Grant Terms
• Final Thoughts / Where do you go from here?