Grant Guru

My four fundamental rules apply whether you are looking for a grant, a gift, or a partnership (see tip #35). Following the four rules will assist you in writing winning proposals and in developing meaningful partnerships. As a quick review, rule one, start with a good plan; rule two, look for local supporters; rule three, clearly state how the funds will be used; and rule four, advertise and celebrate your successes on a website, news releases, and through open houses.

Winning proposals and pitches require you to be able to:

• Tell what kids are going to do. I can’t emphasize this enough. Be specific. What exactly is your program? Who will benefit and how will they benefit? How will you know you’ve made a difference? What are some of the milestone events that will take place?

• Gain the support of all stakeholders involved. I like to begin any project with the support of my colleagues, especially administrators. Administrators are the “angels” out there that will give your program "wings." I recommend that you read Guy Kawasaki’s book Selling the Dream, for a complete discussion on what it takes to gain the support of others to your cause. Getting people on board sometimes opens the doors to other funding.

• Make a realistic plan of action. What will you do first? How will you “market” your program? Is the timing right? Is your local community supportive or are there other issues that dominate at this time? Create a timeline.

• Gain additional support for your program. Will you put plaques on donated computers? Create a school donor hall of fame? Find a business to match gifts over a certain amount?

• Think big and finance creatively. Where is it that you really want to go? How will you get there? Do you have a plan? Is the plan flexible? Have others bought into the plan? Remember, with technology changing at such a rapid pace and the cost to implement on a wide-scale basis generally out of reach of most schools, you will more than likely be adding pieces to your plan incrementally. Some of what you will do may depend on gifts; other parts might come from general funds, fundraisers, grants, and one-time money.

• Be succinct; be able to get to the essence of what you are trying to do. This will assure that funders realize that you know what you are doing. You know the road that you want to take and your car is full of gas and ready to hit the road.

Partnerships

Some grants require you to partner with outside entities. Sometimes these partnerships are with other school districts or with institutes of higher education. Your particular proposal might include a partnership with a local social service agency, mental health agency or law enforcement. Some grants specify that you must purchase certain services from outside agencies. This is very common especially for evaluation services. No matter what kind of partnership you pursue, its good practice to iron out the details up front and preferably in writing. Developing partnerships takes time, patience and connections.

Take the time to learn about how you might benefit from creating a partnership. The Federal Government’s publication “A Guide to Promising Practices in Educational Partnerships” is archived and available for download on the web at <http://www.ed.gov/pubs/PromPract/index.html>. The Office of Educational Research and Improvement of the U.S. Department of Education developed this document in 1996. The guide grew out of the documentation and evaluation of its educational partnerships program. It also serves as a good example of sustainability. Even though the projects are no longer funded, the lessons learned in the projects can live on. By reading through the document you will learn some of the key practices of stakeholders involved in an educational partnership.

If you are interested in partnerships that include a coalition of arts, education, business, philanthropic and government organizations, be sure to check out the Arts Education Partnership website at <http://www.aep-arts.org>. You will find a rich resource of information and ideas for pursuing grants and educational partnerships in the arts. Similarly, the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts sponsors a Partners in Education website, along with information on what makes successful partnerships. You can find more information at <http://www.kennedy-center.org/education/partners>.

Searching the web will help you find a number of examples and sources for partnerships in not only the arts, but in the sciences, technology, vocational education and many more areas of interest.