Writing Winning Grants
The Federal Grants Process - Essential Elements
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) directs visitors of its Web site to a very useful PDF file for preparing your Federal grant proposal. The PDF offers two basic tools: (1) a PowerPoint presentation introduced to participants at the White House Conference on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (December 2002), and (2) a sample quality proposal. Important topics covered in the PowerPoint presentation include:
- Locating, understanding, and using the Grant Application Notice
- Establishing timelines for completing and submitting the grant proposal properly and on time
- Using visual aids to convey various types of information and data
- Considering the criteria used to evaluate and select winning proposals
- Articulating the need for the proposed project
- Utilizing data sources to support the need for the proposed project
- Ensuring quality in the project design, project services, and project personnel
- Determining adequacy of resources
- Presenting a quality project evaluation plan
- Writing strong objectives in the evaluation plan.
The PDF file can be accessed directly by visiting
http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/fbci/quality_proposal.pdf.
Users can also access the PDF file through the Office of Justice Programs Web site. Visit http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/fundopps.htm and click on the link "Developing Quality Grant Proposals."
The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CDFA) provides a concise, yet comprehensive narrative on developing and writing grant proposals. In Part One of this document, users are introduced to important issues to be addressed prior to writing the grant proposal, including, but not limited to:
- Building skills in grantsmanship and proposal development through workshops and reading materials
- Determining local need for the idea being considered
- Finding community support (via letters of support or endorsement) from various groups (academic, political, professional, and lay organizations) and individuals
- Using the CDFA catalog to identify programs that might provide funding for your idea
- Getting organized to write the proposal
In Part Two, CFDA sets forth eight basic components of the proposal with a short narrative concerning each component. The basic components covered include:
- Proposal summary
- Introduction of organization
- Problem statement (or needs assessment)
- Project objectives
- Project methods or design
- Project evaluation
- Future funding
- Project budget
For more information, visit http://www.cfda.gov.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently posted a detailed grant-writing manual as part of its priority to support funding opportunities for faith- and community-based initiatives. While the manual is tailored to SAMHSA programs, any grant writer can use the tool for increasing knowledge on the basics of high-quality grant writing. Throughout the six modules, users can find tip sheets, checklists, and activities to support user learning. Also included in the electronic manual is a glossary of related terms, additional Web resources, and references. To access the manual, go to http://www.samhsa.gov/faithbased/index.html.
Share and enhance your knowledge of grant proposal writing by participating in discussions with other potential grantees on the following topics:
To facilitate your participation in these discussions, please review the ARC Discussion Forums Rules and Policies and the Tools for Effective Web Communication.
Note: To view PDF files, you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is freely available for download. For more information on accessibility and Acrobat Reader, visit the access.adobe.com page.
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