Best practices for grant writers from CT Philanthropy

These are two good resources for grant writers from the CT Council for Philantrhopy.

Grantseeking from Foundations a good 2-page guide on grant writing, and includes 

• You can't make up in writing what you missed in planning
•  Find the match
• When preparing the proposal be very clear; funders often comment that even after thoroughly reading a proposal, they cannot discern exactly what the applicants want!

The site also offers a 9-page document called Writing a Successful Grant Proposal. Author Barbara Davis notes that funders tend to want the “substantially the same information, even if they use different words or ask questions in a different order.” She goes on to enumerate the most common are: Summary, Organizational Information, Problem/Need/Situation Description, Work Plan/Specific Activities, Impact of Activities, Evaluation and more. 

Connecticut Grantmakers Online

Connecticut Grantmakers Online (CGO) is an online subscriber database containing more than 2,200 Connecticut foundations and corporate grantmakers. The database is run by the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy.

Entries contain contact information, descriptions of the funder’s interests, types of programs they fund, the populations they target for support (e.g., youth ages 14-19), types of support they offer (e.g., capital funds, operating support), financial and application information, key staff, and brief examples of grants they have funded with amounts.

Free Access to CGO
Public libraries and non-profit resource centers that offer free access include the Bridgeport Public Library, the Welles-Turner Memorial Library in Glastonbury, the Greenwich Library, the Groton Public Library, the Connecticut State Library, the Hartford Public Library, the Russell Library in Middletown, Newington’s Lucy Robbins Welles Library, the Nonprofit Resource Center located in the New Canaan Library, Connecticut College’s Shain Library in New London,the New Milford Public Library, the Norwalk Public Library, the Ridgefield Library, the Wallingford Public Library, and the Connecticut Community Foundation’s Nonprofit Assistance Initiative in Waterbury.

CGO Search Criteria
The database offers nine search criteria for searching:
Grantmaker Name, Area of Interest (there are 23 major areas), Geographic Focus, Type of Support, Beneficiary, (e.g., the population groups who have received funding), City, County, Organizational type, and word/phrase/text searching.

Grantsmanship Center

The Grantsmanship Center maintains information about Connecticut funding sources, foundations, corporate giving programs and the top 40 foundations that give.

Good stuff.

TechSoup for Libraries Grant Series: One Hour a Week to Success!

This grant training series using blog posts on TechSoup for Libraries.

Audience: You! Librarians who are reluctant to write grants.

Wish you knew more about applying for grant funding? Does it seem overwhelming and you wonder how to get started? TechSoup is here to help! Our new grant series, Successful Grants in One Hour a Week, will provide you with small steps that take you through the entire grant process. Weekly blog posts will outline your steps for the week so you’ll be prepared to apply for a basic grant before the end of the year.

There are many library and federal grant opportunities with deadlines in December, so if you are trying to get a grant application out the door, we are just in time to help. Or if you just want to read along with us, you’ll be ready to start grant work in 2011.

Stephanie Gerding has had grant success in all aspects of the process, as a grant writer, reviewer, project coordinator, consultant, and trainer. She has co-authored two books on grants (Winning Grants just released by Neal-Schuman), as well as the Library Grants Blog, a free resource for grant opportunities, and UNT’s Grant Basics tutorial (also available through WebJunction).

Flip Video camera deal from TechSoup

Tech Soup is offering a deal on Flip Video cameras to eligible not for profits.

It's $175 for two one-hour HD video cameras and a tripod. Click the logo or here for the scoop.

NLG Project Planning Tutorial

Though IMLS put up this tutorial to assist folks interested in developing project plans for National Leadership Grant applications, people find the tutorial useful for planning other grant projects.

Free short grantwriting training courses

FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE FREE

The Foundation Center offers free short training courses at CT's 5 library/learning centers. Where are those, you ask?

GREENWICH PUBLIC LIBRARY
101 W. Putnam Ave.
Greenwich, CT 06830
(203) 622-7900

HARTFORD PUBLIC LIBRARY
500 Main St.
Hartford, CT 06103
(860) 695-6295

RUSSELL LIBRARY
123 Broad St.
Middletown, CT06457
(860) 347-2520

NEW HAVEN FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY
133 Elm St.
New Haven, CT 06510
(203) 946-7431

WESTPORT PUBLIC LIBRARY
Arnold Bernhard Plaza
20 Jesup Rd.
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 291-4800

Grant Writing Basics (LE@D) online course

This online course is available through DLD's awesome WebJunction partnership.

Description: Grants are not just free money, but require an investment in planning, resources, commitment, and sustainability.

Applying for a grant can seem like a daunting task. Certainly, there is work involved, but with the help of this tutorial, you will know the steps that are necessary and find that success is not as hard to attain as you might think. Grants also have added benefits for the library in addition to funding, such as valuable partnerships, resolved community needs, and increased community support.

This tutorial will cover each phase in the grant writing and submission process:

1. Prepare
2. Focus on Library Priorities
3. Develop the Grant Project
4. Research Funders and Find Appropriate Grants
5. Write the Grant Proposal
6. Implement, Evaluate and Continue the Process

Objectives

After completing this course, you will understand the following objectives:

* Understand the basic process of grant work
* Realize the importance of planning for grants
* Recognize the steps involved in project development
* Be encouraged and have the confidence to know that YOU can do it

The funding is out there if you want it enough.

LiveStrong Cancer Support Community Toolkit

LiveStrong Cancer Support Community Toolkit

The Community Toolkit provides nfp’s information about best practices and being successful. Though it’s geared for organizations interested in serving people affected by cancer, the principles are universal and useful.

• Applying best practices to your work and your organization.
• Community outreach
• Program development and evaluation

And information related to:
• Advocacy
• Grants
• Marketing
• fundraising efforts