Growing Healthy Schools Conference Presentation

Growing(Healthy(Communities(ConferenceGrant&Writing&101

Roadmap

• Housekeeping• Find• Strategize• Write• Connect• Wrap.Up

Housekeeping

Dragon'Fruit

Housekeeping > Find > Strategize > Write > Connect > Wrap Up

IntroductionsYou• Work%setting:%schools,%

nonprofits,%business,%other• Primary%role:%educating%

kids,%running%programs%for%kids,%administrator,%other

• Grant%experience:%have%written%a%grant,%regularly%write%grants,%new%to%grant%writing

Me• Lea%Madry%

([email protected])• National%Farm%to%School%

Network,%Development%Director%• Based%in%Illinois• Previously:%development%at%

other%nonprofits,%nonprofit%consultant

WHAT%IS%FARM%TO%SCHOOL?

WHY$FARM$TO$SCHOOL?$

KIDS$WIN

FARMERS$WIN

COMMUNITIES$WIN

OUR$NETWORK

New$Jersey$Partners• Core%Partner– EcoSpaces%Education%2Philip's%Education%Partners

• Supporting%Partners– NJ%Department%of%Health%– NJ%Department%of%Agriculture%

– NJ%Department%of%Agriculture%

– Rutgers%Cooperative%Extension

OUR$CORE$FUNCTIONS

Information Networking Advocacy

Resources People Policy

A"hub"for:

Connecting"people"to:

A"GROWING"MOVEMENT

Objectives*– Leave*With:

• Knowledge)about)getting)started)with)grants• Confidence)that)you)have)effective)strategies)to)find,)write,)and)ultimately)secure)grants

• Actionable)ideas)and)that)you)can)put)to)use)as)soon)as)you)get)back)to)work

What%to%Expect

The$Puzzle$&$Our$One$Piece$

Foundations

GovernmentCorporations

Nonprofit

Other:6Including6

Earned6Income

Individuals

In<KindPuzzle6Pieces6=6Revenue6Streams

Grant&Language

LOI:Letter%of%Inquiry

Proposal&/&Application

RFA:&Request%for%Applications

Foundation&Grants:&Corporate%foundations,%community%foundations,%family%foundations,%etc.

Housekeeping

Dragon'Fruit


Peaches

Find


Fconline.Foundationcenter.Org• Click&"subscribe"&

to&sign&up&for&free• Search&by&state&for&

funders,&do&a&quick&scan&of&whether&each&funder&funds&in&a&relevant&area

• Click&through&to&the&funder's&website&for&more&details

Grants.Gov• Register(and(

subscribe(for(updates

• You(can(select(what(agencies(or(specific(grant(opportunity

• You(can(select(how(you(want(to(receive(the(update(

FNS.USDA.Gov/FarmtoSchool/GrantsAndLoans

• Wonderful*resource*for*finding*grants*to*support*farm*to*school*activities

• Notice*the*broad*range*of*relevant*grants*– not*just*the*Farm*to*School*Grant*Program

Other&Considerations• Funders(of(peer/similar(501(c)3(organizations– Conversations– Annual(report–Website(“supporters”(section

• Communications(grants(for(farm(to(school(activities(– http://foodandfarmcommunications.org/– http://www.gracelinks.org/(

I"have"prospects."Now"what?

• Join%the%funder’s%email%list%for%announcements%• Review%grant%types%and%eligibility%requirements%• Review%list%of%past%grantees%and%funded%projects

• Assess%time%commitment%for%the%writer%and%others%involved

• Be%honest%with%yourself%– is%it%really%a%good%fit?%

In#the#last#year,#how#many#times#have#you:• Met$someone$passionate$about$F2S$who$works$at$a$corporation?

• Met$someone$who$is$professionally$engaged$in$F2S$efforts$and$works$at$a$foundation?

• Met$someone$to$implements$F2S$programming$using$grant$funding?

These%could%all%lead%to%grant%funding%opportunities!

Keep%your%eyes%and%ears%open!

Peaches

Find


StrategizeFennel


Why?

Start%with%WhyOur$Why$&$Need

Start%with%WhyOur$Why$&$Need

Our$Solution

Start%with%WhyOur$Why$&$NeedOur$SolutionOur$Impact

Start%with%WhyOur$Why$&$NeedOur$SolutionOur$ImpactWith$Their$Support...

Why$“Why”$Matters

• The$best$grants$are$mission$aligned.$If$you$get$goosebumps$thinking$about$how$perfect$this$grant$is$to$advance$your$mission,$a$funder$might$think$so$too!

• Connect$grant$activities$to$your$organization’s$why$and$need$before$anything$else.

• THEN,$talk$about$your$solution,$impact,$and$what$you$can$do$with$additional$support

StrategizeFennel


Turnip

Write


Follow%the%Instructions

Do#Yourself#a#Favor

• Create&a&checklist• Be&kind&to&your&future&(exhausted)&self&• Funders&aren’t&joking&– they&really&won’t&accept/consider&your&materials&if&you&haven’t&followed&their&instructions

Do#the#Funder#a#Favor• Great&grant&writers&have&empathy• Put&yourself&in&the&grant&reader&/&scorer’s&shoes&and&make&it&as&easy&for&them&as&possible

• Look&for&any&signals&or&clues&about&what’s&most&important&to&the&funder&and&what&they’re&looking&for&

• LOI/proposal&instructions&are&a&great&resource,&but&also&be&sure&to&re@read&all&the&information&on&the&funder’s&website

Organization*is*Critical

• Structure'is'key• Headers'are'your'friend• Start'with'an'outline–Write'section'header'first– Add'bullets'of'key'topics'to'cover'under'each'header

– Then,'start'writing

Having'Scoring'Criteria'is'a'Gift

• It’s%a%precious,%precious%gift;%don’t%waste%it• Make%sure%your%application%can%check%every%possible%box

• Self>score%or%(better%yet)%have%someone%objectively%score%for%you

Avoid&Procrastinating• Start%writing%early• Make%sure%any%online%system%is%working%and%familiar%to%you,%well%before%the%LOI/proposal%is%due

• Beware%of%multi>step%registration%(federal%government%grants)

• Submit%early%(I%recommend%at%least%1%day%for%foundation%grants,%1%week%for%government)

Find%Time%to%Write%• Be#strategic#about#finding#time#to#write• Quiet,#undistracted#time#is#best• Large#blocks#of#time#or#small,#frequent#windows#(but#start#

earlier)• Be#mindful#of#what#works#for#you#– if#you#spend#the#first#20#

minutes#of#writing#time#trying#to#figure#out#what#you#were#writing#about#last#time,#perhaps#large#blocks#are#best

• Hiring#grant#writers#can#be#an#effective#avenue,#especially#for#federal#grants#if#the#person#writes#a#specific#federal#grant#regularly;#be#mindful#of#the#time#it#takes#to#get#them#up#to#speed#on#your#organization#and#grant#concept

Write&Factually&and&Persuasively&Our$Why$&$NeedOur$SolutionOur$ImpactWith$Their$Support...

Practice

Our$Why$&$NeedOur$SolutionOur$ImpactWith$Their$Support...

• What$do$you$want$funding$for$most$right$now?

• Imagine$there’s$a$foundation$that$funds$exactly$that$kind$of$project$for$organizations$exactly$like$yours

• Practice$writing$a$persuasive,$1$paragraph$concept$for$the$LOI,$starting$with$the$“why”

Turnip

Write


Fennel

Connect


Connect'with'FundersWhy• Relationships,matter,,especially,for,

foundation,grants• Relationships,can,result,in,receiving,

informal,feedback,,tips,for,success,,and,clues,about,the,priorities,of,the,grant,officer/board,in,making,recommendations/selections

• Funders,know,each,other• Even,if,they,can’t,fund,you,,funders,

want,to,know,about,the,good,solutions

How• Strong,introductions,often,come,

from,trusted,connections,– leaders,in,organizations,that,the,funder,already,supports,,other,funders,,thought,leaders,in,the,space/area

• For,smaller,foundations,especially,,ask,the,funder,if,they’d,be,willing,to,speak,with,you,via,phone,for,30,minutes,to,share,more,about,your,work,and,LOI,/,proposal,concept,before,you,submit,it

• Don’t,be,too,shy,to,ask,for,an,introduction,or,conversation,–you’ll,be,surprised,how,often,people,say,yes!

Who$are$connectors$in$your$network?

Brainstorm*who*you*could*reach*out*to*when*you’re*back*at*work*tomorrow*to*ask*for*an*introduction*to*a*specific*funder*or*for*ideas*for*grants*to*fund*your*concept

Connect'with'Colleagues

Development'is'a'team'sport!

Foundations

GovernmentCorporations

Nonprofit

Other:6Including6

Earned6Income

Individuals

In<Kind

Connect'the'Dots• Concern:(Fundraising(has(nothing(to(do(with(my(work(as(an(

educator,(operator(or(program(leader.– Thought:'When'done'well,'fundraising'is'a'mission9centered'activity;'

the'best'grant'writers'are'subject'matter'experts!'• Concern:(Asking(people(for(money,(even(through(a(grant,(makes(me(

uncomfortable.(– Thought:'Grant'funders'are'already'committed'to'solving'a'problem.'

You'have'a'proven'or'high'potential'solution'to'address'the'problem.'Why'wouldn’t'you'want'them'to'have'the'opportunity'to'invest'in'your'solution?'In'other'words,'you’re'simply'inviting'funders'to'help'you'improve'the'world;'how'could'you'not ask/apply?

• Concern:(I(just(don’t(have(time!(– Thought:'That’s'probably'true.'But,'if'it’s'a'priority,'make'grant'

activities'manageable.'Break'grant'pursuits'into'small'pieces'and'be'realistic'about'whether'to'apply'for'time9consuming'grants.

Fennel

Connect


Wrap%Up

Okra

Recap

• Housekeeping• Find• Strategize• Write• Connect• Wrap.Up

Reflection• What%surprised%you?• What’s%your%takeaway?• What%do%you%want%to%spend%more%time%thinking%or%learning%about%in%the%future?

Thank&you!

Growing(Healthy(Communities(ConferenceGrant&Writing&101

Growing Healthy Schools Conference Presentation

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