Law Enforcement Grants Do It Yourself Guide · Law Enforcement Grants . Do It Yourself ... This guide was written to assist you to create a grant proposal in a step ... your target

Law Enforcement Grants

Do It Yourself Guide

Prepared by:

www.PoliceGrantsHelp.com 

Contact:PoliceGrantsHelp 

200 Green Street #200 San Francisco CA 94111 

 (866) 463‐7792 [email protected] 

 www.PoliceGrantsHelp.com  

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. Grant Fundamentals 4-5 3. Pre planning for your Grant Application 6-7

4. Finding the Right Grant 8-10

5. Writing Your Grant 11-13

6. Putting Everything Together 14

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1. Introduction Thank you for your interest in our grant assistance program at PoliceGrantsHelp. As part of our grant assistance program we have put together this do it yourself guide to assist you as you get started on your departments grant project. This guide was written to assist you to create a grant proposal in a step-by-step process. It was developed specifically for the law enforcement community. Once you have reviewed this package you can begin to put together grant information needed to create a competitive program and application for funding. The first step towards funding is to assure that your police department is ready for grant funding. The chief and other administrative leaders in your organization must approve grant funding prior to submitting an application. Make sure you have presented your idea clearly and have their full support for the project. Once you have garnered the support of your police department, you are ready to develop a fundable project. Select a funder and follow their directions carefully. The outline in this guide should help you answer most of the requirements in any grant application. If at any time you would like to receive customized assistance with your grant project contact the team at PoliceGrantsHelp and we will be happy to work with you directly. Best wishes with your project! -The Staff at PoliceGrantsHelp.com

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2. Grant Fundamentals What is a grant? A grant is direct monetary assistance to undertake a specific project or program. At their most fundamental level grants serve to make something better in a community. Grantmakers are private or public entities whose mission is to use a portion of their income to fund projects that make a positive change in a community problem. Grantmakers are the Federal Government, State Government, Private and Corporate Foundations. In order to apply for grants your organization must be municipal agency, local police department, state police department or a non-profit organization. For profit organizations can not directly apply for grants. Grants are a legal binding contract. This means that there will be contractual requirements that your department will have to agree to when applying for a grant. This requirement may be in the form of cost share or cash match for the project as well as reporting requirements as to how the money is being spent. The first thing you should ask yourself is “do I have permission to apply for grants on behalf of my organization?” If yes, then keep reading. If no, find out from whom you need permission in your department to apply for grants. Once you have the OK to pursue grants for your agency, the next step is to identify and prioritize grant projects that would benefit from grant funding. When considering potential projects for grant funding, give priority to those projects that will solve a problem within your community. Be prepared to fully explain how the proposed project will enhance your department’s operations, and predict any potentially negative impact to your department’s operations if the project is not funded. What is the need (not the want) for the equipment/training/vehicle that you are looking for? What would happen (or has happened) if you don’t get funded for this project? Next – develop a budget for the project. You will need to know how much funding is needed for the project. Once your department has identified a particular grant project, it is now time to determine the project’s cost and prepare a provisional budget. Your budget should include all costs associated with the project’s implementation: equipment, accessories, additional training if required, etc. To be funded you need two things: a good project and a good proposal. Elements of a good project include such things as a clearly defined need, realistic objectives, defined time frame for completion, method for documenting activities and

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measuring success and partnerships with other community organizations. Elements of a good proposal include demonstrated need, measurable goals and objectives, detailed method of evaluating outcomes, clearly defined financial summary and demonstrated support from community partners. Reference Documents: How to Prepare for Grant Writing Developing a Budget

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3. Pre planning for your Grant Application Now that you’ve identified a problem, proposed a solution and developed a preliminary budget for your project the next step is to gather the right data from your response area to support the claim. A good place to start gathering data is your department’s demographic profile of your response area as well as UCR crime reports. When beginning a new grant project you must carefully consider who and what, within your community, is needed to make your projects a success. Funders are looking for partnerships. They want to fund projects that represent community organizations working together to resolve local problems. Equipment grants may be submitted as a stand-alone project, but resolving issues related to youth, substance abuse and other key community issues will require work with other organizations within your community. Begin thinking about the partnerships you will need by asking yourself the following questions:

How will the grant meet your organization’s mission? Where will you gather the data and demographics needed to write the

proposal? Who do you need as a partner within the community to make the grant

project a success? A helpful step in the pre planning of your grant project is researching your community to find out what other resources, services and organizations are available who address the needs of the people who are most affected by the problem you are trying to solve. Then identify these resources within your community.

Individual Resources: key people with specific talents or skills Organizational Resources: special organizations who address the needs of

your target group such as Girl Scouts, United Way, etc. Institutional Resources: Formalized or structured organizations such as

churches, schools, hospitals, service clubs, government, elected officials, etc. Local Business Resources: economic linkages such as the local

manufacturer, Chamber of Commerce, etc. Once you have identified resources contact them and let them know about the grant project. They may have additional data necessary to demonstrate the need for the project and be a willing partner. Last but not least, to prepare for grants there are a few places you will need to register your department especially if you are thinking about applying for federal grant

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opportunities. The basics of which are a DUNS number, a CCR number and NIMS compliance. These are federal requirements and sometimes they take a little while to register and acquire for your department. Reference Documents: Gathering the Right Data to Write a Grant Preparing for Grant Writing Data Collection Resources American Fact Finder (US Census) Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) Database Reporting Dun & Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Number Central Contractor Registration (CCR) National Incident Management System (NIMS)

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4. Finding the Right Grant There are many things to consider when looking for a funding source. Ideally you will look for a grantmaker that has been funding your type of project historically and be able to meet your organizations objective of the project. You will also want to pay attention to the funding guidelines outlined by the grantmaker and confirm that your organization is eligible to apply for the grant. Make sure too that your project is the type of project that the grantmaker will fund and that its not limited in any way as to make your project ineligible. For instance: Some funders do only local programs or they may only fund up to a certain amount. Focus on the funders that meet your objectives and share similar missions will find projects in your area and will fund at least a portion of your projects’ budget. Keep in mind that the federal government operates on a budget that runs from October 1 to September 30 of each year whereas state government runs on a different fiscal year. Most state’s fiscal year is July 1 to June 30 of each year. Corporations and Private Foundations each have different fiscal years. The funding cycles for grants may be offered annually, semi-annually or quarterly. Foundations organizational materials will provide the funding cycle information you will need for application.

A. Key Federal Website 1) www.grants.gov

i. Registration at this site is essential for applying for federal grants online

ii. Organizations must have a DUNS number and a CCR Registration prior to registering with Grants.gov.

iii. At this site you can also register for federal grant announcements by email – we recommend that you do.

B. State Funding Sources 1) State funding sources are similar to the feds

i. Both have guidelines, funding cycles and accounting procedures 2) Differences from the Federal Government:

i. There is no central catalog of state funding sources ii. It funds specific geographic areas -they will not cross state lines iii. Amounts of funding can be lower iv. They have different accounting and fiscal years

Since there is not a centralized search engine for state grant programs You can find your state website by typing into an internet search engine “state” + state initials. Alternatively you can also search by state by going to PoliceGrantsHelp.com.

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C. Foundation Funding Sources

1) What is a Foundation? i. It is a non-governmental, nonprofit organization with a principal

fund of its own, managed by its own trustees and directors, established to maintain or aid charitable, educational religious or other activities serving the public good primarily by making grants to nonprofit organizations.

ii. Foundations are required to give away 5% of their investment profit each year and there are over 80,000 private foundations in the United States.

2) Types of Foundations: i. Family: The foundation is controlled completely by the family and

they are usually very small and require personal contact ii. Community Foundation: This type usually funds projects in the

community where they are located iii. Corporate Foundations: A company sponsored foundation

separate from the corporation 3) The Foundation Center

i. Across the nation there are thousands of Foundations that annually grant millions of dollars to eligible organizations for projects in their communities. If you are aware of a foundation in your area the first step is to call the foundation director and explain who you represent and the type of project you are seeking funds for. From this conversation you can determine if you application is eligible and what the process is to access funding. If you are not aware of any foundations you can access The Foundation Directory for free at your local library. Once you have targeted a foundation or foundations start by calling them to see if your project meets their eligibility guidelines and what their application process entails.

D. Corporate Funding Sources 1) Corporate giving limits their support to agencies whose response area

includes the company’s headquarters or a branch office is located in your community. Business listings may be available through websites for the local Chamber of Commerce, Service Groups, and Community & Economic Development Departments.

2) Steps for Identifying Corporations i. Identify large-profitable- businesses in your area

1. Read the newspapers

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2. Don’t hit on businesses in financial trouble or about to be taken over

3. Identify senior executives/staff members who know an executive

4. Identify Board members 5. Have a representative from your organization approach

and discuss your project - in uniform if possible 6. Be prepared to answer the following

a. Why should the company be interested in the project? b. What is in it for them? c. How will the project add value to their business?

In addition to these resources, you can also use the PoliceGrantsHelp.com search engine to locate available grants. You can perform a search by category (Federal, state or corporate) or by selecting your state on our interactive grant map to show all available opportunities. Search results will provide a brief synopsis of the grant, as well as: application period dates, contact information, links to the grant homepage, application information, contacts and more. Reference Documents: PoliceGrantsHelp Grant Directory The Foundation Center Grants.gov Responder Knowledge Base (RKB) US Department of Justice US Chamber of Commerce

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5. Writing Your Grant The written component of a grant proposal is a where you get tell your story to the funding source or grantmaker. It must be organized, well written, documented, data driven and concise. This is where you will lay out your project’s plan of action for solving the problem that made you decide to seek grant funding. The request for proposal or application may specifically ask for a section called methodology or they may simply ask for the parts that typically make up this section. Problem Statement and Project Description: Problem statements and project descriptions are requirements in all grant applications. You will need to describe what is happening in your response area and identify the problem your grant request is addressing. After identifying the problem, be prepared to propose the solution (which is what you are requesting funding for) to the funding agency. The problem statement is the key element of your proposal and it must make a clear, concise and well supported statement of the problem you will address. The best way to test your problem is to review your identified resources, do a needs assessment (see below) and find the gap. The gap will identify the problem you think needs to be resolved. The information you gather should be factual and directly related to the problem to be addressed by your grant proposal. You must include the following areas in your problem statement:

The purpose for developing the proposal Who is your target audience and how will they benefit from the project The economic and social impact of the problem Evidence (data) that the problem is real and can be measured How you and your organization came to realize that this problem exists

Assistance can be found from many sources within your community to help you get the information for a needs assessment. Local, county and state government, local universities and colleges, local health systems, school districts and state extension offices can all help you with the data you need depending on the problem. They may be aware of the very problem you are planning to address in your grant proposal and can be an excellent community partner in the development of the grant. Goals and Objectives: Goals are designed to tell you where you want to be when the funding ends and objectives are the measurable outcomes of the grant program. Goals and objectives give you the opportunity to measure your progress as you begin to

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implement your project. They help you stop and monitor your work, measure your progress and help you know if you are on the right track. They allow you to see the positive impact you have making within your community and if your vision and mission is becoming a reality. The rule of thumb is one to three goals for a typical project. Larger projects might need more goals. Multiple year projects need annual goals. Each goal would then be supported by the objectives. Use one or two sentences to describe each goal. The funder must be able to look at your goals and determine the scope and outcomes of the entire project. Evaluation Plan: Grants require you to evaluate your progress and outcomes to see if the money the funder invested paid a dividend. Some evaluation plans can be simple others will need a professional evaluator to assist in the process. Grants that require professional evaluation will allow for this expense within the budget. Management Plan: The funder will want to know who will manage the project, who will direct the project and who will carry out the day to day activities of the project. You must make sure that the people involved in your project are qualified to do the work. Time Lines: The timeline tells the funder when the activities will begin and end and is usually described in a twelve month period. If you are developing a grant for more than one year, you need to develop a timeline for each year.

Sustainability Plan: All funders want to know what is going to happen at the end of the grant period. They want to know that their investment began something that will continue to grow in the future. If you have requested funds for equipment you must include a plan for the maintenance and replacement of equipment when the funding period has ended. For larger projects, the funders want to know how the community will support the project. If the project just ends it may not get funded in the first place. Dissemination or Spreading the Word: Every funder wants to know that their investment has been a good one. They also want others to know about the projects they have funded, especially if they are model projects or can be replicated in another community. Some funders want reports, videos, a training tape, a workbook, or other tool to communicate with other funders or communities about the project and its outcomes. Budget: Your project budget must match your program plan. Everything you say you are going to do in your project plan will have a cost attached to it. It is your job to tell

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the funder clearly, precisely and fully what you will spend to make your vision a reality. You must assign a cost to everything and be realistic. Budget Narrative: Once you have completed your spreadsheet, you will need to write a narrative to explain why the costs are what they are! You will write a justification for the line item totals only and not for every line item. Reference Documents: Successful Grant Writing How to Write a Problem Statement Developing a Budget Budget Detail Worksheet

6. Putting Everything Together Now that you’ve successfully identified a problem, researched a solution, developed a budget, located an available grant and gathered the supportive data it is imperative that you thoroughly review the opportunity so that you fully comprehend all eligibility requirements, eligible activities, local cash match (if required), etc. Take advantage of program-sponsored information sources and workshops. Most grant programs will provide applicants with thorough guidance documents, tutorials and workshops, which can provide potential applicants with invaluable information about program eligibility requirements, eligible activities, deadlines and more. The number one reason why grant applications are denied is failure to follow the directions. When looking at a guidance document, the best bet is to go through it three times, looking for items that are "must do's," "should do's," and "could do's." Obviously, pay the closest attention to the “must do's”; these are the items that can cause immediate elimination if not followed precisely. Follow steps outlined here and you should be well on your way to getting funding! Keep in mind at any time you are welcome to return to our grant assistance program for free customized assistance including customized research; applications reviews and grant consulting for your grant project. Just remember to fill out that pre planning worksheet and send us a bid/quote for the grant project and we will get started right away. Stay safe, Sarah Wilson Grants Program Manager  

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Contact:PoliceGrantsHelp 

200 Green Street #200 San Francisco CA 94111 

 (866) 463‐7792 [email protected]