Grant Writing for Educators. Beverly Brown
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through direct competitive grant programs to improve elementary and secondary schools. The home Web page for this federal agency is www.ed.gov. When you view the site, remember to click on the “Grants & Contracts” link.
The Department of Education makes grant opportunities available to public and charter schools in academic and other areas, including:
• Carol M. White Physical Education Program
• Early Reading First Program
• Emergency response plans for school safety initiative
• Gifted and Talented Students Education Program
• Improving Literacy Through School Libraries Program
• Migrant Education Even Start Program
• Parental information resource centers
• School improvement foreign language assistance
• Teaching American history
The Department of Education also earmarks numerous grants for native Alaskans and Hawaiians and for federally recognized Indian tribes and tribal organizations. Check your state’s department of education Web site frequently for competitive federal and state grant announcements (see page 6 for further details). The sooner you are aware of a grant funding opportunity, the sooner you or your school’s grant writing team can start work on the grant application.
WINNING GOVERNMENT GRANTS
What are some of the things that give your school the edge for achieving government grants? If your school or school district is located in a specially designated federal zone, then your application will score more peer review points and knock out some of your competitors who lack the designation. When you submit your grant application package to a state or federal funding agency, federal legislation requires that your peers (other educators) participate in the decision-making process to fund or deny funding your grant request. Peer reviewers are oriented to the agency’s grantmaking guidelines and give a copy of forms, titled Peer Review Forms. Each section in the narrative of your grant application as well as the budget section is assigned points. Most applications are assigned 100 points; some will have more points. Often you will see these points next to each section of the narrative in the grant application guidelines. For example, the need statement may be worth 20 points; the program design, 30 points. Peer reviewers are trained to look for specific guideline criteria in each section. If your application narrative adheres strictly to the guidelines, from formatting to competitive responses, then your application will score higher review points than other applications. Only applications with the highest review points are recommended for state or federal funding (this is covered in more detail on pages 26 and 27).
Empowerment Zone (EZ) and Enterprise Communities (EC). The Community Empowerment Program was enacted into law in August 1993. To be eligible, communities had to have high rates of poverty and submit an extensive application to the federal government. Urban and rural areas across the United States were selected to be federally designated Empowerment and Enterprise Zones. Each designation gives local communities special tax advantages to fuel economic development. In addition, every federal agency that bestows grants also gives extra technical review points to grant applicants located in an Empowerment or Enterprise Zone. If you are unsure of your community’s status, call the local economic development agency and inquire—it is to your advantage to find out and use this “label” to attract government grant monies. You can also find a list of zone designations at this Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/fixschools/zones.html. The site lists states, counties, and cities that qualify for special grant funding consideration.
Federal Colonias Zones. Colonias encompass communities of all types and sizes—both incorporated and unincorporated—that meet the federal definition of lacking sewer, wastewater, or decent housing. A “Colonia,” Spanish for neighborhood or community, is a geographic area located within 150 miles of the U.S.-Mexico border that has a majority population composed of individuals and families of low and very low income. If your school is located near the U.S.-Mexico border, call your local U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Renewal (HUD) office to check your Colonias Zone status. Many government agencies add additional technical review points to your total grant application score if your school is located in one of these impoverished areas. This Web site provides links to regional U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offices: http://www.hud.gov/directory/ascdir3.cfm.
LESSONS LEARNED
Several years ago, soon after the EZs and ECs were established, I wrote a federal grant application for a school corporation located in a large EZ area, and this meant they had all the right demographics for ranking high with the agency’s peer reviewers and program staff. The competition was stiff and fewer than 10 awards would be made nationally, but my client thankfully received more than $800,000 in grant monies to start an alternative school for dropouts. Later, a Congressional member from my client’s state told me that the EZ designation made all the difference in the world for achieving this grant.
ACTION STEPS
Search daily. Set aside a time every day to search for grant funding opportunities. Check your mail and e-mail for announcements. Read the newspaper, looking for new businesses moving into the state or region. Log onto the Internet and check your state education agency, U.S. Department of Education, and Foundation Center Web sites. Share your findings with members of your grant writing team.
Be creative. If you cannot find anything relevant to your school’s needs, then try using a search engine, such as Google™ (www.google.com), and type in “math grants,” “computer grants,” “science grants,” “consumer science grants,” “grants for elementary schools,” and so forth in the search box.
Surf with the pros. Log onto the Web site Welcome to School Grants! (www.schoolgrants.org) and see what you have been missing. Your peers around the country use this free Web site to identify all types of school grants, and to see examples of funded grant applications posted by teachers who have been successful at winning grants for their schools.
Chapter 3
Learning the Lingo to Trump the Competition
UNDERSTANDING STANDARD GRANT-RELATED LINGO will help you sail through funding agency guidelines and decide if the grant opportunity is right for your school. Every weekday, funding agencies issue grant availability announcements and requests for proposals. You need to be ready to take action as soon as the guidelines are released on the Internet or sent to your school’s key administrative contacts. As a grant writer for your school, once you grasp the lingo—the vocabulary of the grant writing field—you will hit the ground running whenever an announcement comes your way. You will be able to read and understand the technical requirements of the grant application or proposal guidelines and immediately start formulating a response. You will be able to trump the competition!
Many readers might already be familiar with some of the grantrelated terms covered in this chapter, but please do not skip it. Even teachers who are veteran grant writers can use a refresher.
BASIC GRANT-RELATED TERMINOLOGY
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