Exploratorium 2012: Dejean, Elizabeth

Table #7 Cooking Up a Winning Grant Application

Audience:       All

Presenter:        Elizabeth Dejean                                                        

                      P.S. 360X

                      2880 Kingsbridge Terrace

                      Bronx, NY 10463                                            

Library Web site: http://library.nycenet.edu/common/welcome.jsp?site=5866

E-mail: edejean2@schools.nyc.gov

Description, Goals, Intended Outcomes: 

Writing a winning grant application involves collaborating on the menu (align your goals with those of the administration and other stakeholders) choosing the right recipe (matching your needs to an available grant), gathering the ingredients (statistics and other information), chopping, slicing and dicing (analyzing the statistics and your needs), careful and accurate cooking (writing the proposal), serving (proofreading & submission), and cleaning up (documenting the project). 

The goal of this presentation is to inspire others to try their hands at grant writing.

Cooking Up a Winning Grant Application

Plan the menu:

Dream big – and talk about your dreams with your administrator and other stakeholders!  Whatever you want to “cook up” must work with the goals of your school.

Find the right recipe:

Read grant applications carefully.  You might have to wait and read a lot of fine print before you find one that is a good match.

Gather the ingredients:

Become very familiar with the statistics pages for your school.  You will also want to read the statistics pages for your school at the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES).  Look creatively at your school to find other evidence that will support your proposal.

Chopping, slicing, and dicing:

Carefully fit your statistics into the grant form.  Study the statistics and decide what story they tell about your school and how that story meshes with your grant proposal.

Follow the recipe carefully and accurately:

Read and reread the grant guidelines and questions.  Make sure that all the questions are answered completely and accurately.  

Add spice:

Read what you have written so far.  Can you make it more personal?  Remember, most grant proposals are about the kids!  Did you write about why you and your students really care about this project?

Check the seasonings:

Read your proposal again, and then ask your administrator and trusted professional friends to read and comment on the proposal.

Serve:

Presentation matters!  Make your proposal look good on the page.  Find at least two people with good proofreading skills to check for mechanics and style.  Treat these people very well.  Read, re-read, and follow all the guidelines for submitting the grant. 

Clean up:

Document your project.  Provide any requested follow-up statistics.  Celebrate.  Say thank you!