Archive for the ‘Resources’ Category

Grant Writing: Strategies for Developing Winning Government Proposals by Patrick Miller

Grant Writing: Strategies for Developing Winning Government Proposals, Third Edition is designed to introduce funding seekers to the fundamental aspects of grant writing from finding potential funding opportunities to preparing successful proposals. In this comprehensive book, Patrick W. Miller, Ph.D. shares tips and tricks of grant writing and budget development while providing concise guidelines, ideas, and techniques for preparing winning grant applications. This book includes 100 tables, figures, charts, and other examples; 180 review questions and answers; 16 proposal writing and budget development exercises; 220 glossary terms and acronyms for reference; 75 up-to-date resources, including websites. The intent of this book is to help you win competitive grants. If you are seeking private and foundation funds, you will also find the techniques in this book useful.

Proposal Planning and Writing by Jeremy & Lynn Miner

In a world of limited funding, grantseeking is extremely competitive. Now in its 4th edition, this standard guide to proposal planning and writing offers new information and examples to help grantseekers in the Internet age. New to this book are updated websites, including 25% more than in the last edition. In response to user feedback, this updated volume also provides more examples of successful proposals, including 9 letter proposals, complete with annotations. The book also offers expanded information on evaluation and outcome assessments, which are key to obtaining grants. Finally, the book gives an extended discussion of project sustainability after grant support runs out, a factor critical to successful applications.

How to Write a Grant Proposal by Cheryl New and James Quick

Effective grant proposals are not so much written as they are extensively researched, developed, and positioned. The actual writing, obviously an essential component, is nevertheless only the tip of the iceberg. Grant seekers must possess the necessary skills to correctly identify potential funders, craft a proposal that meets a specific funder’s needs, and follow that funder’s directions to the letter. Cheryl New and James Quick take grant seekers step-by-step through the entire development and drafting process in How to Write a Grant Proposal.

The authors concentrate on all the behind-the-scenes, pre-writing work that makes the difference between successful grant proposals and those that potential funders discard as “nonresponsive.” New and Quick concentrate on crafting specific proposals that prove a perfect match between a funder and a solicitor’s needs. Funders and the nonprofit organizations they support are both in the business of solving problems; the key is creating a project that addresses a problem that both parties are interested in solving. How to Write a Grant Proposal provides targeted guidance for a variety of kinds of organizations, including:

K—12 private and public educational organizations

Government agencies

For-profit businesses

Health care organizations

Traditional nonprofits

Higher education universities and centers

A companion CD-ROM contains guidesheets and templates that can be easily downloaded, customized, and printed. The authors provide examples of completed proposals and numerous case studies to demonstrate how the grant-seeking process typically works.

How to Write a Grant Proposal proves a one-stop resource on how to interpret a funder’s guidelines to create a successful grant proposal.

Webster’s New World Grant Writing Handbook by Sara D. Wason

In an increasingly competitive nonprofit world, even top organizations struggle to extend their fundraising reach or simply maintain current funding levels. This thorough guide to crafting winning grant applications takes you through the entire process–from pinpointing the right funding opportunities, to writing persuasive proposals, to following up later.

Practical, reliable, and accessible to seasoned pros and grant-writing greenhorns alike, Webster’s New World Grant Writing Handbook provides comprehensive coverage of:

• Different types of foundation and corporate grantmakers
• Defining your project, as well as your organization’s mission and goals
• Tailoring your applications to each grantmaker’s interest areas
• Writing convincing letters of inquiry
• Organizing and writing hard-hitting proposals
• Following up on proposals after they’ve been submitted
• Effective donor cultivation after proposals have been approved

Featuring sample proposals, letters, and application forms; proposal checklists; a glossary of terms; and many illustrative examples, this complete resource is ideal for any nonprofit–whether you’re in a multimillion-dollar university development office or the smallest humanitarian agency.

Grant Writing for Dummuies by Beverly A. Browning

Grant Writing For Dummies, 3rd Edition serves as a one-stop reference for readers who are new to the grant writing process or who have applied for grants in the past but had difficulties. It offers 25 percent new and revised material covering the latest changes to the grant writing process as well as a listing of where to apply for grants. Grant writers will find:

• The latest language, terms, and phrases to use on the job or in proposals.
• Ways to target the best websites to upload and download the latest and user-friendly application forms and writing guidelines.
• Major expansion on the peer review process and how it helps improve one’s grant writing skills and successes.
• One-stop funding websites, and state agencies that publish grant funding opportunity announcements for seekers who struggle to find opportunities. New to third edition.

The Only Grant-Writing Book You’ll Ever Need: Top Grant Writers and Grant Givers Share Their Secrets by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox

This book is designed to help nonprofit organizations craft proposals for grants from foundations, companies, and government agencies.

Ellen Karsh, a writer and former director of the Mayor’s Office of Grants Administration, in New York, and Arlen Sue Fox, associate executive director for development at Sunnyside Community Services, also in New York, significantly update this edition from 2005 by including interviews with grant makers about how the current economic crisis is affecting their giving and how grant seekers can improve their chances of garnering support.

The book includes a proposal checklist, a glossary of terms, sample grant forms, and a list of Web sites that provide information on grants offered by foundations, corporations, and the government.
—from the Chronicle of Philanthropy

Designing Successful Grant Proposals by Donald C. Orlich

Writing a grant proposal is often an arduous process with no guarantee that you will receive funding once you’ve put the time and effort required to create a strong proposal. In this book, Donald Orlich, a seasoned grants writer, offers proven guidelines for compiling successful grant proposals. Not only does he discuss how to organize ideas and establish needs, he provides information on monitoring funding sources and managing the entire proposal-writing process. He also offers tips for keeping everyone involved and on a schedule, a model of successful proposal, and an extensive list of sources that award both public and private grants.

The Complete Guide to Getting a Grant: How to Turn Your Ideas Into Dollars by Laurie Blum

Laurie Blum knows everything there is to know about the five billion dollars in grant monies available to finance a wide array of ideas and projects. With clear explanations and proven strategies for success, her indispensable guide will help you develop a game plan to get the grant you need. Here’s where you’ll find complete details on:

• Shaping your idea to attract funding.
• Preparing your funding campaign—from research and organization to budgeting and marketing.
• Finding the right resource—building a prospect list, using basic references, and keeping data sheets.
• Writing your proposal.
• Following up on responses—what to do if you receive a grant and what steps to take if your request is turned down.

Team-Based Strategic Planning: A Complete Guide to Structuring, Facilitating, and Implementing the Process by C. Davis Fogg

Strategic planning is a critical part of running a business, but when you get a team of people together to plan, it can often become a confused exercise in grand visions without a clear process for establishing workable goals. This book is unique in providing both guidance for the actual content of strategic plans and techniques for how to plan in a team context. Readers will discover how to: * structure the process so it custom fits their company needs * effectively facilitate the process (keep meetings on track, train others in planning skills, document decisions made at meetings, present and communicate the plan) * use teams and teamwork smoothly and productively to create a far-reaching plan — and then to implement it Features detailed guidelines for each step, dozens of flowcharts, and three self-contained “”facilitator’s guides”" to follow.

I attended an eWomen Network Conference in Dallas, TX, and got to hear several great speakers. Among them was Lisa Nichols, and she said two very profound things I want to leave as tips for you:

“Get out of your comfort zone, feel the fear, and just do it!”

“People are more comfortable with the familiar discomfort, as opposed to being in an unfamiliar possibility.”