Organizing your Data:  The Data collection phase

Sherry Roland-Washington

Securing funding for schools has remain a challenge for rural, urban, and private schools since the turn of the century.  In Illinois and Pennsylvania, the lack of a current state budget has severely impacted schools’ and state universities’ abilities to impart resources to learners.  Educational leaders in many schools are faced with the dilemma of seeking an answer to that old adage, “How am I going to do more with less?”  “How am I going to meet payroll and ensure the distribution of equitable materials for all students given the constraints of the budget?”  Although the questions are rhetorical in nature, the reality of the situation is authentic.

Public school funding in the United States comes from federal, state, and local sources, but because nearly half of those funds come from local property taxes, the system generates large funding differences between wealthy and impoverished communities. Such differences exist among states, among school districts within each state, and even among schools within specific districts.  Many Educational Leaders are confronted with two choices: believe the fabricated story the money is on the way, or empower the staff to come up creative ways to balance the budget and ensure a rigorous education for all learners.   Given the constraints of the limited options, many Educators go into survival mode and apply for an assortment of grants. 

Applying for grants is a feasible option, if you have the right structures in place.  After several years as a Grant consultant for schools, faith based organizations, and non-profit companies; the best advice I would give any school district, sports group, or church group seeking a grant is take the time to establish an honest, transparent strategic plan aligned to the organizations’ goals, mission and vision statements. 

EDUCATIONAL GRANT TIP #1:   ORGANIZE YOUR DATA

Just as we organize our information in preparation to file taxes, it is vitally important organizations take time to compile the data in one central location.  Whether you are working with a consultant or have assigned the duty to a staff in your organization, having the data in one location will leave more time for the discussion of how to implement the grant vs. more time searching for data. What data do you need?  Glad you asked that question.  I strongly recommend you start with the following:

 

·         An aligned strategic plan

·         The school’s budget

·         Data of the school’s performance (Academic, Behavioral, Attendance, & Graduation)

·         The survey data of the participates (Title 1 parent surveys, etc.)

·         The climate data of your region (crime rate, median income, unemployment data, etc.)

·         A needs statement

·         Identify the stakeholders

·         A list of your board members

·         Copies of your board minutes and agendas

·         Clarify the long term outcomes you wish to achieve

·         Generate a list of how you will document or measure  the success of your goals

Grant consultants call this process, “The pre-collection” period.  These are just a few of the documents you will need. The extensive list of data is always cited in the introduction of the grant you are applying for, it is important to read this information carefully.  There are “free” websites to store your collection of documents.  Two of my personal favorites are dropbox https://www.dropbox.com and livebinders:  http://www.livebinders.com/welcome/home.  Having this data readily available to review will help you decide which grants you should apply for.  For example, here is a sample of some upcoming federal grants from the Federal Government.

 

Ø  Elementary and Secondary School Counseling Programs

o   Program Description: This program provides funding to LEAs to establish or expand elementary and secondary school counseling programs, with special consideration given to applicants that can:  Demonstrate the greatest need for counseling services in the schools to be served; propose the most innovative and promising approaches; and Show the greatest potential for replication and dissemination.

Ø  Project School Emergency Response to Violence (SERV) Grant Program

o   Program Description: This program funds short-term and long-term education-related services for local educational agencies (LEAs) and institutions of higher education (IHEs) to help them recover from a violent or traumatic event in which the learning environment has been disrupted.

 

Ø  Project Prevent Grant Program

o   Program Description: This program provides funding to LEAs to increase their capacity both to identify, assess, and serve students exposed to pervasive violence, helping to ensure that affected students are offered mental health services for trauma or anxiety; support conflict resolution programs; and implement other school–based violence prevention strategies in order to reduce the likelihood that these students will later commit violent acts.

If your organization does not have the capacity or time to apply for the above grants, our company can provide this service for you. We are here to assist those who desire the help.  As always, please feel free to email me at sherry.washington@govgrantshelp.com with questions you have about the grant writing process for Education.  Explore our new website for Educators and share your questions and concerns on the discussion board at the grant help webpage.  Next month I will discuss how to use the data you have collected to create a logic model.  The logic model is the secret key to attaining award winning grants. Until then, continue to put students first;  and remember: YOU MATTER.

 

 

 

 

Grant Writing for Education!

 

Grant writing for Education!!  The job title said, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction, yet my direct Supervisor and her supervisors placed a request for a proposal on my desk and “strongly encouraged me” to write the grant.  This request was followed by the guilt of securing funding to avoid teacher furloughs and secure much needed resources for the students. Has this happened to you?  Were you wondering, when you would find the time to write the grant and complete your other job responsibilities?  Where is the manual for this arduous process?  Couldn’t we benefit from hiring an experience grant writer?

These are just a few of the questions EducationGrantsHelp is hoping to answer with this new resource for the Education community.  This column is being developed to help you navigate your way through the grant maze and secure the resources and tools you need to ensure equitable education opportunities for your students, staff and the community.  The process, the preparation, and the grant writing will be addressed in future articles.

For the past 25 years, I have experienced what happens when your school’s budget is drastically reduced, but you are still charged with educating students and keeping highly qualified teachers.  I have served as a teacher, Administrator, Grant Writer, and Consultant in public education,  private schools, and charter schools. The practical experience has taught me how to survive the grant maze and successfully secure grants from the federal government, state, and foundations.   With successive issues of this monthly column, I will begin the task of breaking down the grant process to make it work for you and your organization.  It is our hope that those feelings of frustration will dissolve and be replaced with a new found confidence.

Several times in my former position, I was given the task of completing a federal grant in less than three weeks, only to discover our school was not adequately prepared to apply for the major competitive grants or the foundation grants.  I will always be a teacher at heart, so here is the first lesson.  Here are 8 actions you can take now to prepare to submit for grant and avoid the unprepared grant trap:

1.       Register with SAM: What is SAM? The System for Award Management (SAM) that combines federal procurement systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance into one new system.  Before you can apply for a federal grant, you MUST register your Entity (business, individual, or government agency) to do business with the Federal Government. https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM

 

2.       Alignment: Review your school’s and/ or District’s strategic plan.  It is vital you are able to demonstrate how your proposal needs align with your organization’s mission and vision statements and defined goals. Your proposal should be easy to read and identifies what you are really going to do.

 

3.       Be Logical: Create a logic model that cites the needs, goals and objectives of the project in the order of how the process will occur.  Each priority (input) should have a stated outcomes (output/activity); directly aligned with the intermediate and long-term outcomes. A well written logic model communicates clarity and demonstrates your organization is prepared to collect data and measure the outcomes.

 

4.        Research and Read:  Schedule at least three days to read the supportive documents from the funders’ website.  This information will give you a clear idea of the expectations of the funder. There are no shortcuts, read, research, and take notes.

 

5.       Select a TEAM:  Your team could consist of at least two other people but no more than five core writing team members.  Define roles for each team member. This number is contingent upon the size of your school or district.   The team will assist the lead person in understanding the guidelines, deadlines, application procedures, budgeting, and editing. These suggestions will assist you in  adhering to the rules for submission.  They guidelines will always  differ.

 

6.       Budget:  Develop a budget that is aligned to your logic model.  Create a complete picture of how you will use the funds to implement the proposal.  Do not create a line item that is not connected to the project.  It sends an unclear message. 
 

7.       Professional: Remember to include two options of your contact information with your application and do not wait till the last minute to submit your grant proposal.  Many e-grant systems are outdated and submit a busy signal the day of the deadline. You want to make sure the funder knows how to contact you to award the grant monies.

 

To create and submit an award winning grant, remember it is a proposal not a dissertation.  Grant writing is like writing your first lesson plan or creating your first school budget, once you successfully accomplish the task you are poised for continued success.   We have backward mapped a series of supportive articles to guide you through the grant writing process and maintain your sanity.  Resources and  templates will be provided to assist you complete the process successfully, so stay connected to this blog; Grant Writing for Education with Sherry Washington.

Please feel free to email me at sherry.washington@govgrantshelp.com  with questions you have about the grant writing process for Education.  Explore our new website for Educators and share your questions and concerns on the discussion board at the grant help webpage.  Next month I will discuss how to prepare your organization's grant file and organize your information and required paperwork.  This step is vital in creating a competitive grant application. 

Let’s get started in helping you  acquire the resources you need for your organization through grant writing.