Providing for sufficiency. (Breaking Ranks)

There are never enough resources, and there are always too many demands on those that exist. Principals are challenged not only to manage their school resources to maximize effectiveness, but also to develop new resources for their schools and programs. Usually, the most promising source of new funding is from grants and gifts. Check out this section and these sites for promising leads and advice from the pros.

Grants At a Glance

For schools, there are normally three sources of external or "soft" funding:

Grants or Contracts from Federal, State or Local Governments. Usually competitive, these require the school to perform some specific task or service. Grants operate with explicit rules and requirements, and are given to support a specific goal or state agenda.

Grants from Private Foundations or Organizations. Often more flexible in what they fund and how they fund it, most still have specific procedures for making contact and submitting proposals. They will not consider proposals outside of their agenda and goals.

Gifts. Coming from corporations, individuals, or public interest groups, they may support the work of the school or a specific purpose. Gifts may be in the form of money, equipment, services, or other resources.

Hot Tips. to the top

1. Start close to home. Local foundations are more likely to give to local causes, and less likely to be solicited by heavy-hitters, such as university grant officers. Use the Foundation Directory to locate local donors and give them the chance to fund a local initiative.

2. Understand the giver's agenda. Be sure your project falls within the donor's guidelines. Use the Foundation Directory to learn about their goals and the projects they have funded in the past. Use their words when describing your project, and avoid jargon as much as possible.

3. Buddy-up. Donors like to maximize the effects of their money and promote partnerships. By hooking up with another school, agency or university, you show the funder that their money will support more than one good institution and may launch a long-term relationship.

4. Specify clear outcomes for the project. Be clear about what the project will do and how you will measure its success.

5. Be succinct. You should be able to describe what your project will do in 25 clear, jargon-free words or less. If you can't, keep working on making it clear, simple and easy to understand.

6. Prepare Boilerplate. Get good descriptions of your school, community, programs, and other material ready to include in multiple grant applications.

7. Flood the Market. Never submit only one grant application. Re-format them as required and send them to more than one grantor at a time. Often, they prefer to "share" a project.

Issues and Questions.

1. Check district policies. Grants obligate the school to certain tasks, so be sure you follow your district's guidelines for submitting proposals. Most have internal review procedures that will add time to preparing the grant proposal, so factor that into your planning and writing time.

2. Don't make promises you can't keep. Don't promise to do something to get the money, then do something else with it instead. Donors can be flexible, so if conditions in the school change, or a problem emerges, talk with the funding agency right away.

3. Did you ask for enough money? Don't exceed giving guidelines, but don't skimp on resources either. If you have to cut corners, you may become resentful or may do a poor job.

Resources: Finding Funds to the top

Computers for Kids

How to get or donate computers for kids.

Computer Recycling.

Help in accessing donated software and making informed choices.

EDInfo

A list serve that provides updates on federal projects and grants.

Ed.Gov Technology in Education

The DOE ed tech web page.

Federal Register

Offers a free, searchable data base of thousands of funding opportunities for schools.

Funding for Technology Resources

Reports, articles, strategies, funding sources and grant-writing tips from the mid-Continent Lab.

Funding Opportunities from the US Department of Education

Federal grants are large, competitive and very rule-bound. However, this site may suggest areas for potential partnerships with universities or other agencies in developing competitive proposals.

George Lucas Education Foundation

GLEF doesn't give grants, but provides a list of sources for grant information.

PhilanthropySearch.com

A searchable data base of a broad range of funding resources.

Phil's Place

Links to funding sources on the Internet.

Technology & Learning

T&L magazine's searchable database of fund sources for teachers and students.

Technology Education Lab

Access grant and funding information to support technology education.

Technology Grants and Funding Opportunities

A great way for you to get the inside track on the latest tech funding opportunities.

Toshiba America Foundation

Contributes to programs in math and science. It's grant application form is a great model.

Yahoo Grant Information Center

Links to grant resources from the browser folks at Yahoo. Some are more useful than others.

Resources: Grant Writing Tips, Tutorials and Technical Assistance to the top

A Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing for Educators

Designed for novice grant writers, it's clear, simple and straightforward.

EPA Grant Writing Tutorial

Interactive tutorial gives guidance on how to structure proposals. Includes model proposals.

Focus on Fundraising

Advice, models and resources for soliciting funds from government and private sources.

Grants and Grant Writing: Dos and Don'ts.

Ten tips for grant-writers, elements of a grant proposal, why grant proposals get rejected. Great!

Grantwriters.com

News in the grants world, new and unique funding sources, professional advice, and links.

Grant Writing Tips from About.com

For novice grant writers, links help organize efforts and outline basic steps and procedures.


Guide to Proposal Preparation and Submission from Cornell University

A little stuffy, but very comprehensive. Contains an excellent reference manual.

Michigan Electronic Library

The focus is mostly on Michigan, with links to other sources as well.

Pac Bell Grants Page

Excellent, useful information on grant writing and funding sources. Bookmark this one!

Proposal Writers Guide from the University of Michigan
l
Complete reference from a great source. Check out "why proposals get rejected."

SchoolGrants

Comprehensive and user-friendly site gives on grant writing by schools.

Ten Point Plan for Standard Grant Funding Proposal

Sample grant applications, includes budget, cover letters, etc. An excellent resource

Total Cost of Ownership

Helpful information on network development, retrofitting, cost projection and other grant issues.

Writing Grants

Comprehensive guide to locating funds and writing grants.

Writing Winning Grants

Tech-wizard Alan November' website provides download guide for seeking technology funding.

Print Resources to the top

Foundation Directory (Annual). New York: The Foundation Center. Available in libraries and universities. Lists every foundation in the US, by state, with their objectives and application procedures. Also lists recent grants funded and their amounts.

Ward, D. Grant Writing Dos and Don’ts. Technology and Learning. June, 1998. Excellent article on how to get started writing grants for technology.

Coburn, J. What Works: Successful Approaches to Funding. Technology and Learning. February, 1999. Five different strategies to locate funds for technology in the school. Creative solutions to perennial problems.

Novelli, J. Internet Basics: How to Pay the Internet Piper. Electronic Learning. May/June, 1997.

Ritchie, D. and Boyle, K. Finding the Bucks for Technology. Learning and Leading with Technology. v. 26, no. 2, October, 1998. A very complete discussion, including good references and www links to sources.

Carter, K. Finding the Funds. Technology and Leanring. June, 1998. A month by month listing of grants, scholarships and contests. Some repeat annually, others are offered only once.

Brewer, E., Achilles, C. and Fuhriman, J. (1997). Finding Funding: Grantwriting and Project Management from Start to Finish. 3rd ed., Corwin Press. How to write a proposal that gets noticed, where to find money and how to manage the grant.

Funding Sources for K-12 Schools and Adult Basic Education. (Annual). Oryx Press. Annual directory lists over 1500 funding opportunities. Each entry contains description, contact information, deadlines and sample winners.