The document provides an overview of grant writing and some key tips. It discusses finding potential funding sources, researching what others have done, scheduling adequate time to plan and write proposals, emphasizing how the project aligns with funder goals, including specific details on objectives and activities, following all formatting guidelines, and being responsible with funds if a grant is received. The overall message is that grant writing requires thorough preparation and presentation to be competitive.

1. GRANT WRITING 101
Danell Hetrick, Communications Director,
BACC

2. HOW IS THIS IMPORTANT TO
ArCOP’S MISSION?
 Thanks to a grant from the Blue & You Foundation for
a Healthier Arkansas, the Arkansas Coalition for
Obesity Prevention is excited to offer its 2013 Growing
Healthy Communities Regional Summits FREE for up
to 975 attendees interested in receiving training from
experts and learning:
 How to Implement Cooking Matters Programs in Your
Community
 How to Increase Access to Healthy Foods
 How to Make Your School & Community Healthier
 How to Lead Walkability Audits
 How to Make Your Worksite Healthier
 In short, grants provide opportunities.
*www.arkansasobesity.org/news-events/

3. COMMON TERMINOLOGY
 Activities: what the program does with its
resources in order to fulfill its mission
 Budget Period: the interval of time into which
the project period is divided
 F.O.A (Funding Opportunity Announcement): a
publicly available document by which a federal
agency makes known its intentions to award
discretionary grants or cooperative
agreements, usually as a result of competition
for funds

4. COMMON TERMINOLOGY
(cont.)
 Grantee: the organization/individual to which a
grant is awarded and which is responsible and
accountable for the use of grant funds
 Grantor: the organization/individual providing
funding
 Matching Funds: the value of third-party, in-kind
contributions (non-federal funds) and/or the
portion of the costs of a federally-assisted project
or program not borne by the federal government
 Pre-Application (a.k.a. “Letter of Intent”):
statement of the intent of the applicant to request
funds; often used to predetermine the applicant’s
eligibility More definitions can by found at usda.gov

5. FINDING MONEY
 National Government (NIH, NSF, NEA, NEH)
 State Government (Arkansas Humanities
Council, Arkansas Department of Parks and
Tourism, etc.)
 Private/Corporate Non-Profits (Walmart,
Rockefeller Foundation, etc.)
 Grant Pools
 grants.gov
 cfda.gov

6. INSIDE THE GRANTOR’S
MIND
 Why should WE care?
 Is this plan viable?
 Has it been done before?
 Are YOU qualified to do it?
 What, exactly, will you do with OUR money?

7. LITERATURE REVIEW
 DO YOUR RESEARCH! Know what has
come before, who has tried it, and the
outcomes.
 Are others working on this right now? Can you
team with them? Find a network, a support
group.
 Don’t know where to start? Hire experts. Find
tools.
 David Saarnio, ASU Center for Community
Engagement
 tgci.com (The Granstmanship Center)

8. SCHEDULING/PLANNING
 Allow plenty of time! If you cannot possibly
meet a deadline, do not waste precious time
you could allocate to another opportunity.
 Know your window!
 Letter of intent due date
 Final solicitation due date
 Pay close attention to minute details:
 How many copies of each packet
 Letters of assurance
 Signatures

9. SELL YOUR PROJECT AND
SELF
 Service-Oriented: know you sponsor’s goals;
mirror key phrases and terminology
 Future-Oriented: emphasize work that should
be done rather than work that has already
been done. Stretch the boundaries of
possibility
 Sales-Oriented: lead with your most exciting
ideas, using active language, and emphasizing
your UNIQUE talents

10. LETTER OF INTENT
 Think of this as a mini-proposal.
 Summarize your proposal while:
 Being clear about your funding priorities
 Speaking to the interests of the granting agency

11. THE “MEAT”: YOUR PROJECT
DETAILS
 Be specific about your objectives and the
activities necessary to complete them.
 Be particular about what goals you will
accomplish during the grant period.
 Be explicit about your expected outcomes.
 Allow your prose to express your own
excitement about the project.

12. PROPOSAL ESSENTIALS
 Follow ALL specified formatting guidelines!
Improper formatting will KILL your proposal.
 Proofread.
 Proofread again.
 Ask a well-versed friend to proofread.
 Did I mention proofreading?

13. KEEP YOUR HEAD UP!
 You will win some and lose some.
 DO NOT stop trying to obtain grant monies.
 “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over
again and expecting different results.”—Albert
Einstein
 If a proposal is denied, change it. Do not keep
sending in the same proposal expecting a
different answer.

14. WHEN YOU WIN . . .
 Build credibility with funders by being
responsible with their money.
 Ensure tasks are given to responsible persons
who will efficiently and effectively employ the
granted funds.
 Keep thorough and accurate records of your
project.

15. THE BEST ADVICE FROM NIH
 “This highly competitive endeavor can be
subverted by poor planning, preparation,
disorganization and lackluster
presentation. The successful grantee allows
ample time to plan, organize and write a grant
application that competes well in the peer
review process and ultimately earns funding.”