Getting an Edge on Your Grant Competition

To consistently win competitive grant money, you must have an edge on your competition. One easy way to do that is to make sure you thoroughly address every part of a grant application. If you leave out a part-- or simply put in "fluff" to meet the application requirements-- it is likely your grant application will not be competitive and you will not receive money.

Let's say you are going to fill out an application for a reading grant... The grant application has seven parts, and one part deals with community involvement. You are trying to write a grant for a reading lab that, in your initial planning, would not require community involvement. The other six parts of the application are worth 95 percent; the community involvement part is worth only 5 percent. You simply decide not to fill out the community involvement part of the application because the rest of your application is strong enough that the 5 percent won't matter. That would be a devastating mistake.

Many grants are so competitive that the funded applications have scores of 97 percent or higher. Those other grant writers knew that in order to be competitive they needed every single point they could muster.

But you say, "I'd never leave a section of a grant application blank. I'd put something in there whether we intended to implement it or not." That's the second biggest mistake you could make. Believe me, grant readers are pretty good at sniffing out the fluff and the disingenuous. Now for the solution: In the planning stages, even before you begin to write your grant, make sure you have a good, strong, balanced program that more than meets the criteria for every required section. Be sure that every required area actually enhances your program.

Be sure the community is involved in your reading lab in a way that will make your reading scores increase and make the community feel as if they played a role as partners in the new program. In essence, regardless of the requirements of the grant, you should write each section as if it is the only section the grant readers will score. Make each section that good and that vital to the overall program, and you will get the points you need to win most of the grants you write.

Check It Out! Grant Opportunity

Grant Name: Technology Grants for Rural Schools

Funded by: Foundation for Rural Education and Development

Description: Technology Grants for Rural Schools program was created to help meet the growing need for innovative technology in the classroom. The grants are funded by a donation from Rural Telephone Finance Cooperative (RTFC) and strive to help public schools in rural areas served by OPASTCO members bring modern computers to every classroom, connect schools to the information superhighway and make sure that effective and engaging software and online resources are an integral part of the school curriculum.

Program Areas: Technology Recipients: Public School Private/Charter School Proposal

Deadline: 9/14/2009

Total Amount: $50,000.00

Average Amount: $10,000.00

Website: http://www.fred.org/pdfs/2009techgrant_web.pdf

Availability: All States

Check It Out! Grant Opportunity

Grant Name: ING Foundation Educational Grants

Funded by: ING

Foundation Description: As part of their commitment to educators, ING honors excellence in education through a series of programs and sponsorships.

Program Areas: Arts, Community Involvement/Volunteerism, General Education, Health/PE, Math, Reading, Science/Environment, Social Studies, Vocational Recipients: Public Schools, Private/Charter Schools, Higher Education Proposal

Deadline: 9/5/09

Average amount: $200 - $400,000

Telephone: 770-980-6580

E-mail: ingfoundation@us.ing.com

Website: http://www.ing-usa.com/us/aboutING/CorporateCitizenship/index.htm

Availability: All States

Check It Out! Grant Opportunity

Grant Name: Kinder Morgan Foundation Education Grants

Funded by: Kinder Morgan Foundation

Description: Grants are primarily directed to educational programs for youth in grades K-12. Funding is provided to local, state, provincial and regional educational institutions, libraries, and programs that provide ongoing support such as Junior Achievement. The foundation also supports youth programs provided by local arts organizations, symphony orchestras, museums, and others. Initial approach is to contact the foundation for application form, which is required.

Program Areas: Arts, Community Involvement/Volunteerism, General Education, Library, Math, Reading, Science/ Environmental, Social Studies

Recipients: Public School, Other Proposal

Deadline: 9/10/09

Average Amount: $3,500 - $5,000

Telephone: 303-763-3471

E-mail: km_foundation@kindermorgan.com

Website: http://www.kindermorgan.com/community/km_foundation.cfm

Availability: All States