During my time as a Technology Coordinator for my school district I wrote or co-wrote many grants. I learned a great deal while a part of that team and through writing and implementing these grants.
Match the Grant with Your District Strategic Plan
No matter how cool the opportunity, if it doesn't fit with your district vision, mission and strategic plan, you may end up with cool tools or a neat program that doesn't go any deeper than that. I know that sounds obvious, but I've been tempted to do this, I'm guessing you might be too. Your strategic plan should be a living document, so live within it so you can meet your goals. Sort of like asking yourself,
"Would you buy those shoes on clearance if they were still full price?" If the answer is no, don't buy them. If it wasn't important enough to include in your plan, walk away. Focus
Talk to the People the Grant Will Affect
I once worked on a grant with my superintendent to get video conferencing equipment for our entire school district. It was a really complicated, long process to write this grant. Eventually, we DID get the grant and then the fun began, it was super time consuming to implement and report on. The time spent on this grant in relation to the amount of use the equipment got was a fail. The teachers in the buildings really weren't ready for or interested in video conferencing at the time. They already had a bunch of new tech tools, and a million other things on their plate. Actually, the whole tech department had a lot of new tech tools and a lot on OUR plate. Eventually we made good use of the grant, but the timing was bad, talk to people who will actually use the equipment/program etc.. before applying.
Keep Copies of Everything
So many grants are now "submit online only". I highly recommend writing everything in Word or Google docs, save it. Especially the section that asks for data that you will use over and over again as you apply for other grants. I wish I had a dollar for every time I filled in info on an online form and had the form freeze up and I LOST IT ALL. (Nope, not really, I really really do put it all in word and then copy and paste it in. )
Check Yourself
In working on a grant with a fellow administrator, we wrote a truly incredible grant, I mean, we were on fire, it was an amazing plan. The only problem? We both had actual full time positions with the district already and the grant plan we had written would take a ton of time to implement, measure and report on. So we "checked ourselves". What is the essence of what we want to get out of this grant, what CAN we actually manage, we scaled back in order to do it well. And, we got the grant!
Follow the directions
Sounds simple, right?
Surprising how many people don't do it. If the grant is to be double spaced, a certain font, font size, specifies no more than two attachments, wants you to stand on your head while faxing the app and singing God Bless America, DO IT.
Just follow the directions.
Lastly, where are my go to places to find grants besides just watching my Twitter Feed? These two.
eSchool News Funding Tab
EdWorks Facebook Page
Don't forget about your own state DOE, local community foundation and big chain stores like Target who often run mini grants for teachers:)
Happy grant writing!
