1. Writing A Grant—From Start To Finish
Workshop 5:
Submitting Your Proposal—And
Beyond!
Educational Resource Development
& LCC Foundation
April 25, 2017

2. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Last week we discussed
Working with collaborative partners
Planning and running effective meetings
Documenting grant proposal work
Evaluating the grant
preparation process
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

3. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
This week we’ll discuss
Submitting your grant application:
Prepare the proposal for submission
Plan to implement the project if funded
After you’ve submitted the application:
Follow up with the potential funder
Discuss grant process with LCC and LCC Foundation
when your proposal is funded
Track the project and prepare grant reports
Build and maintain relationships with funders
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

4. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Personal reflection
What were you able to work on last week (research, writing, collaborating, etc.)?
What did you learn?
If you were to continue
working on this project,
what next steps would you
take?
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

5. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Preparing to submit an application
Check all application requirements carefully-sections,
table of contents, sequence, space or page limits,
headers/footers, page numbers:
x Cover page
x Abstract
x Project Narrative
x Budget
x Budget Narrative
x Letters of Support/Commitment
x Organizational Chart
x Resumes/Vitae
x Other Requirements
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

6. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Federal grant format requirements (Example)
You must limit the application narrative, which includes the budget narrative, to no more than 65 pages:
A “page” is 8.5" x 11", on one side only, with 1" margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. Page numbers and an identifier may be within the 1" margin.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) all text in the application narrative, including charts, tables, figures, and graphs. Titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions may be singled spaced.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger, or no smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font (including Times Roman and Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

7. Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!
From 2015 Capital Area Community Foundation grant application
BECAUSE OF THE EXTENSIVE NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS TO BE REVIEWED,
APPLICATIONS NOT FOLLOWING ALL INSTRUCTIONS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED.
Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!

8. Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!
Preparing a cover letter
Cover letters are generally submitted as part of a
foundation or corporate grant request, though
they are not always required. They provide a brief
(1 page) synopsis of:
¶ 1. Applicant name, project name, which grant
you’re applying for project name, project
goal (sometimes $ amount requested)
¶ 2. Overview or project highlights
¶ 3. Project partners—internal and
external—and their roles
¶ 4. Thanks for considering us; your contact person.
Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!

9. Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!
Preparing an abstract
Abstracts are generally required in federal grant
applications as a separate document in the grant
package. They provide a brief (typically 1 page)
summary of the project, using the same language as
in the narrative. In addition:
They require information as specifically laid out in the RFP
They may have format requirements
They sometimes count towards the application’s page limit; sometimes not
Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!

10. Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!
Online submission package examples
OUR Community Foundation (formerly Capital Region Community Foundation)
Michigan Humanities Council
Kellogg Foundation
Dept. of Labor YouthBuild
grants.html?keywords=title%20iii
(Click on Download Package)
Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!

11. Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!
Submitting the application
ERD Process
Need LCC review and approval to submit
ERD circulates entire package for review and
approval at least a week before the due date
ERD finalizes and submits the grant package
LCC Foundation Process
Dean knows but no institutional approval is
needed
No commitment of college resources
Submitting Your Proposal– And Beyond!

12. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Follow up with potential funders
Foundations and Corporations
Some funders post a grant decision timeline on their website
Many funders will respond to an or call about an application's status
Plan to wait at least three months after submitting an application to contact them
Many boards of directors don’t meet monthly or may not have time to review applications at a regular meeting
Beverly A. Browning, Grant Writing For Dummies, 5th edition
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

13. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Follow up with potential funders
Federal Agencies
Applicants receive two separate grants.gov s
1) Acknowledge receiving the application
2) Confirm that the application has been received
Government departments discourage, and often prohibit, contacting their staff during the grant review
However, applicants can and are encouraged to contact their legislators to let them know the application was submitted
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

14. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
If a grant is awarded
Thank the funder (foundation and corporate grants)
Let your federal legislators know (federal grants)
Review, complete, and submit any acceptance forms and contracts required by the funder (all grants)
ERD circulates federal and state grant
acceptance documents for approval before
submitting
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

15. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Additional grant award process steps
ERD will:
Contact the Center for Data Science if they are involved with the project
Hold an award start-up meeting
Attend periodic grant expenditure review meetings
led by Grants Finance
The LCC Foundation will:
Complete any required paperwork
Coordinate ongoing information exchange with the
funder
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

16. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
If your grant proposal isn’t funded…
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

17. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
…Take these steps
Thank the funder for considering your request
Ask for feedback on why the project wasn’t funded (some federal agencies provide reviewers’ comments; some allow personal follow-up with the agency contact)
Use this as an opportunity to build a stronger connection with the funder
Follow up with your legislators, if appropriate
Never be argumentative!
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

18. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
The challenges of project delivery
Need to hire new project staff for start-up
Need to replace project staff who leave
Project partner withdraws
Unforeseen organizational problems arise (department reorganization, change in leadership, etc.)
Project start is delayed
Project isn’t working as anticipated
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

19. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
When a good grant goes wrong
Despite your best efforts, sometimes things go wrong. If so:
Call the funder to report any major project deviations
Seek funder approval to change any aspect of how you spend the grant funds
Don’t wait until the end of the project to reveal a problem
You will lose credibility with the funder
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

20. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
What if you don’t spend all the $$s?
Some funders will extend
the funding period
You may lose any unspent
funds and possibly weaken
your relationship with
the funder
Regular grant finance meetings can help
prevent this scenario
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

21. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Preparing grant reports
Track project implementation and outcomes
In some grants, tracking and reporting outcomes continues after the grant ends
Know who will be preparing and submitting reports
The LCC Foundation will help with grants they
submitted
Follow funder’s requirements, formats, and deadlines
Work with Grant Finance and Center for Data Science as needed
Send ERD a copy of any reports
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

22. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Dr. Samuel Johnson, to an aspiring writer:
“Your manuscript is both good and original; but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.”
Using the skills you’ve learned in
these workshops can help your grant
writing be both good and original—and can
help secure funds that support your work and
benefit the college.
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

23. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Workshop 6 will provide time and assistance for you to work on your project idea or case statement There will be no formal presentation We encourage you to come
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!

24. Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!
Contact ERD and the LCC Foundation:
ERD
Jeanne Donado, Grant Development Coordinator
ext. 1307
Vivian Keeney, Grant System Coordinator
ext. 1581
LCC Foundation
Dan McKean, Executive Director, ext. 1987
Peggy Hellwig, Scholarship and Operations Coordinator, ext. 1989
Submitting Your Proposal—And Beyond!