How to Write a Grant for School

Many grant funders set aside large sums of money for schools. To get the money, a school must submit a proposal written according to the specifications of the prospective funder. Usually this involves profiling the school, describing a significant need or opportunity, and proposing a program that meets the need or takes advantage of the opportunity. A grant request also breaks down the proposed program into measurable steps that will be accomplished according to a schedule. Finally, the request provides a detailed budget for how the funds will be used. All of this information must be provided within two to seven pages, not including attachments.

Things You'll Need

• Demographic information about the school and its community Researched statistics about the problem Information about similar programs List of materials needed to do the program and their cost

Instructions

Instructions

1. Profile your school using demographic information. List how many students are enrolled, their socio-economic and ethnic information, and statistics about their academic performance. In the first few lines of your grant request, identify the issue, opportunity or problem in terms of measurable benefits to your students. This forms your executive summary section, which should be only one or two paragraphs.

2. Detail how you will take advantage of an opportunity or solve a serious problem for your school. Perhaps your school has a large problem with truancy, which you think you could combat by hiring a social worker to work with the families of students with histories of habitual truancy. After researching other schools that have had success using this approach, you decide to fund the salary of an additional social worker for one year through a grant. Then, if your truancy rate shows improvement, you will ask the district to fund the position, which should pay for itself in state funds based on daily attendance rates. This plan provides the objectives section of your grant proposal, which should be a detailed paragraph.

3. Break the plan down into specific steps that are tied to a timeline. Each step should become one sentence in the methods section of your grant request. The entire section should be one paragraph. Follow this with a budget. First, the budget should be written in narrative form. For example: "We will hire one school social worker at an annual salary of $36,000 including benefits." Format the same budget information as a chart using Excel or some other spreadsheet. This sheet should be attached to the body of your grant request.

4. Research prospective grant funders online. Go to the Chronicle of Philanthropy's website. Click on "Deadlines" on the left navigation menu. Then click "Education" in the window that pops up. Search for requests for proposals from grant funders that might match your proposed project. Another place to look for requests for proposals for school grants is at Grant Wrangler's website. You can subscribe to a free weekly online listing of new grants available to schools. The Foundation Center is another place to look for prospective grant funders for your school. It provides an online database of grant-makers. Search there using such keywords as "education," "elementary and secondary education" or "children and youth." After you identify several potential funders, follow the funders' specifications for a first approach, which could be by telephone, email, letter or by submitting a full request. Your goal is to pre-qualify your request and to learn the name of a person at the foundation to whom you can direct your grant request.

5. Revise your grant proposal so that you insert language that resonates with the funder to whom you will send the final proposal. Follow the exact directions that a funder specified and meet the deadline. The final section of the proposal should explain how you will evaluate the success of the program as well as how you will communicate information about the program to your funder. Have the principal write a cover letter to your contact at the foundation. Get the proposal reviewed by someone who has not read it before. Then revise it for spelling, punctuation, grammar and clarity. Use 12-point font with 1-inch margins. Do not fold the proposal before mailing.

Resources

• Foundation Center Online
• Grant Wrangler
• Chronicle of Philanthropy