How to Write a Grant for Technology in the Classroom
Grants are an excellent way for educational organizations to raise money for technology needs in the classroom. But competition is stiff for limited funds. To receive grant money, organizations need to have a well written grant proposal. There are a number of guidelines for writing a grant for technological equipment for the classroom.
Instructions
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Prepare to Write Your Grant
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1
Know exactly what equipment you want and how you intend to use it. Foundations only give money for equipment to educational organizations that have provided details on what is needed and how it will improve students' lives. While you may not be able to provide specific model numbers for equipment, you do need to outline what it needs to be able to do and how much it will cost to buy and maintain. Detail how it will help students, such as improving math scores or reading comprehension.
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2
Find grant sources that fit your grant request or mission. Foundations have their own missions and guidelines on the types of programs they will fund and equipment they will supply. Use a resource such as the Foundation Center (http://www.foundationcenter.org/) to locate sources that fund educational organizations, technology purchases, and programs related to your mission, such as reading or mathematics. Another resource is your local library which should have directories of grant foundations.
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3
Request guidelines or an application from the foundations that provide funds for programs that match your needs. The requirements of most grant proposals are similar, but some foundations request additional information. Plus the guidelines or an application will list deadlines for applying for funding.
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4
Write a summary of your grant request. This should be less than a page long and outline how much money you're seeking, what it will be used to buy, and how it will improve the lives of students.
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5
Create a need or problem statement. Explain why you need the technology in your classroom. Is existing equipment horribly out of date and not able to run the programs needed to help students? Are your students disadvantaged, so the technology will help them do better in school? Are the students in special programs that require additional technology to help them learn more effectively than traditional teaching? To get funds you must show that there is a real need for what you're asking.
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6
Map out goals and objectives. Foundations need clear goals and data-based objectives so they can quantify how their money will help. Let the foundation know what you want to accomplish, including the specific results. Your goal may be to improve literacy and the objective might be to have 85% of students pass a standardized literacy test.
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7
Outline your methods and strategies, listing specific steps that show how you'll use the technology to achieve your goals. When will it be used? How often will it be used? How will it be used? What specific tasks will be done with the equipment?
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8
Let the foundation know how you'll evaluate how well the technology equipment helped reach your goals. Provide qualitative results. Let the foundation know what sorts of records and data you'll be collecting, any tests or measurements that will be conducted and anything else that can provide information that shows the results of your efforts.
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9
Report other funding sources. Most foundations do not want to be the sole supporter of a program. They want to know that you have other funds whether they are donations, fundraisers, other grants or service fees. If you'll need continued funding to support the technology, describe how you will obtain it.
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10
Provide information about your organization such as its history, mission, population served and its track record for meeting its mission.
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11
Give a budget of the cost of the technology you're asking for. Most foundations want to see the total program budget that includes direct and indirect expenses, overhead costs, as well as income earned or contributed including in-kind donations or matching of funds.
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12
Pull together additional supporting materials. Most foundations will want proof of your non-profit status, copies of the current and next year's budget, financial statements and information about board members or managers of the program.
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13
Package all information (from Steps 4 through 12) including anything additional the foundation asks for, write a cover letter and send it to the foundation by the deadline given in the guidelines.
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