University of Great Falls

College of Graduate Studies

MSM 512 Grant Proposal Writing

 

Spring 2008

 

Instructor:                     Deborah J. Kottel

Office:                          201 Sullivan Hall

Contact Info:                dkottel@ugf.edu

                                    406-899-7401 (cell)

                                    406-791-5339 (office)

 

I.                   Course Description

 

The purpose of this course is to increase your ability to prepare, write and submit grant proposals for not-for-profit organizations by focusing on skills necessary to define fundable projects, identify appropriate funding sources, develop formal funding request, and manage the proposal process. This course is taught via the Blackboard system. How to log on to the course is described at the end of this syllabus. The course week runs from Wednesday until Tuesday at midnight.

 

II.                Learning Outcomes

Students at the completion of the course will be able to

·        Identify sources of grant funding relevant to their project/program’s purpose and needs

·        Identify and clearly present a need for grant funding

·        Make a compelling case that the non profit organization is the appropriate organization to meet the need

·        Design activities and detailed implementation plan that will produce desired outcomes as related to need

·        Create credible formative and summative evaluation plan to assess whether their proposed project is producing desired outcomes

·        Understand how proposals are evaluated by funders

 

III.             Resource Material

 

There is not a required text for this class.  Resources and materials are available on line and will be posed in the course documents section of the class. Students may wish to invest in the resources bellow

 

Fundraising for Social Change by Kim Klein.

 
Winning Grants Step by Step : Support Centers of America's Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing, and Writing Successful Proposals by Mim Carlson.

 

Grassroots Grants : An Activist's Guide to Proposal Writing by Andy Robinson.

I'll Grant You That : A Step-By-Step Guide to Finding Funds, Designing Winning Projects, and Writing Powerful Proposals by Jim Burke and Carol Ann Prater.

How Foundations Work : What Grantseekers Need to Know About the Many Faces of Foundations by Dennis A. McIlnay.

The Insider's Guide to Grantmaking by Joel J. Orosz.

Grant Writing : Strategies for Developing Winning Proposals by Patrick W. Miller.

Designing Successful Grant Proposals by Donald C. Orlich.

Winning Strategies for Developing Grant Proposals by Don Hoffman, Denise Lamoreaux and Lisa Hayes.

Demystifying Grant Seeking: What You REALLY Need to Do to Get Grants by Larissa Golden Brown, Martin John Brown, Judith E. Nichols.

Grant Seeker's Budget Toolkit by James Aaron Quick, Cheryl Carter New.

Successful Grant Writing : Strategies for Health and Human Service Professionals by Laura N. Gitlin, Kevin J. Lyons.

Grant Application Writer's Handbook by Liane Reif-Lehrer.

The 'How To' Grants Manual: Successful Grantseeking Techniques for Obtaining Public and Private Grants by David G. Bauer.

Proposal Planning and Writing (2nd Edition) by Lynn E. Miner, Jeremy T. Miner, Jerry Griffith.

Getting Funded : A Complete Guide to Proposal Writing by Mary S. Hall.

Storytelling for Grantseekers: The Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising by Cheryl A. Clarke.

Writing for a Good Cause: The Complete Guide to Crafting Proposals and Other Persuasive Pieces for Nonprofits by Joseph Barbato and Danielle Furlich.

Fundraising on the Internet: The ePhilanthropyFoundation.org's Guide to Success Online, 2nd Edition by Mal Warwick (editor).



 

 

IV.              Class Requirements

 

  1. Prospect Research

Students will be required to research funders that match funding needs. Two funders will need to be identified and all pertinent information about the funders will be presented using a standard form. An online discussion will be held and student will present at least one funder to the class.

 

  1. Grant Reviewing

Each student will be responsible for reviewing and critiquing two grants and a minimum of two student proposed grants.

 

  1. Grant Proposal

Each student is responsible for writing a grant and presenting the entire grant to the class for review.

 

  1. Weekly Assignments

Students are expected to read and respond to all weekly assignments.

 

  1. Class Participation

Students are expected to actively participate in all online discussion board activities. Each student is required to post at least two substantive comments each week to the discussion board.

 

V.                 Method of Evaluation

Grading for this class is based on the following points

 

1.   On line discussion board participation    10 points a week  (140 points)

2.   Grant Proposal                                     200 points

3.   Prospect Research                                              50 points

4.   Weekly Assignments                                         140 points

 

Letter grades will be based on the following Scale

100 – 90%             A

89 - 80%               B

79 – 70%               C

69 – 60%               D

Below 60%            F

 

VI.              Academic Misconduct

Students are held responsible for knowing and abiding the policies on plagiarism and the University of Great Falls policy on academic misconduct.

 

 

 

VII.           Course Outline

 

Week 1

Course Overview, Student Introductions, Introduction to Grant Writing

 

Week 2

Grant Components, Small Grant Review, Begin Identification of Non profit Organization/client

 

Week 3

Project Planning and Formation, Research Funding Sources

 

Week 4

Prospect Research Due

Components of Grant Writing: Problem Statement

Week 5

Students present and discuss funders as posted by student research

 

Week 6

Components of Grant Writing: Mission, Goals and Objectives

 

Week7

Components of Grant Writing: Mission, Goals and Objectives Cont.

Review and critique of large grant

 

Week 8

Components of Grant Writing: Budgeting and grant formatting

 

Week 9

Components of Grant Writing: Evaluation measures

 

Week 10

Components of Grant Writing: Evaluation measures cont.

Submit Grant draft for review (optional)

 

Week 11

Completion of Grant Proposal

Open Forum

 

Week12

Student Grants Posted and Defended

 

 

Week 13

Student Grants Posted and Defended

 

Week 14

Student redraft and modification of grant proposals

 

Week 15

Final Project Due

 

 

Prospect Research

 

Final product:       Two funder profiles

Grading:   50 Total Points

 

Funder profiles must at a minimum include

·        Name of funder

·        Type of funder

·        Board members and affiliations

·        Geographic location of giving

·        Deadlines for grant submission

·        History of giving

·        Areas of concentration

·        Average and range of award amounts

·        Total yearly funding

·        Organizations and projects currently funded

·        Assessment of success with funder for your project

 

Grant Proposal

 

Final product: One fully completed Grant Proposal.

Grading: 200 points

 

Criteria

Points

Meets all technical Grant submission requirements

20

Need Analysis

25

Mission, Goals and Objectives

25

Program Design and Plan

45

Budget

25

Evaluation

25

Match to Funders interests

10

Defense/of Grant to class

25

 

 

 

 

Grant Proposal Defense and Presentation

 

Each student will defend their grant to the class and answer any questions regarding

 

WELCOME TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GREAT FALLS BLACKBOARD PROGRAM IN COOPERATION WITH BELLEVUE UNIVERSITY ONLINE!

 

** You will need a browser version that is 6 or higher **

For the latest version of Internet Explorer, go to:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/default.asp

 

For the latest version of Netscape, go to:

http://channels.netscape.com/ns/browsers/default.jsp

 

Directions for accessing your course:

 

1.  SEVEN DAYS PRIOR TO THE START DATE OF YOUR COURSE, you will be able to access Bellevue University Online by 6:00 p.m. Central time:    

 

                 Go to:         https://cyberactive.bellevue.edu  Click “Login”

 

  1. You will be prompted for a userid and password.  Do not use Capital Letters.

Your userid is the first letter of your first name and your entire last name, without

breaks, and in lower case (e.g. Jim Brown would use jbrown).  If there is already a

person with your same first and last name on the system, we will set your userid using the first letter of your first name, your middle initial and last name (e.g. jebrown).

 

Your password is bell.

 

3.  This brings you to your Welcome page.  Look in the section entitled "My Courses".  Click on the course(s) listed, in order to enter your online classroom!  Some areas of the course will be available for viewing, but not all.  You will be able to see your ENTIRE course 7 days prior to the day it is scheduled to start, by 6:00 p.m. Central time.

 

4.  Once you are in your class, click on "Student Tools “located on the left side of your screen, then click on "Personal Information” to update your email address and change your password from “bell” to one of your choosing.  From this point forward, use your new password.

                

5.  Take time to explore the Student Manual, located in the "Student Tools" area.

 

If, after having checked your browser, you have any difficulties accessing your class, please contact the College of Distributed Learning: buonline@ bellevue.edu, or call (800) 756-7920 ext. 7140 or (402) 557-7140.  

 

 Hardware and Software Requirements for Taking Online Courses

Technical (PC):                      Technical (MAC):                  Software

Pentium Processor or higher      G3 Processor or higher             MS Office Professional

32Mb RAM or higher               32Mb RAM or higher               (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access)

Windows 95 or higher              OS 8 or higher                          Windows Media Player 9 or higher

56k Modem or higher               56k Modem or higher               Adobe Acrobat Reader

Sound Card/Speakers              Sound Card/Speakers              Macromedia Flash Player 6

 

Thank you!

 

Revised 8/21/07