Assignment Steps to Writing a Grant Proposal

							Essentials of Successful Grant Proposals: Writing, Researching, and Relating to Funding Sources
       X480 Reg. # V3063U
Cara Seitchek, Instructor
UCLA Extension On-line Course.
10 sessions for 3 credit hours, Fall 2009

Course Description: Learn to research and write a grant proposal that will result in funding for
your organization. You will learn research methods for locating those foundations or
corporations that match your organization’s need, and you will learn how to write a targeted
proposal. By the end of the course, you will have written a proposal that can be submitted to a
funding organization.

Course Requirements: Read assigned lectures, chapters in text, and other resources
                     Participate in online discussion of session topics.
                     Complete all homework assignments.

Assignments Due Dates: All assignments should be posted on the discussion board and emailed
to the instructor. Each week’s lecture is posted under “Course Documents” in the Blackboard
menu. Each student must read all assignments, lectures, and readings posted by the instructor,
and submit assignments on time. When submitting assignments, please label files with your
last name and the week number of the assignment – ie. Jones-Week1. Format, margins,
spelling, grammar, and punctuation do count. Place name and assignment number in upper left
hand corner.

Assignments should be e-mailed to the instructor at grantproposalclass@yahoo.com. More
detailed information on assignments is posted in the Assignments section.

Participation: A topic is posted every week on the Discussion Board. Students are expected to
post a contribution to the Discussion Board every week. The Discussion Board section is listed
under the Communications button in the Blackboard menu.

Text: Clarke, Cheryl A., Storytelling for Grantseekers, Jossey-Bass

Session #1 – Introduction to the Grant Seeking Process (September 22)
What is development and what is foundation relations?
Discussion of types of fund raising
Discussion of foundations
Outline types of foundations
Outline types of grants available
First steps: Prospect Research – outline sources for researching foundations and review what
information to look for
Reading: Chapters 1-2
Assignment #1: Write a short bio. Identify project that needs funding. Conduct prospect
research to create list of potential foundations to fund project. Write short paragraph describing
what foundations were located in research. Due September 29.




                                                                                                     1
Session #2 – Prospect Research (September 29)
Prospect research - What other tools can be used to find information on foundations?
Discussion of 990-PF
Discussion of other resources and search tips.
Assignment: Take 990-PF tutorial. Identify one foundation as a focus for the proposal to be
written for the course. Write 1-2 paragraphs explaining the match between the foundation and
the project, and what resources were used to reach this decision. Due October 6.

Session #3 – Proposal Format and Introduction (October 6)
What are the elements of a grant proposal and letter of inquiry?
What information needs to be conveyed in the proposal and how?
Discussion of the introduction or “making the ask”
Reading: Chapter 3
Assignment: Write an introduction/first paragraph for the proposal. Due October 13.

Session #4 –Capability Statement and Project Description (October 13)
Discussion of capability statement
Discussion of how to write a project description
Assignment: Write a capability statement and a project description. Due October 20.

Session #5 – Needs Statement and Goals and Objectives (October 20)
Discussion of the needs statement
Discussion of how to write goals and objectives
What is the difference between goals and objectives?
Reading: Chapter 5-6
Assignment: Write needs statement, and goals and objectives for the proposal. Due October 27.

Session #6 – Evaluation (October 27)
Discussion of how to evaluate the project
How will the project be evaluated?
Reading: Chapter 7
Assignment: Write evaluation section. Due November 3.

Session #7 – Attachments and Personnel (November 3)
Discussion of what attachments to include with proposal
What is the background of the personnel involved?
Assignment: List the attachments that your organization has. Which ones exist? Which ones
need to be written or located? Describe which ones you would include with your proposal.
Write a personnel section. Describe the timeframe of the project. Due November 10.




                                                                                                2
Session #8 – Budget and Conclusion (November 10)
Discussion of how to create a project budget
What information should be included? How is staff time estimated? How to estimate indirect
costs?
Discussion of proposal conclusion
Reading: Chapter 8
Assignment: Create a project budget and write the conclusion. Due November 17.

Session #9 – Other Types of Grants and Proposals (November 17)
Discussion of government proposals
Discussion of corporate proposals
Discussion of Regional Association of Grantmakers format
Reading: Chapters 9-10.
Assignment: Look at common grant proposal applications on-line. Pull together writing
assignments into a full proposal. Due November 24.

Session #10 –Proposal Submission (November 24)
What do funders look for in the submitted proposal?
Assignment: Revise proposal and submit for final. Due December 1.

Grade based on:

Class participation, timely submission of assignments
25% Assignments #1-2 and participation in Discussion Board.
50% Assignments #3-8
25% Final Proposal

This syllabus was developed by Cara Seitchek and is not available for use without permission of
the author.




                                                                                              3