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I. The Writing Process

• Develop a project idea/outline.
• Find funding source through Grants Department assistance, web, community contacts, or other sources.
• Obtain Request for Proposal (RFP, RFA), from potential funder(s) and evaluate for compatibility with project.
• Contact Grants Office and develop writing team.
• Complete Notice of Intent (NOI) process; establish timelines.
• Tips to Write a Grant Proposal

II. Proposal Preparation

• Proposal Summary or Abstract - The proposal summary appears at the beginning of the proposal and outlines the project. It should be brief; no longer than two or three paragraphs.
  1. Prepare the summary after the proposal has been developed. This makes it easier to include all the key points necessary to communicate the objectives of the project.
  2. The summary document becomes the foundation of the proposal. The first impression it gives will be critical to the success of the venture. It must be neat, easy to follow, succinct, and include the key points.
• Organizational Background (sometimes referred to as the Introduction) - Summarize the college’s mission, background, geographical location, and relevant experience in planning and implementing similar programs, and/or working with similar target populations. The organizational background should consist of the following, stated very briefly:
  1. Focus on the credibility of the organization
  2. Include, a brief history of when, how and why the organization began
  3. Define the mission and the purpose of the organization
  4. Discuss any significant events or achievements
  5. Describe the impact of the organization on the community
  6. Talk about who you serve. When? Where? Why?
  7. Be concise, specific and compelling
• Need Statement (also known as a Problem Statement) - This section outlines the need addressed by your proposal. It should provide the reader with statistical information that is no more than five (5) years old and is local, state or national data. In this section you can include any specific statements of fact, graphs, charts, maps, tables, etc.
  1. Clearly, compellingly state the need for the proposed project or program. Remember, the lack of something does not constitute a need for it. Avoid circular reasoning. (ie. We need a computer lab because we don’t have one.).
     1. Example: While on-line tutorials have proven effective at increasing reading comprehension, a survey of students in below-college reading classes showed that only 25% possess personal computers. Furthermore, only 15% of basic skills students stated that they use the college computer labs for on-line tutoring because of wait lists averaging 45 minutes or more.
  2. Demonstrate understanding of the problem to be addressed. Cite examples, use statistics that illustrate the scope and depth of the problem.
     1. Example: 60 percent of incoming freshmen test at below college level English (Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø Fact Book, Spring, 2015).
     2. Example: 43 percent of all students enrolled in college algebra fail the class or withdraw before the end of the semester (FCC Office of Institutional Research, Fall, 2016)
  3. Provide data that supports the claims made in the proposal and demonstrates the need to be addressed by your project objectives – be sure it is current and accurate. Document sources, use references.
  4. Do not make assumptions that reviewers know the community or the needs
• Goals & Objectives
  • Goals are broad and general in scope. They tell what the anticipated overall outcome will be. The following examples are goals for a health program
    1. Our goal is to reduce the incidence of teen pregnancy in Fresno County
    2. Our goal is to decrease the rate of drunk driving among teens in Clovis
    3. Our goal is to lower the risk of HIV/AIDS infections among African American women
  • Objectives describe who will be impacted, what will changed, how will it be changed and by when. Objectives differ from goals in that they are specific, measurable, and include a time frame for completion.There are different types of objectives. Grant proposal readers look for at least one outcome objective that addresses the need(s) identified in the need or problem statement and demonstrates improvement over a baseline. The following are examples of various types of objectives:
    1. Process Objective: in the Fall, 2015 semester, 20 percent of FCC’s college algebra students will enroll in the student success learning community.
    2. Learner Objective: By the end of the 16 week study skills course, 75 percent of the learning community students will increase their knowledge of test taking strategies as demonstrated by pre- and post- surveys.
    3. Behavioral Objective: Each week, 60 percent of the students enrolled in the time management class will increase the number of minutes spent studying, as evidenced by weekly time logs.
    4. Outcome Objective: Students in the student success learning community will have a 25 percent higher successful completion rate in college algebra classes than students not in the learning community
• Program Description (also known as Program Design and Program Methodology) - In this section, describe the “nuts and bolts” of your program. Explain to the reader the how, where, what and who of your program as described below:
  1. How to will you achieve your stated goals and objectives?
  2. Where will the strategies and activities take place?
  3. Is your program based upon a documented strategy supported by current research, or a successfully funded program in another region or state?
  4. What is the timeframe?
  5. Who will the staff be?
  6. What other agencies are you collaborating with to provide this program to the community (internal and external)?
  7. What are the perceived outcomes (how will students benefit)?
• Scope of Work (also known as Workplan) - The scope of work should be thorough and logical. It should clearly identify action steps, persons responsible, timelines and evaluation criteria for each objective. This is a blueprint for the project director and/or staff to know what they need to do and what is expected of them once the project is funded.
• Evaluation - It is important to define carefully and exactly how success will be determined and to develop criteria to evaluate progress towards project goals. What do you expect to be different once the project is complete? If you are having a problem developing your evaluation process, you better take another look at your objectives to make sure they can be measured. Be sure to consult with your campus or district Institutional Research departments for current data sources related to your project's work. Types of evaluations, formative and summative:
  1. Formative Evaluation is a plan to evaluate the project activities during its execution. It can be used as a tool to make appropriate changes along the way. What evidence will you gather to demonstrate that you did what you said you would do?
  2. Summative Evaluation is a plan to evaluate the project after its execution that measures how you will have met your objectives. What evidence will you gather to demonstrate that you achieved the outcomes you proposed?
• Sustainability Plan - In this section, the funder simply wants to know how the program can be sustained beyond this grant. Here is where you will describe other funding sources for the program including grants received and those that are pending, institutional/FTE funding, support, or integration into institutional programs and services to continue successful project activities.
• Program Budget & Budget Justification - The budget is an estimate of how you will spend the grant dollars. While budgets may be modified, careful planning will decrease the number of changes that may be required.

Campus Administrative Services offices must review all budgets prior to submittal of any Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø grant or subcontract. It is strongly recommended that you contact the campus budget office very early in your grant application process to assure that they are aware of your application and can assist with the budget . Salaries must be based on Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø’s found on the district’s Intranet. A fringe benefit calculator must be prepared for each grant proposal that includes personnel. Always justify per unit costs that exceed $1,000 with quantity and cost per item. For federal grants, all equipment items with a cost of $5,000 and a useful life of more than one year require prior approval and must be described specifically in the proposal. Supply items do not need to be described with specific costs. Indirect costs are set by funding agency regulations. Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø will require the maximum indirect cost allowable up to 8 % of total direct.