Hey VISTA pals,
I wasn't necessarily planning to write anything on the blog today, but then I clicked onto it to see if anything new had been posted and nothing had. That's happened a lot in the past and I haven't written anything on those occasions, but for some reason today was different. I think maybe I just get a little bit depressed whenever I see Joe's entry looking back from the top of the page, but whatever it is I shouldn't need an excuse to say to the four other team members of Multiple Scoregasm (I suppose they would constitute the real team members) that I had a kick ass time finishing in the middle of the pack in bar trivia last night. And I'm certainly looking forward to moving up the standings in our next appearance. That is all.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
A house in the park.
"Roxy, look at the other dogs! Roxy! Look Roxy, look at the other dogs Roxy. Ohhhh look another friendly dog, Roxy!"
This is just one of the many people I have encountered around Glenmere Park. This one was an older lady with elastic waistband jeans. Just one of many people in the elite elastic waistband club. As utterly obnoxious as this one was, talking to her well-groomed pug as though it was a human infant, hearing her speak this was slightly endearing.
Endearing because the park takes on a different role at night.
During the day you can find more traditional park users. Runners. Joggers. Cyclists. Dog walkers. At night though, it becomes something strange. It becomes something that many people in this town are as ignorant to as talking to a dog as if it was a human being. It becomes secretive homelessness. How do I know? For a minute there, I was one of 'em.
My transition to being a VISTA with no real place to stay was a long time coming. I found my apartment in Greeley sight-unseen. I found it on Craigslist. I corresponded with my future landlord through e-mail while I still lived in Milwaukee and she painted a happy picture. Young students, living together. Cheap rent. Seemed pretty good.
It couldn't have been more far from the truth. It wasn't an apartment. It was a flop house. A goddamn rooming house. A goddamn rooming house for people who could only afford $280 a month. The cheap rent somehow justified the depravity I dealt with in that place. The nude meth abuse. The wild parties populated by high school students. The drunk driver who crashed his van into a tree in the back yard, while the police stormed through the house chasing after the guy. Finding a tenant after a suicide attempt in the bathroom. Hearing one tenant beat the everliving f*ck out of his dog for two days. Witnessing the exploitation one tenant instilled on a mentally disabled man, and his subsequent beating with a 2x4. Following the beating the mentally disabled man's truck had been shot at by what I can only guess would be a .22 calaber round... and all this punctuated by loads of funderful gang activity.
I left after the shooting.
Storing my posessions and my dog at my girlfriends house, I had a few options on places to store myself. One place was on a friends futon. Another place was with my girlfriend. The third place was a storage shed. I used all these places.
The shed was the most interesting. After brief negotiations with the currant residents, who happened to be mice, a UN style non-binding resolution was drafted which allowed me to sleep in my sleeping bag balanced on card tables. The mice were allowed to do whatever they wanted in their floor based settlements. This lasted for a little while, until I invited my dog to stay with me. This preemptive dog on mouse agression quickly ended my rodent troubles. Staying in a storage shed also gave me time to do alot of wandering around.
While wasting time I made some very interesting and wholly depressing observations. I observed that the area around Glenmere park is ideal for living in your car. Why would this be? Well, its a particularly nice area. A nice area means that not as many police need to be patrolling the streets. Its also near UNC. The majority of students own cars, and park them on the street. If there are a lot of cars consistantly parked on the street it is very easy to park your car among them and remain undisturbed.
Toward the end of the school year I took a walk abound Glenmere park. I counted seven vehicals with people sleeping in them in one go. That was the most I found, but everytime I looked it was differend cars and different people. Sometimes it was just one guy. A few times it was a young couple. Most times it was a small family.
There are families sleeping in their cars around Glenmere park, and most people here are as ignorant of the situation as an old lady babbling to a toy dog. So take a walk around town. Walk down a side street. Look into cars as if you are a punk looking to jack a car stereo. Think about what you saw when you get back to your bed.
Think about what the hell you are going to do about it.
Gain more insight from others...
http://open.salon.com/blog/david_cox/2009/06/15/cooking_in_a_coffee_pot
This is just one of the many people I have encountered around Glenmere Park. This one was an older lady with elastic waistband jeans. Just one of many people in the elite elastic waistband club. As utterly obnoxious as this one was, talking to her well-groomed pug as though it was a human infant, hearing her speak this was slightly endearing.
Endearing because the park takes on a different role at night.
During the day you can find more traditional park users. Runners. Joggers. Cyclists. Dog walkers. At night though, it becomes something strange. It becomes something that many people in this town are as ignorant to as talking to a dog as if it was a human being. It becomes secretive homelessness. How do I know? For a minute there, I was one of 'em.
My transition to being a VISTA with no real place to stay was a long time coming. I found my apartment in Greeley sight-unseen. I found it on Craigslist. I corresponded with my future landlord through e-mail while I still lived in Milwaukee and she painted a happy picture. Young students, living together. Cheap rent. Seemed pretty good.
It couldn't have been more far from the truth. It wasn't an apartment. It was a flop house. A goddamn rooming house. A goddamn rooming house for people who could only afford $280 a month. The cheap rent somehow justified the depravity I dealt with in that place. The nude meth abuse. The wild parties populated by high school students. The drunk driver who crashed his van into a tree in the back yard, while the police stormed through the house chasing after the guy. Finding a tenant after a suicide attempt in the bathroom. Hearing one tenant beat the everliving f*ck out of his dog for two days. Witnessing the exploitation one tenant instilled on a mentally disabled man, and his subsequent beating with a 2x4. Following the beating the mentally disabled man's truck had been shot at by what I can only guess would be a .22 calaber round... and all this punctuated by loads of funderful gang activity.
I left after the shooting.
Storing my posessions and my dog at my girlfriends house, I had a few options on places to store myself. One place was on a friends futon. Another place was with my girlfriend. The third place was a storage shed. I used all these places.
The shed was the most interesting. After brief negotiations with the currant residents, who happened to be mice, a UN style non-binding resolution was drafted which allowed me to sleep in my sleeping bag balanced on card tables. The mice were allowed to do whatever they wanted in their floor based settlements. This lasted for a little while, until I invited my dog to stay with me. This preemptive dog on mouse agression quickly ended my rodent troubles. Staying in a storage shed also gave me time to do alot of wandering around.
While wasting time I made some very interesting and wholly depressing observations. I observed that the area around Glenmere park is ideal for living in your car. Why would this be? Well, its a particularly nice area. A nice area means that not as many police need to be patrolling the streets. Its also near UNC. The majority of students own cars, and park them on the street. If there are a lot of cars consistantly parked on the street it is very easy to park your car among them and remain undisturbed.
Toward the end of the school year I took a walk abound Glenmere park. I counted seven vehicals with people sleeping in them in one go. That was the most I found, but everytime I looked it was differend cars and different people. Sometimes it was just one guy. A few times it was a young couple. Most times it was a small family.
There are families sleeping in their cars around Glenmere park, and most people here are as ignorant of the situation as an old lady babbling to a toy dog. So take a walk around town. Walk down a side street. Look into cars as if you are a punk looking to jack a car stereo. Think about what you saw when you get back to your bed.
Think about what the hell you are going to do about it.
Gain more insight from others...
http://open.salon.com/blog/david_cox/2009/06/15/cooking_in_a_coffee_pot
Friday, March 20, 2009
Darwin, Glazery and Sales
*I'm posting this on Ben's behalf* -Ian
Darwin was wrong. With the advent of one-click publishing, YouTube and Twitter, the frail and bankrupt ideas of every screaming meemie on this planet live prosperous lives. Publication and dissemination, privileges once reserved for those artistic works capable of surviving the gauntlet of rigorous editing, peer critique and general worthiness, are now conferred on garbage and treasure in equal measure. Whose grand idea was this, that survival benefits are unilaterally awarded to the entire world of ideas?
For now I will avoid the long dive into social critique and drudgery. I will also abstain from drawing endless metaphors (e.g., the McDonald-ization of art) and analogical failures (e.g., the U.S. welfare system). I would much prefer to make a direct contribution to the remedy: let us discuss appropriate writing strategies.
You are writing a grant or blog. While there may be little to no credible competition to your brilliant ideas in the marketplace, there are pretenders nonetheless. Hordes of them. This bears quite a few unfortunate consequences, chief of them being the ‘white-noise’ factor. Do you ever stop to wonder why, exactly, most of us pay no mind to the supermarket tabloids claming to have pictures of an alien? Not because the claim is outrageous, but because every tabloid always makes outrageous claims. No one is listening anymore; the glaze factor has set in.
Your readers assuredly have a similar affliction. You are just another tabloid, bound to be ignored unless critical steps are taken. Here are a few:
1) Once and Done: Unless you are a trained writer, you likely spend egregious amounts of time needlessly explaining your idea. Delete more sentences than you commit to the final draft.
2) Nobody Cares: Sell your idea quickly. You must claw your way out of hundreds of competing applications, letters, blogs, etc. Begin your piece with a vivid image, intriguing claim or cold facts that will compel your reader not to toss out your work.
3) Get to the Point: If your mind is properly functioning, every idea you write will likely remind you of three others that are intriguing. Do not include these in your final draft. While reading through your work, repeatedly ask yourself, “Why does this point matter?”
I hope this was helpful!
Darwin was wrong. With the advent of one-click publishing, YouTube and Twitter, the frail and bankrupt ideas of every screaming meemie on this planet live prosperous lives. Publication and dissemination, privileges once reserved for those artistic works capable of surviving the gauntlet of rigorous editing, peer critique and general worthiness, are now conferred on garbage and treasure in equal measure. Whose grand idea was this, that survival benefits are unilaterally awarded to the entire world of ideas?
For now I will avoid the long dive into social critique and drudgery. I will also abstain from drawing endless metaphors (e.g., the McDonald-ization of art) and analogical failures (e.g., the U.S. welfare system). I would much prefer to make a direct contribution to the remedy: let us discuss appropriate writing strategies.
You are writing a grant or blog. While there may be little to no credible competition to your brilliant ideas in the marketplace, there are pretenders nonetheless. Hordes of them. This bears quite a few unfortunate consequences, chief of them being the ‘white-noise’ factor. Do you ever stop to wonder why, exactly, most of us pay no mind to the supermarket tabloids claming to have pictures of an alien? Not because the claim is outrageous, but because every tabloid always makes outrageous claims. No one is listening anymore; the glaze factor has set in.
Your readers assuredly have a similar affliction. You are just another tabloid, bound to be ignored unless critical steps are taken. Here are a few:
1) Once and Done: Unless you are a trained writer, you likely spend egregious amounts of time needlessly explaining your idea. Delete more sentences than you commit to the final draft.
2) Nobody Cares: Sell your idea quickly. You must claw your way out of hundreds of competing applications, letters, blogs, etc. Begin your piece with a vivid image, intriguing claim or cold facts that will compel your reader not to toss out your work.
3) Get to the Point: If your mind is properly functioning, every idea you write will likely remind you of three others that are intriguing. Do not include these in your final draft. While reading through your work, repeatedly ask yourself, “Why does this point matter?”
I hope this was helpful!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Action! Planning!
This post was put together by April Hook and I'm posting it on her behalf. -ed.
Things I have learned as a VISTA :
1) Never get sick.
2) Beer + fundraiser= more money
3) Never get sick.
4) Low on food? Throw a VISTA pot luck.
5) Never get sick.
6) Wearing pajamas to an award ceremony is not as comfortable as it sounds.
7) Never get sick.
8) Everyone loves sea monkeys.
9) Never get sick.
10) To have happy VISTAs: Always have meetings at the end of the day close to a bar.
The last blog entry was informative and I hope that this one will be as well. I’m writing on putting together an action plan.
This can be used for an individual in their specific duties or in a group at an organization.
Have a mission statement. If the organization has a mission statement in place that works for what need to be accomplished then use it. All mission statements need to be no longer then two to three short sentences, and need to be easy to understand. Mission statements are about what the program/individual is already doing.
A vision statement is allowed to be a little longer, up to five sentences, about what the program/individual will accomplish in the future. It’s important that the vision statement reflects the mission statement.
Goal setting is the key to action planning. Establish goals using the Vision for the program/individual. Make sure that all goals fit in to the overall mission statement. One way to set productive goals is to use the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. method.
SMARTER is an acronym, that is, a word composed by joining letters from different words in a phrase or set of words. In this case, a SMARTER goal or objective is:
Specific: For example, it's difficult to know what someone should be doing if they are to pursue the goal to "work harder". It's easier to recognize "Write a paper".
Measurable: It's difficult to know what the scope of "Writing a paper" really is. It's easier to appreciate that effort if the goal is "Write a 30-page paper".
Acceptable: If I'm to take responsibility for pursuit of a goal, the goal should be acceptable to me. For example, I'm not likely to follow the directions of someone telling me to write a 30-page paper when I also have to five other papers to write. However, if you involve me in setting the goal so I can change my other commitments or modify the goal, I'm much more likely to accept pursuit of the goal as well.
Realistic: Even if I do accept responsibility to pursue a goal that is specific and measurable, the goal won't be useful to me or others if, for example, the goal is to "Write a 30-page paper in the next 10 seconds".
Time frame: It may mean more to others if I commit to a realistic goal to "Write a 30-page paper in one week". However, it'll mean more to others (particularly if they are planning to help me or guide me to reach the goal) if I specify that I will write one page a day for 30 days, rather than including the possibility that I will write all 30 pages in last day of the 30-day period.
Extending: The goal should stretch the performer's capabilities. For example, I might be more interested in writing a 30-page paper if the topic of the paper or the way that I write it will extend my capabilities.
Rewarding: I'm more inclined to write the paper if the paper will contribute to an effort in such a way that I might be rewarded for my effort.
(This model is found on Free Management Library a complete integrated online library for
nonprofits. http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/gen_plan/gen_plan.htm )
Make several small goals that lead to the eventual vision for the program/individual. When making and action plan it’s always best to work backwards, starting at the vision or main objective. Then find the next “step” or goal that will need to be accomplished to reach the main objective. Continue to set goals that will serve as steps until the point where immediate action can be made.
This is the simple plan I used to remodel a nursery in to the ASP computer Lab
A.S.P
Goals and Strategies
Come up with a plan (9/25/07 – 9/30/07)
· Use information off the internet to organize a plan.
· Get feedback in staff meetings
· Get feedback from Ryan and Ian
· Revise Plan as needed
Plan where the ASP will be set up. (9/17/07 – 10/5/07)
· Talk to Ryan about possible locations within the facility
· Raise issue at the staff meeting
· Consult with John and someone else who has knowledge of facility-related matters to estimate cost.
· Write a budget with the highest estimation.
Apply for grants and do fundraising letters (10/1/07- continually).
· Start writing and sending out grant requests for seed money.
· Send out fundraising letters
· Ask for gifts in kind
Get supplies for room remodel (10/8/07 – 10/5/07)
· Ask around to see if someone would give a non- profit discount.
· Gifts in kind
· Use raised money
Find volunteers to remodel the room (3/01/08 – 4/30/08)
· Use 1-800volunteer.org
· Send out letter to donors
· Ask teens at Higher Grounds about helping
· Ask people at church
When I had completed the goal of having the room remodeled for the computer lab I was off on my time line by about 4 months but I kept my focus of completing the room and revised my plan as I needed. I found that specific action steps work best when they are done before the goal needs to be completed. You might find, as I did, that a small change in one of the steps may completely make other steps moot. For example: one of the people I asked to look at the place and estimate how much remodeling materials would cost volunteered to work on the room with me and the last step (recruiting of volunteers) was taken care of.
Things I have learned as a VISTA :
1) Never get sick.
2) Beer + fundraiser= more money
3) Never get sick.
4) Low on food? Throw a VISTA pot luck.
5) Never get sick.
6) Wearing pajamas to an award ceremony is not as comfortable as it sounds.
7) Never get sick.
8) Everyone loves sea monkeys.
9) Never get sick.
10) To have happy VISTAs: Always have meetings at the end of the day close to a bar.
The last blog entry was informative and I hope that this one will be as well. I’m writing on putting together an action plan.
This can be used for an individual in their specific duties or in a group at an organization.
Have a mission statement. If the organization has a mission statement in place that works for what need to be accomplished then use it. All mission statements need to be no longer then two to three short sentences, and need to be easy to understand. Mission statements are about what the program/individual is already doing.
A vision statement is allowed to be a little longer, up to five sentences, about what the program/individual will accomplish in the future. It’s important that the vision statement reflects the mission statement.
Goal setting is the key to action planning. Establish goals using the Vision for the program/individual. Make sure that all goals fit in to the overall mission statement. One way to set productive goals is to use the S.M.A.R.T.E.R. method.
SMARTER is an acronym, that is, a word composed by joining letters from different words in a phrase or set of words. In this case, a SMARTER goal or objective is:
Specific: For example, it's difficult to know what someone should be doing if they are to pursue the goal to "work harder". It's easier to recognize "Write a paper".
Measurable: It's difficult to know what the scope of "Writing a paper" really is. It's easier to appreciate that effort if the goal is "Write a 30-page paper".
Acceptable: If I'm to take responsibility for pursuit of a goal, the goal should be acceptable to me. For example, I'm not likely to follow the directions of someone telling me to write a 30-page paper when I also have to five other papers to write. However, if you involve me in setting the goal so I can change my other commitments or modify the goal, I'm much more likely to accept pursuit of the goal as well.
Realistic: Even if I do accept responsibility to pursue a goal that is specific and measurable, the goal won't be useful to me or others if, for example, the goal is to "Write a 30-page paper in the next 10 seconds".
Time frame: It may mean more to others if I commit to a realistic goal to "Write a 30-page paper in one week". However, it'll mean more to others (particularly if they are planning to help me or guide me to reach the goal) if I specify that I will write one page a day for 30 days, rather than including the possibility that I will write all 30 pages in last day of the 30-day period.
Extending: The goal should stretch the performer's capabilities. For example, I might be more interested in writing a 30-page paper if the topic of the paper or the way that I write it will extend my capabilities.
Rewarding: I'm more inclined to write the paper if the paper will contribute to an effort in such a way that I might be rewarded for my effort.
(This model is found on Free Management Library a complete integrated online library for
nonprofits. http://managementhelp.org/plan_dec/gen_plan/gen_plan.htm )
Make several small goals that lead to the eventual vision for the program/individual. When making and action plan it’s always best to work backwards, starting at the vision or main objective. Then find the next “step” or goal that will need to be accomplished to reach the main objective. Continue to set goals that will serve as steps until the point where immediate action can be made.
This is the simple plan I used to remodel a nursery in to the ASP computer Lab
A.S.P
Goals and Strategies
Come up with a plan (9/25/07 – 9/30/07)
· Use information off the internet to organize a plan.
· Get feedback in staff meetings
· Get feedback from Ryan and Ian
· Revise Plan as needed
Plan where the ASP will be set up. (9/17/07 – 10/5/07)
· Talk to Ryan about possible locations within the facility
· Raise issue at the staff meeting
· Consult with John and someone else who has knowledge of facility-related matters to estimate cost.
· Write a budget with the highest estimation.
Apply for grants and do fundraising letters (10/1/07- continually).
· Start writing and sending out grant requests for seed money.
· Send out fundraising letters
· Ask for gifts in kind
Get supplies for room remodel (10/8/07 – 10/5/07)
· Ask around to see if someone would give a non- profit discount.
· Gifts in kind
· Use raised money
Find volunteers to remodel the room (3/01/08 – 4/30/08)
· Use 1-800volunteer.org
· Send out letter to donors
· Ask teens at Higher Grounds about helping
· Ask people at church
When I had completed the goal of having the room remodeled for the computer lab I was off on my time line by about 4 months but I kept my focus of completing the room and revised my plan as I needed. I found that specific action steps work best when they are done before the goal needs to be completed. You might find, as I did, that a small change in one of the steps may completely make other steps moot. For example: one of the people I asked to look at the place and estimate how much remodeling materials would cost volunteered to work on the room with me and the last step (recruiting of volunteers) was taken care of.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
I just remembered to do this.....
so this is going to be a hard, fast and basic little blog on grants. BTW, don't think I forgot which ones of you "volunteered" me to do this first....
Alright, the first thing you want to do is look at three things: your organizations needs and strengths, your community and its needs, and potential funders and their focus areas. Next, you match. I include community in here because a lot of times ppl will say that they want to develop a program for, say, education and they look to see what the focus areas of some major funders are and just try to do that. However, if you try to develop an adult literacy program b/c you find funders with that as a focus area, you will still not recieve funding if a)adult literacy isn't a problem in your geographic area and/or b) there is another organization in town that is already fulfilling that need in a community. Plus, even with programs already institutionalized within your organization, you will still have to prove to funders that there is a real need for that program in your community. So you really have to know your community and understand your role within that community.
Tip- Look at a foundations 990 (tax return) for the previous year (they are required to make it public by law) b/c it will list all the orgs they funded the previous year and the amounts. This is useful b/c often you will find that an organization says it funds, for example, "youth issues, mental health issues and breast cancer." You look at the 990 and find out that 99% of their money went to breast cancer research, so it still wouldn't be a feasible fit even if your org. has a youth or mental health focus. Also be sure they fund in your geographic area. A lot of funders say CO and mean metro Denver. Also, look on the tax forms of similar organizations and see who gives them money.
To find funders: www.foundationcenter.org is wonderful- go to log in, go to log in to foundation directory online, and then log in. You need to be a subscriber to use this service but, lucky for you all, I discovered the Denver Libraries username and password. denverlib is the name and also the password. If you have a conscience and don't want to piggyback on their subscription, almost any public library has a subscription and you can legally use foundationcenter there. You will have to ask Ian about which individual Weld libraries have subscriptions. After you are into foundationcenter, it is pretty intuitive to use. Also, you should subscribe to a number of listserves which send out grant updates for CO: JVA Consulting, http://img.channing-bete.com/H3037/cbc_H3037.html, http://www.coloradogrants.org/resources/deadline-calendar.php, and foundation center has a RFP listserv also.
Ok, now that you have your list of funders that you feel are a really good fit for your organization, I would recommend filling out a standardized fact sheet on each of them. Being a nerd, I already have one if you want me to send it to you. But basically you need a sheet on the foundation which is going to summerize the foundations focus, what you need to include in your narrative, what attachments you need, and sets your timeline. You might discover that you have 5 grants due March 1st and you need to get a few together now to be on track. Plus this will obviously be really helpful six months from now and keep you from losing a grant b/c you forget to include something basic. Make grant folders with your summary sheet, the actual application and whatever else you feel will help you. Then make some kind of organizational system that works for you to keep everything straight. Along with these grant folders, make a folder that has multiple copies of various things which are commonly asked for such as your financial statements, budget, IRS Determination letter, board of directors list and financial contributions, Success Stories, Statistics, anti-discrimination statement blah blah blah. You will realize what these are as you go. Your Director should be able to produce these for you fairly immediately.
Alright, if you are actually still reading this, we are going to move on to actually writing the narrative of your grant. After you have written a few grants, you will be able to cut and paste and assemble a new grant very quickly depending on what your funder is asking for and their particular focus area. That is the good news. And since I don't think any of us are at brand new nonprofits, go back and look at the copies of successful grants from last year to help you assemble what you need. I use the same org. history for every grant which I pulled from a grant Gwen wrote right before I came to A Kid's Place. The only thing that changes is the length depending on what I am working with. However, you need to be sure of a few thing when writing or assembling your grant. Number one, for the love of GOD, have someone proofread your grant. You will miss something and most funders will automatically throw out an application with obvious grammatical errors. Plus, you need to make sure you are clear with your org/program descriptions which is difficult.
Number two, make sure you focus on the parts of your program which matter to funders. This can be done two ways. You write a program grant instead of a general/operating grant or you just spend the majority of your time talking about that aspect of your org. For example, if your org provides numerous services to adults with mental disabilities, but your funder is all about providing work opportunities to adults with mental disabilities, you should be sure to go into detail about that program and probably include a short success story from it.
Number three, you NEED to have statistics. You need statistics on your community and you need statistics/info on your programs to prove you are successful and important (include number of volunteers if applicable). For example, for A Kid's Place, I include all our numbers on the people we helped, Weld County's child abuse statistics to show the need for our services and number of volunteers to show community support for us. You will need different stats in some instances for different things. For a diversity initiative at any nonprofit, you would include county population stats for instance. Basically, you need to remember that whatever your program/org is you need to justify why it is needed in the community and worth funding. You also need to show that the program is stable and well developed (especially for a new initiative). For a new initiative, be detailed. Give your timeline, staff profiles on those in charge, talk about other orgs you are partnering with, other funders that are already on board....anything to make the funder feel secure in offering support.
Number four, you should include goal(s) and outcomes. So, "Our goal is to increase the literacy of adults in Weld County" Outcomes: "We will provide services to a minimum of 100 people in 2009." "75% of students will pass the basic skills test" your director should have these, if not, chat with them and come up with something feasible. Funders love these b/c it shows that you are evaluating yourself to make sure you are doing the best job possible and it gives them something concrete to measure you by when you submit your final report.
In the end, you will have something like this: Contact Summary(org name, contact name, address, phone #....), Specific Grant Request (amount and for what), Org. summary (Mission and History), Community Need for Org/Program (statistics and stories to substantiate need), How does our org/program address the need (Methods, statistics, who benefits and how, maybe a heartwarming success story), Timeline and WorkPlan (if applicable), Measurable Goals and outcomes, attachments.
Hmmm...anything else.....make the grant easy to read and easy to follow/navigate. It being pretty does matter to a certain extent. the contact information for a grant will be your executive director in most cases. It just looks better. Sucking up to the foundation is good...say something like "The Blah Foundation has proven over the years that it has a strong commitment to helping the most vulnerable people in our society. That is why Organization thought that you would make the perfect partner for our new Child Abuse Prevention program. Statistics show that children who...." If you are unsure about something, call the foundation. They like it. They take note of it and often give you advice on what they like to see on an application. Alternatively if you are unsure of a funder, send a LOI. For a LOI, include your essential statistics (community need and your success), superbrief org. history and summary and why you approached that funder.
Anyways, not the most clear or sophisticated of lessons, but it should be of at least some assistance. If something is confusing or you want me to send you a sample of something, just ask since this was a very "College student writing a paper at 3am for a class at 8am" blog. Yeah. Don't write your grant like this.
BJK
Alright, the first thing you want to do is look at three things: your organizations needs and strengths, your community and its needs, and potential funders and their focus areas. Next, you match. I include community in here because a lot of times ppl will say that they want to develop a program for, say, education and they look to see what the focus areas of some major funders are and just try to do that. However, if you try to develop an adult literacy program b/c you find funders with that as a focus area, you will still not recieve funding if a)adult literacy isn't a problem in your geographic area and/or b) there is another organization in town that is already fulfilling that need in a community. Plus, even with programs already institutionalized within your organization, you will still have to prove to funders that there is a real need for that program in your community. So you really have to know your community and understand your role within that community.
Tip- Look at a foundations 990 (tax return) for the previous year (they are required to make it public by law) b/c it will list all the orgs they funded the previous year and the amounts. This is useful b/c often you will find that an organization says it funds, for example, "youth issues, mental health issues and breast cancer." You look at the 990 and find out that 99% of their money went to breast cancer research, so it still wouldn't be a feasible fit even if your org. has a youth or mental health focus. Also be sure they fund in your geographic area. A lot of funders say CO and mean metro Denver. Also, look on the tax forms of similar organizations and see who gives them money.
To find funders: www.foundationcenter.org is wonderful- go to log in, go to log in to foundation directory online, and then log in. You need to be a subscriber to use this service but, lucky for you all, I discovered the Denver Libraries username and password. denverlib is the name and also the password. If you have a conscience and don't want to piggyback on their subscription, almost any public library has a subscription and you can legally use foundationcenter there. You will have to ask Ian about which individual Weld libraries have subscriptions. After you are into foundationcenter, it is pretty intuitive to use. Also, you should subscribe to a number of listserves which send out grant updates for CO: JVA Consulting, http://img.channing-bete.com/H3037/cbc_H3037.html, http://www.coloradogrants.org/resources/deadline-calendar.php, and foundation center has a RFP listserv also.
Ok, now that you have your list of funders that you feel are a really good fit for your organization, I would recommend filling out a standardized fact sheet on each of them. Being a nerd, I already have one if you want me to send it to you. But basically you need a sheet on the foundation which is going to summerize the foundations focus, what you need to include in your narrative, what attachments you need, and sets your timeline. You might discover that you have 5 grants due March 1st and you need to get a few together now to be on track. Plus this will obviously be really helpful six months from now and keep you from losing a grant b/c you forget to include something basic. Make grant folders with your summary sheet, the actual application and whatever else you feel will help you. Then make some kind of organizational system that works for you to keep everything straight. Along with these grant folders, make a folder that has multiple copies of various things which are commonly asked for such as your financial statements, budget, IRS Determination letter, board of directors list and financial contributions, Success Stories, Statistics, anti-discrimination statement blah blah blah. You will realize what these are as you go. Your Director should be able to produce these for you fairly immediately.
Alright, if you are actually still reading this, we are going to move on to actually writing the narrative of your grant. After you have written a few grants, you will be able to cut and paste and assemble a new grant very quickly depending on what your funder is asking for and their particular focus area. That is the good news. And since I don't think any of us are at brand new nonprofits, go back and look at the copies of successful grants from last year to help you assemble what you need. I use the same org. history for every grant which I pulled from a grant Gwen wrote right before I came to A Kid's Place. The only thing that changes is the length depending on what I am working with. However, you need to be sure of a few thing when writing or assembling your grant. Number one, for the love of GOD, have someone proofread your grant. You will miss something and most funders will automatically throw out an application with obvious grammatical errors. Plus, you need to make sure you are clear with your org/program descriptions which is difficult.
Number two, make sure you focus on the parts of your program which matter to funders. This can be done two ways. You write a program grant instead of a general/operating grant or you just spend the majority of your time talking about that aspect of your org. For example, if your org provides numerous services to adults with mental disabilities, but your funder is all about providing work opportunities to adults with mental disabilities, you should be sure to go into detail about that program and probably include a short success story from it.
Number three, you NEED to have statistics. You need statistics on your community and you need statistics/info on your programs to prove you are successful and important (include number of volunteers if applicable). For example, for A Kid's Place, I include all our numbers on the people we helped, Weld County's child abuse statistics to show the need for our services and number of volunteers to show community support for us. You will need different stats in some instances for different things. For a diversity initiative at any nonprofit, you would include county population stats for instance. Basically, you need to remember that whatever your program/org is you need to justify why it is needed in the community and worth funding. You also need to show that the program is stable and well developed (especially for a new initiative). For a new initiative, be detailed. Give your timeline, staff profiles on those in charge, talk about other orgs you are partnering with, other funders that are already on board....anything to make the funder feel secure in offering support.
Number four, you should include goal(s) and outcomes. So, "Our goal is to increase the literacy of adults in Weld County" Outcomes: "We will provide services to a minimum of 100 people in 2009." "75% of students will pass the basic skills test" your director should have these, if not, chat with them and come up with something feasible. Funders love these b/c it shows that you are evaluating yourself to make sure you are doing the best job possible and it gives them something concrete to measure you by when you submit your final report.
In the end, you will have something like this: Contact Summary(org name, contact name, address, phone #....), Specific Grant Request (amount and for what), Org. summary (Mission and History), Community Need for Org/Program (statistics and stories to substantiate need), How does our org/program address the need (Methods, statistics, who benefits and how, maybe a heartwarming success story), Timeline and WorkPlan (if applicable), Measurable Goals and outcomes, attachments.
Hmmm...anything else.....make the grant easy to read and easy to follow/navigate. It being pretty does matter to a certain extent. the contact information for a grant will be your executive director in most cases. It just looks better. Sucking up to the foundation is good...say something like "The Blah Foundation has proven over the years that it has a strong commitment to helping the most vulnerable people in our society. That is why Organization thought that you would make the perfect partner for our new Child Abuse Prevention program. Statistics show that children who...." If you are unsure about something, call the foundation. They like it. They take note of it and often give you advice on what they like to see on an application. Alternatively if you are unsure of a funder, send a LOI. For a LOI, include your essential statistics (community need and your success), superbrief org. history and summary and why you approached that funder.
Anyways, not the most clear or sophisticated of lessons, but it should be of at least some assistance. If something is confusing or you want me to send you a sample of something, just ask since this was a very "College student writing a paper at 3am for a class at 8am" blog. Yeah. Don't write your grant like this.
BJK
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The VISTA in Northern CO blog
So this is it. The maiden voyage, so to speak, of our VISTA blog. This also happens to be my first foray into blogging, so I apologize in advance for any breaches of decorum or behaviour that in my ignorance I've deemed permissible for the blogging realm.
In my estimation, this blog should be applied in any manner that we deem useful. That's not to say I have the foresight or even the experience to predict all of the applications we could find for this blog, but I think it's safe to say that we all have some issues (at work or otherwise) that could be - if not resolved - at least improved with the input/advice of a colleague/friend. So this might be a place where we can vent some of our concerns about our assignments in hope that a fellow VISTA could relate to the experience...or maybe just for the sake of venting. As we discussed during the meeting, I would like for the blog to have a professional as well as a social element. Blog entries should obviously be held to a certain standard of judiciousness when it comes to their content, but this forum is by no means limited to work-related discussion. The gist of this post then: we have a blog; you should post on the blog; you should post whatever is relevant to you.
Wordily yours,
Ian
In my estimation, this blog should be applied in any manner that we deem useful. That's not to say I have the foresight or even the experience to predict all of the applications we could find for this blog, but I think it's safe to say that we all have some issues (at work or otherwise) that could be - if not resolved - at least improved with the input/advice of a colleague/friend. So this might be a place where we can vent some of our concerns about our assignments in hope that a fellow VISTA could relate to the experience...or maybe just for the sake of venting. As we discussed during the meeting, I would like for the blog to have a professional as well as a social element. Blog entries should obviously be held to a certain standard of judiciousness when it comes to their content, but this forum is by no means limited to work-related discussion. The gist of this post then: we have a blog; you should post on the blog; you should post whatever is relevant to you.
Wordily yours,
Ian
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