GRANT RESOURCE CENTER

November 2006 Featured Article

Creating a Grant Seeking Calendar

Cindy Adams, President & CEO, GrantStation.com, Inc.

Too often we identify a grantmaker that might fund a particular project just because one of the staff walks in our door and says, “Can you find me funding for this project?” Too seldom do we actually create a calendar that builds a grant seeking schedule around a set of projects or programs previously identified and blessed. If you want to create a grant seeking calendar for this calendar year, then go through the following exercises and fill out the worksheets that we have created to help you focus your grant seeking for 2006.

Gathering the Information: Determine the Projects

Take the time to identify those projects and programs that need funding in 2007. Then fill out a worksheet for each project/program, using all of the completed worksheets to create a grant seeking calendar for 2007. Have anyone who asks you to help them find funding for a specific project to do the same.

The next step is to identify the federal and state granting agencies that you plan on applying to. Not all grantmakers have deadlines, so make note of that as you develop the approach for each project.

Develop a Grant Seeking Calendar

Once you have filled out a set of project description worksheets, you should use them to guide the development of a grant seeking calendar for the coming year.

Each worksheet identifies a set of grantmakers to whom you will apply. It is helpful to work backwards from the deadline date to create a work schedule that will provide plenty of time to prepare each proposal.

Sample work schedule:

Sometimes there will be other important deadlines that are important to note on your calendar such as “Request letters of support” or “Get collaborative to sign the Memorandum of Understanding”.

You want to make your calendar as detailed as possible so you don’t miss important items and have to pull them together at the last minute.

Treat the deadlines on your grant seeking calendar as if they’re written in stone. Throughout the year, you will probably have dozens of deadlines for proposals and grant reports to meet. A schedule committed to a calendar will be a lifesaver.

Post your grant seeking calendar on the wall (in your office or in the hall outside your door). Make it obvious to everyone who comes into your office that your schedule is full. It will help each person understand what they are asking if they request that you prepare a grant request that isn’t on your schedule.

Keep your grant seeking calendar up to date by removing proposals that have been submitted from the calendar. It is helpful to move submitted requests to a grants tracking form in order to keep track of all of the grant requests that are denied and those that are funded.

Sample Grant Seeking Schedule

    
Full version of November Article in Adobe PDF format for printing

Sample Grant Seeking Schedule

To learn more about how to write grants, visit Bohse & Associate’s Web site, where they have provided a listing of links to various grant writing proposal aids, or visit the Online Proposal Writing Aids & Courses section of the League’s Grant Resource Center.

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