Grants: An Alternative Funding Source

As education funding is slashed, teachers and schools should be researching alternative ways to make up for budget shortfalls. Applying for grants is one option. Certain grants can be used to fund after-school programs or purchase educational technology or supplies. Finding and applying for grants isn’t easy, though. It takes research and planning.

Various private foundations and governmental agencies give out grants each year. Grants.gov is an excellent starting place for your grant research. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation are two well-known private grant-making foundations. And the Foundation Center offers a free basic service or a more in-depth subscription service to help you research available grants. Finding an appropriate grant can be a time-consuming process, so be sure to give yourself plenty of time for this research phase.

Once you’ve identified grants for which your school might be a match, it’s time to start the grant writing process. To stay organized and ensure that you meet important deadlines, start by creating a master calendar. Put the application deadline at the top and work backward to help you plan how long you’ll need to write your grant. As a rough guide, you should plan to put your application in the mail two weeks before the due date to ensure it arrives on time. You’ll want to have someone review and proofread your completed application, so allow two weeks for that process. It could take four to six weeks to prepare the entire application. And you might need another four to six weeks to research and compile data on your project. In general, the larger the grant, the more complex the application. Do your research, and plan in advance!

For expert answers to your grant writing questions, visit our website and download our ebook!