A Grant Writing Guide for Non-Grant Writers

This page is the first step to assist you in developing your idea into a proposal for funding support. After reading this page, you will have a basic understanding of:

1. The Fundamentals of Grant Seeking
2. The Responsibilities of the College and the Office of Institutional Advancement in Grant Development
3. The Grant Development Process Used by the Office of Institutional Advancement
4. Self-Determining the Suitability of Your Project Using the Grant Decision Making Matrix
5. Your Role in the Grant Development Process

1. The Fundamentals of Grant Seeking

Grant writing is a process that’s part craft, part discipline, and a whole lot of common sense. When planning and creativity come together in a directed process, good ideas can become funded projects that can do a lot of people a lot of good.

Writing a grant first requires making a critical review of the college’s mission and, taking your concept, developing it in a way that advances the college’s organizational objectives and philosophical purposes. The second part of successful grant development is in knowing the intent of the funding source and their priorities before developing an idea into a full proposal. The office of institutional advancement coordinates grant development by matching your ideas with funding initiatives from federal, state, foundation, corporate, and other sources. The typical flow of this process is the following:

Grant Concept —> Institutional Buy-In —> Identify Funding Source(s) —> Proposal Development —> Proposal Submittal —> Funding Decision

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The process structure remains the same with each proposal developed and submitted by Mount Wachusett Community College. The office of institutional advancement is the clearinghouse for all projects developed and submitted by the college. A decision-making matrix is used by the office to help determine the feasibility of your project’s potential for development and placement on the schedule of projects developed each year.

Anatomy of a Grant Proposal

In the most general terms, grant proposals consist of eight basic components:

1. A proposal summary
2. An introduction to the organization
3. A problem statement or a needs assessment
4. Project objectives
5. Project methods or design for implementation
6. Project evaluation
7. Plans for sustaining the project
8. A project budget

These elements are described in detail at Elements of a Grant Proposal.

2. The Responsibilities of the College and the Office of Institutional Advancement

The college is responsible for:

• the overall direction of external funding as it pertains to the college's mission statement and annual and strategic goals,
• the submission of proposals and letters of solicitation for external funds,
• the sustainability and institutionalization of project and fundraising activities,
• the supervision of selected grant projects,
• the review and approval of proposals,
• monitoring of cash and non-cash matches, and
• compliance with the terms and conditions of the granting agencies' contract, regulations and other stipulations.

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The office of institutional advancement is responsible for:

• leadership in the development and management of a comprehensive grant resource development system;
• coordination and writing of college grant proposals and project plans;
• the timely identification of federal, state, and private funding sources and maintenance of a resource development database;
• support in maintaining solid relationships with funding sources;
• technical and writing assistance in the development of college proposals;
• management and supervision of selected grant projects, including project implementation, evaluation, and dissemination;
• grant development workshops and web resources; and
• authorized signatures for federal and state compliance.

3. The Core Process of Grant Development Used by the Office of Institutional Advancement

Overview

There are hundreds of potential programs for which the college is eligible to apply. The office creates a schedule each year that outlines the grant development workplan for each calendar year. In order for a project idea to be placed on the IA schedule, the project must meet the following criteria:

• The project is consistent with the college’s mission and has the potential to advance institutional goals.
• The project addresses a critical institutional need.
• The college has financial and other resources to adequately support the implementation of the project.
• The project has the potential to be sustained after external support has ended.
• The project has the potential to serve as a replicable model.
• The college has, or may have the ability to obtain, suitable expertise in developing a competitively funded proposal.
• There is an adequate and appropriate amount of time to research and develop the project.

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The Executive Council reviews the grant schedule and approves the recommended list of projects to be developed. Not all worthy projects make it onto the schedule because of schedule conflicts or inadequate time to develop it before the project deadline. Projects of merit that don’t make the schedule may be suggested for a future year’s schedule and placed on a priority list for development.

Projects may always be added or dropped from the schedule at the discretion of the associate vice president of institutional advancement. Typically, these instances may occur at times when approved projects on the schedule have been abandoned and the schedule opens up to accommodate a new addition. Projects from the priority list for development will then be pursued. In the meantime, the office assists anyone with a viable project idea with research, planning, and writing guidance for the project’s future submittal to funding sources.

Process for developing your project idea

On average, the office will develop 50 grant proposals annually for the college. Since the grant schedule is very aggressive, the best strategy for getting your project from an idea to a grant is to PLAN EARLY and do your preliminary work using the Grant Decision Making Matrix.

What happens when you have an idea that you’d like to develop into a full proposal? Discussing your concept with your department and division leaders and getting their support are the first steps in the process. From there, the office of institutional advancement strongly urges this recommended path and process for development:

1. Take your idea to the decision making matrix. Complete it to the best of your ability and self-score the result of your concept.
2. If your project scores in the POTENTIAL range, contact the IA office.
3. If your project scores in the ALMOST range, review the areas of deficiency identified in the matrix. Take the steps necessary to raise the score to a POTENTIAL score, or contact the IA office for help if you’re “stuck.”
4. If your project scores below the ALMOST range, review this site and the associated links for grant development tips. Enroll in grant development workshops that are sponsored periodically by the office to build your knowledge of effective grant writing techniques.
5. Contact the office if you need help using the decision-making matrix or need advice on how to improve your score.

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4. Self-Determining the Suitability of Your Project Using the Grant Decision Making Matrix

Download the Grant Decision Making Matrix (PDF)

5. Your Role in the Grant Development Process

Most people don’t know what to expect when developing a grant proposal. Don’t feel intimidated! Your role in the grant writing process is as principal investigator or the PI. The office takes the style of each principal investigator into account with each new project. There are no special skills required or experience in grant writing needed. All you need are your grant idea (and your completed grant decision making matrix) and a willingness to work within a designated grant development team.

Some PI’s prefer to do a lot of their own writing. Some prefer to let the office write the first draft while they serve as an editor. At your initial grant development conference, we’ll evaluate the best options and develop with you a workplan that will clarify roles, responsibilities, and the project deadlines that must be met. Depending on the complexity of the project, you may expect to be asked to develop or provide such items as:

• Your initial project concept that articulates a real problem to be solved
• Supporters (internal and external) who may have interest in this project’s development and implementation
• Information sources that show the best practices in the field and about emerging trends related to your topic
• An assessment of the current problem you are hoping to address and how you suggest we measure change (i.e., project outcomes)
• An estimated budget that is based on a reasonable cost to implement your project
• A good sense of humor

From time to time, you may be asked by the office to participate as part of a grant development team. Even though you may not serve as a PI, your expertise may be needed in a project being developed by your peers. We constantly seek to improve proposals by involving people with a variety of perspectives – academic, administrative, and student services – to look at organizational challenges and to help design creative solutions. The office may call upon your specialized expertise at the college to participate in focus groups or conduct technical reviews of proposals under development.

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