Grant Writing Services

Produced by the Applied Social Research Unit, Illinois State University Sponsored by the Center for Rural Health, Illinois Department of Public Health

Background

To improve the quality of grant proposals being submitted by health and human service organizations in downstate Illinois, the Applied Social Research Unit (ASRU) conducted a three-session grant writing workshop series via videoconference. ASRU presented the series three times in the spring of 2003 (Series 1--4/29, 5/6, 5/8; Series 2--5/13, 5/15, 5/20; and Series 3--5/22, 5/27, 5/29). The audience represented critical access hospitals, county health departments, and other community-based organizations (e.g., law enforcement, fire protection, social service, and religious organizations).

View the Sessions

ASRU has archived the Grant Writing Series on the Internet to further benefit organizations that could not participate in the live sessions.* Participants received a packet of workshop materials ahead of their series. Materials are described in the archived sessions but are not available for Internet viewers, with the exception of a sample successfully funded grant proposal, which was used as a learning tool. You may download this proposal by the Emergency Services Foundation, which was available through the Dragonfly Communications Network as of July 23, 2003.

SESSION 1--Going for Grants . . . Overview of the Grant Seeking Process (5/13/03) -- Sharon Mills, M.S.

Watch Overview of the Grant Process (wmv)

"Going for Grants" provides information about how and where to look for funding. Participants will learn about the types of organizations that offer grants and some strategies for attracting grant funding. The session also stimulates participants to think about the different ways they can work with other individuals and groups on grant projects to develop community support and increase chances for funding. (Note that this archived session is from a different series than the second and third archived sessions.)

SESSION 2--Basics of Writing Grant Proposals (5/27/03) -- Beverly A. Beyer, M.A.

Basics of Writing Grant Proposals (wmv)

"Basics of Writing Grant Proposals" describes the four major parts of grant proposals: need or problem statement, goals and objectives, methods, and evaluation plan. Participants will learn how to relate these elements to each other to craft a winning grant proposal. The session also includes tips regarding grant proposal content, style, format, and submission.

SESSION 3--Budgeting for Success (5/29/03) -- Beverly A. Beyer, M.A.

Budgeting for Success (wmv)

"Budgeting for Success" encourages participants to use overall project goals to drive creation of the grant proposal budget. The session presents the seven steps for developing competitive, comprehensive grant budgets.

Acknowledgements

ASRU gratefully acknowledges the support of Doug Smith and Danny Sepesy of Illinois State University's Classroom Technology Support Services in the production of the Grant Writing Series. ASRU also thanks the Center for Rural Health (CRH) for its sponsorship and coordination of hospitals serving as training sites. CRH can be reached at 217/782-1624.

*The archive of the Grant Writing Series will be available at this site until June 30, 2004.