Send to me an email with the following information:
The confirmation email is your contract for the course indicating that you have read and understand course information and policies. Please be sure that you have read all course documents and ask questions if you have them.
Outcomes measured: R1, R4, CRW2
For many discussion board posts, you will analyze a grant proposal based on components we are studying for the week. DB posts will be due on Thursdays (11:59pm) the weeks they are assigned with the exception of weeks 1 and 2 (refer to the Schedule). The intent of analyzing the components of a completed proposal is to help you see what others have done well or not well so that you can effectively write your own.
You will be responsible for your own post and should give your analysis thought and consideration before posting. You should consider your DB post to be the equivalent of a short essay. That means your posts should be clear, focused, supported with reading(s) or other evidence, and use proper tone and mechanics.
Posts which are submitted on time, demonstrate independent analysis in well-written and clear essay-style will receive full-credit. All other posts will receive 0 pts.
Your task this semester is to complete a comprehensive and persuasive funding proposal for an organization of your choice. That means that you will write the proposal on behalf of that organization as though you are affiliated with them (the organization, therefore, would be the recipient of the funds, if awarded). You may also write a proposal for yourself--that is you will be the recipient of the funds, if the proposal is awarded. You will identify a funding source, analyze its requirements, complete the research necessary to support your request for funding, and complete the proposal based on the requirements of the funding agency you have selected.
You will turn in your completed proposal as an assignment for this course. If you choose to also work with the organization to submit the proposal, please let me know when you submit Part 1 of the assignment.
Graduate students: If you are working on or are planning to work on a research project which you believe is fundable, contact me about doing a research grant proposal with yourself as principal investigator. The project, however, should be one that you are or will be responsible for; not one in which you are assisting a faculty member.
Outcomes measured: R1, CRW1, P2, KC2
Your first task is to identify and analyze the organization for which you will write a proposal. You will need to do some research about the organization in order to complete this assignment.
To make the assignment interesting and relevant, you should choose an organization in which you have interest. If you are a volunteer, for example, you might consider whether that organization is in need of funding of some sort. Or perhaps there is a school, educational support organization, or other non-profit organization that you would like to help.
If you are having trouble identifying an organization, contact me.
In memo format submit to me:
Grading will be based on:
Outcomes measured: R1, R2, CRW1, CRW2, P2, KC2
Your second task is to identify a funding need for the organization. You should have some ideas based on your analysis of the organization but now you need to finalize what the specific need is so that you can begin identifying a potential funding source. In fact, if you haven't already started thinking about funding sources this is the time to do so.
In an email to me:
Grading will be based on:
Outcomes measured: R1, CRW1, CRW2, P2, KC1, KC2, KC3
Identifying a source of funding can be one of the most time-consuming aspects of proposal writing. There are many resources available online to help you locate funding; your textbook lists several in Appendix B, and I have included a list which is linked from the BB course site under Course Documents. In addition, the organization you are writing for may have suggestions based on current or previous grants they have received. You should also consider sources that might not list themselves in databases. Local businesses, for example, will often fund local non-profit organizations. To find these opportunities you may need to search their websites or contact them directly.
To be successful, the funding source must be a good match for the organization and for the program or project you are proposing be funded. The funding agency is your audience; therefore, you need to analyze who they are, what they do, and why in order to write a successful proposal.
Complete the Foundation Center's Prospect Worksheet (in Course Documents) for each potential funding source. The worksheet is a starting point to help you narrow potential funding sources and make a final selection that is most appropriate for your organization. Once you have selected the funding source, you will need to do additional research to fully analyze the agency to complete this assignment.
Be sure that you select a funding opportunity that requires a written narrative as part of the proposal. A funding opportunity which only requires completing a template with check boxes and short answers will not meet the requirements of this course. If you're uncertain about whether the opportunity you've found fits the course, check with me in advance before submitting this portion of the assignment.
Submit to me in memo format a short report in which you:
Grading will be based on:
Outcomes measured: R1, R2, R3, CRW3, P1, P3, KC2, KC3, KC4
For this assignment, you will write a draft of your problem statement and goals and objectives. Although the funding source you have selected may not use this terminology, the problem statement and goals and objectives are key components of a proposal: they explain why funding is needed and what the organization will do with the funding. No matter how worthy the cause or program, no proposal is ever funded without a well-worded and convincing problem statement and objectives.
Your problem statement should be accompanied by sufficient background information that you have gathered through your research. In other words, you must convince me as the proposal reader that there really is a problem significant enough (for the organizaiton you represent and for its constituents) that I should agree to fund your project/program. In addition, your goals and objectives should be clear and focused enough so that I am convinced that they address the problem. Again, no matter how worthy the cause or organization, no funding agency will award money if goals and objectives are so broad that it is unclear what the money will be used for. Part of being persuasive is to be clear, focused, and specific.
Submit to Blackboard your draft problem statement and goals and objectives in the format that is required by the funding agency you have selected. Be sure to also submit a copy of or a link to the funding agency's requirements and guidelines.
Keep in mind, this is a draft. The purpose of a draft is to receive feedback so that you can revise and improve the final version. Therefore, grading will be based on:
Outcomes measured: R1, CRW1, P1, P3
Review the drafts of 2 other students, as assigned. A guide will be posted in BB to use to review the drafts.
Outcomes measured: R1, R2, R3, CRW3, P1, P3, KC2, KC3, KC4
Budgets are another key component of all funding proposals. The budget tells the funding agency how the money will be spent and whether you will spend the money on items that they are willing to fund. As a result, you should read the proposal guidelines carefully to determine what you can and cannot include. Some agencies will not fund salaries, for example. If your budget requests salary information not only will you not get funded for that item but you risk the agency questioning your entire proposal. Budgets are about more than money. They are about ethos--demonstrating that you are responsible and professional, that you understand your project/program and can link money to specific aspects of it, that you understand the funding agency, and have taken the time to pay attention to the details of the proposal process and guidelines.
Submit to BB a draft of the budget section of your proposal. Your budget should include:
Keep in mind, this is a draft. The purpose of a draft is to receive feedback so that you can revise and improve the final version. Therefore, grading will be based on:
Outcomes measured: R1, CRW1, P1, P3
Review the drafts of 2 other students, as assigned. A guide will be posted in BB to use to review the drafts.
Outcomes measured: R1, R2, R3, CRW3, P1, P3, KC2, KC3, KC4
Submit to BB a final draft of a full propsal. Your draft should demonstrate that you have considered the reviews from your peers and revised accordingly. Remember, however, that the content and formatting of your proposal is ultimately your responsibility.
Keep in mind, this is a draft. The purpose of a draft is to receive feedback so that you can revise and improve the final version. Therefore, grading will be based on:
In addition, submit to me a memo in which you describe your revision process and how you have used (or not used) feedback given on previous drafts. This portion of the assinment is worth 5 pts.
Outcomes measured: R1, CRW1, P1, P3
Review the drafts of 2 other students, as assigned. A guide will be posted in BB to use to review the drafts.
Outcomes measured: R1, R2, R3, R4, CRW1, CRW2, CRW3, P2, P3, KC1, KC3, KC4
Submit to me your final proposal.
Grading will be based on:
Last modified: 12 January 2009