Try writing grant proposals with purpose!
Your District and School has made a commitment to excellence striving to offer students relevant instruction for the 21st Century. One goal is for students to leave your school with a world-class education better preparing them for higher education and the world of work. This means incorporating technology at every turn.
But that’s expensive! Where do schools get the money to fund technology? Grant funding is one option for any school. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation comes to mind immediately, but many local and national businesses and organizations fund school technology projects through a host of competitive grants. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of other organizations that offer competitive grant dollars to do the job.
You want to offer students world-class instruction.
That means you need the best teaching technology in all your classrooms.
To write proposals for technology grants, you need to start with a clearly defined project with goals, objectives, and a means to deliver measurable results. Using a search engine, you can seek out grant writing tips. Use the logical keywords: technology grants, Michigan grants for K-12 schools, grants for high-tech class-rooms, etc. Also, when you have narrowed down a grant to which you would apply, use past grants as a resource for building a successful grant, remembering to address the nature of the grant offered. Examples would include grants geared toward recycling and sustainability, or grants geared toward increasing family reading. Your project needs to address the nature of the grant offered.
Thousands of potential resources will appear, including these:
Technology For Classrooms - intel.com
2015 Technology Grant - Return To School With A Grant
Nationwide Grant Opportunities - No Deadlines
SchoolGrants - Grant Opportunities
Technology Grants - GrantWatch
Funding Your Technology Dreams
To find other funding options, try visiting a few websites like these:
www.grant.classesusa.com/Technology www.grantwatch.com/cat/36/technology-grants.htmlwww2.cpsb.org/Scripts/abshire/grants.asp www.k12grants.org/Grants/midwest.htm
You can use a single form to apply for grants from many Michigan foundations offering them: https://www.michiganfoundations.org/resources/common-grant-application-form
Read carefully - don’t forget to spellcheck!
Before writing your first proposal for a technology grant, read all instructions carefully. Each available grant has its own requirements. Submit your computer-generated (typewritten) proposal to make the deadline or fill out an online form to perfection. Mistakes can be costly. Here are a few more tips for good grant proposal writing:
- Use the full, correct name of every organization where you seek funds.
- Have a clear picture of what your grant will accomplish for your school(s).
- Describe the location (city, state, zip), square miles, school population and significant demographic factors affecting your school and students.
- Use quotations from other sources (studies, articles, blogs, white papers) to back up your reasons for funding your specific technology needs.
- Provide statistics that relate to your projected technology uses.
- Tell how other schools and students have benefited from this technology – increased graduation rate, workplace readiness, college preparation, etc.
- Articulate very specifically all benefits the grant will provide your students.
- Explain how important this project is for your school(s) and for your community, elaborating on the critical need for this classroom equipment.
- Reflect on how much this specific grant will mean to your students, their families and your school(s) in the future.
- Write concisely, clearly, accurately -- and don’t forget to spellcheck.
If you’re not sure how to answer questions, all you have to do is ask. Most grant applications provide a contact person’s email address. Keep in touch with that person during the decision-making process. The more interest you show, the more likely you are to be awarded a grant.
NOTE: Contact Aim Up at service@aim-up.com to ensure that your grant project is a success. A representative will visit your school and do a technology assessment to help you write your grant proposal and provide you with a tangible quote for grant submission.
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Article written by Susan K. Maciak, Consultant. Request permission to reprint or quote: service@aim-up.com Visit Aim Up at: Website: www.aim-up.com | Blog: www.aimupimage.blogspot.com | Twitter: twitter.com/aimupimage | Google Plus: plus.google.com/u/0/+Aimupimage | YouTube: www.youtube.com/aimupimage | Email: service@aim-up.com
