Think about the problem you're going to try to solve with a successful grant proposal, and the organization you want to write for. What are types of restrictions on RFPs that you want to steer away from? Also, what are some key strategies to avoiding getting your app tossed into the "not a chance" file right off the top? Here's a list of reasons why apps are rejected from the NEC Foundation of America.
For my organization, I think that one of the biggest problems I'll face is that I'm writing for a church. While churches do indeed have many sources of funding, as well as tax breaks and other benefits, many companies that choose to give will not give to a religious institution. This, of course, includes the federal government in many cases. I just looked into Adobe Software, for instance, and they will not give to a religiously-affiliated institution of any kind. If you look at that link, you'll see it's hosted by Gifts in Kind. Which leads me to my next consideration.
Gifts in Kind is an organization I hadn't heard of until today. Their purpose is to serve as a clearinghouse for discount-priced products for deserving organizations. Generally, this means non-profit and educational organizations. They list clothing, software, toys, and some other stuff in their winder catalog (a 480 kb Adobe file, which is a delightful little treat compared to some of the cumbersome academic files I've been accessing lately. Just goes to show that scanners and webservers aren't for amateurs.). Unfortunately, Gifts in Kind doesn't have any of the kinds of products I'm looking for to be used at my church's CPR training.
Other problems: I'm learning that some granting institutions give only to children in the K - 12 age range. Seems odd, but that may be part of their criteria that they only give to public institutions like schools. You know, this grant class could easily be combined with Sam Dragga's class on ethics in order to generate a meta-discussion on how granting puts our values on display. So many companies shy away from giving to private organizations because they don't want to be viewed as anything but uber-democratic.
Scope: my church's childcare program serves our community, but doesn't garner any nation-wide, state-wide, or even county-wide attention. So granting organizations interested in combining philanthropy with PR aren't likely to want to give.
Demographic: I don't yet know if this will be a problem, but our church's childcare program (while quite large--I think it serves just over one hundred children) is populated almost entirely by children from white, middle-class families. I'm not at all suggesting that folks out there only want to donate to minorities, but our church does not have the appearance of needing aid. However, there are other things to consider, such as the fact that almost all churches run in the red. More later.
Key strategies for not failing: Well, there's always the tried-and-true method of audience analysis and proper paperwork. This comes up time and again with regard to writing, whether for literary publications, self-help books, grants, classwork, memos, or even love letters. Think about your audience, read the instructions, and submit on time. There you have it. The secret to published writing. Maybe not fine writing. . .but published.
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So you raise "gifts in kind." What does "in kind" mean though, with grant writing, specifically? There are rhetorically saavy ways to use in-kind in your budgets to demonstrate buy-in and support and the potentional to sustain the project. Many RFPs will require a certain level of support from the institution. What qualifies? Electricity costs? Printing materials? Phone bills?
One strategy, too, for not failing, is trial and error. That is, you will come up with at least two viable RFPs in addition to the one you tackle for this class. The idea is the material written here can be re-tooled for other grant opportunities until you're successful. Grant writers keep databases with deadlines of when these apps are due every year. Useful, too, to find success.
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