Who doesn’t like to spend money, especially when it is someone else's money? When it comes to spending school money, the process can be daunting. If you’re like me, you tend to balance your school budget a lot closer than your personal account. When I have a chance to purchase new items, technology or books, I feel like a kid on Christmas morning. But, what if there is not enough money to purchase what you need? What are some steps you can take?
Securing funds can be an amazing learning opportunity and major headache at the same time.
Ron Flan, an expert in grant writing, offers several tips in his article “Tips for Writing a Winning Grant”. He first suggest you make sure the funder is a good source for your needs, make sure you are able to meet the requirements. Clearly state your outcomes for the grant. He recommends using the acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-specific). This reminder makes writing grants a little easier. The next reminder is to be specific. When a grant is written too broad, the funder can oftentimes not know what their money will be used for and a little hesitant to give you money. Another suggestion is to see a variety of sources. If you have a lot of technology needs, you may need more than one funder to finish the project. Of course, you need to be realistic in knowing the entire amount needed may not be given. What do you do when you need more money?
In the text Planning for Technology (2013), some other options for funds can be fundraising, seeking funds from local businesses, reserve textbook money for one school year, working with a local college, parent organizations, or online textbooks (Whitehead, p. 195). In my school district we have used several of these options for obtaining needed and up-to-date technology. Our school has hosted three different walk-a-thons and raised several thousands of dollars each time. This school year, the decision was made to not purchase textbooks, but use that money for chromebooks for the entire 4th grade student body. Our local PTO group has given large amounts of money to our administrators which helped to purchase projectors, bulbs and update many teacher laptops.
Once you have the funds to purchase needed technology, you need to make sure there is a budget in place. Even with grant money, a budget is crucial. Our text provides a Purchasing Pyramid (Whitehead, p. 192). The only thing I suggest is the pyramid needs to be flipped. Instead of the cost of the item being the main priority a school system needs to take into thought if the technology meets the school’s philosophy of teaching first. The chart is a great starting point to creating a budget for technology needs.
While conducting research for this blog, I found a YouTube channel by Grant Writers Association sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education. Rodney Walker, an expert with Grant Development Systems, provides us with several videos on how to find grants we are eligible for and how to go about completing the grant writing process. This is an amazing resource for those of us new to the grant writing process.
Happy Grant Writing!
References:
Education Grants for Schools And School Districts. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/playlistlist=PLj6klb9QetA7ccXFcypA_Dd7gfXDHFuqt
https://www.youtube.com/playlistlist=PLj6klb9QetA7ccXFcypA_Dd7gfXDHFuqt
Flavin, R. (2014). Tips for Writing a Winning Grant Proposal. (cover story). Tech Directions,74(1), 18.
Whitehead, B. M., Jensen, D., & Boschee, F. (2013). Planning for technology: A guide for school administrators, technology coordinators,
and curriculum leaders. Thousand oaks: Corwin sage.
and curriculum leaders. Thousand oaks: Corwin sage.
Jaclyn,
ReplyDeleteYour focus on tips for writing a successful grant are really helpful. I also found that successful grant writers start with the "three Ps:" a project, a plan, and permission. I did not realize that "school districts are limited in the number of state and federal grants for which they can apply" (Starr, 2013). This little article also has a lot of resources and expert tips for writing winning grants. I know we could all use some more money for our schools!
Starr, L. (2013) Show me the money! Retrieved from: http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev039.shtml
Jaclyn, You are right that writing a grant can be a learning experience and fun OR it can be a headache. I wrote my first grant along with the help of a wonderful high school teacher this year. I did not realize how time consuming and detailed it needed to be. It really was a wake up all to what all needs to be contained within the grant in order for it to be favorable to the funder. We looked at and followed some of the tips offered by Cynthia McCabe (n.d) in her article. What helped me the most was the part about keeping it simple. I struggled with having enough details and not over doing it. Thanks so much for sharing! Also, know that this was a great video as well!
ReplyDeleteMcCabe, C. (n.d). Write a grant. Retrieved from http://www.nea.org/home/10476.htm