The Ins and Outs of Grant Writing

March 31, 2005

March/April 2005 -- "Follow the instructions," was the advice echoed many times over at the grant writing session hosted by the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center (NSIIC).

This session covered the many topics involved in the seemingly complex, but really straight-forward process of grant writing. The topics covered were grant writing in general, grant writing for NSIIC funding and other various funding sources.

Bonnie Kline, executive director of the Colorado Wool Growers Association and successful grant writer, walked the participants through the grant writing process step-by-step and also provided her personal tips along the way.

A couple of the tips she provided were:

write a grant according to the scoring criteria in the request for proposal, and then massage the project goals to meet the specific criteria;
find the right funding source;
allocate sufficient time to write your grant proposal; and
if you get turned down for funding, find out why. This information will help you prepare a better proposal the next time.

Linda Campbell, NSIIC chair, also addressed participants and provided ideas of where to find grants. Although Campbell warned attendees this process can take a lot of time and effort, she says it is a crucial step to ensure that a grant gets funded.

The session closed with an opportunity for attendees to meet one-on-one with a NSIIC board member or employee to provide assistance on their current grant writing projects.

Commenting on the session, Jay Wilson, NSIIC executive director said, "We offered this session so that people understand the grant writing process. It can be intimidating, but we wanted to encourage people with an idea to apply for a grant."

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