Library Grant Writing Online

(An Infopeople Online Learning Course)
October 7, 2008 – December 8, 2008

This class will take a Thanksgiving break from November 24, to November 30, 2008. During that period students are free to work on the class but the Instructor will not be available.

**Demonstrated results! Five students who wrote and submitted grants during the spring session received grant awards!**

• Do you need outside funding to implement a new program or service?
• Do you think you have a great idea for a grant project but don't know where to start?
• Would you like to know about "library-friendly" funding sources other than the California State Library/LSTA?
• Would you like the opportunity to practice writing a grant proposal in a safe environment with one-on-one coaching?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then this course is for you!

Successful grant writing is neither one of the magical arts nor an "insider" job. Grant writing is a set of skills that can be learned, and then improved upon with practice. In these difficult economic times, winning grant awards may be the only way your library can introduce new services and programs. At the same time, competition for grant funding is fiercer than ever. This Infopeople online learning course is designed to help you gain a competitive edge in the grant application process – and has a track record of getting results for those who complete the course. This intensive 8-week course will guide you through the process of writing an actual grant proposal--students should have in mind a specific project or idea that can be developed into a proposal document.

This session has been updated and revised to cover online grant applications.

Preliminary Course Outline:

• Week 1: Overview of Project Planning and Grant Writing
  • The world of grantsmanship today
  • Library-friendly funding sources
  • General guidelines
  • Grant formats, traditional and online
  • Getting started
• Week 2: Building a Solid Foundation
  • Identifying the need
  • Documenting the need
  • Involving your client group
  • Establishing community partnerships
• Week 3: Building on the Foundation
  • Relationship of project to library mission and goals
  • Project goals and objectives
  • Writing measurable objectives
  • How much change is realistic?
  • What happens if you don't meet your objectives?
• Week 4: Describing Your Program
  • The key to success: a clear plan of action
  • Developing your project timeline
  • Personnel requirements
  • Resources
• Week 5: Will Your Program Make a Difference?
  • Keeping records
  • Evaluation models and terminology
  • Creating an evaluation plan
  • Outcome measures
• Week 6: Getting to the Bottom Line
  • Budget basics
  • How to estimate costs
  • In-kind and matching fund requirements
  • Indirect costs
  • Negotiating with the funder
• Week 7: Putting It All Together
  • Writing the project summary
  • Writing the cover letter
  • Submission, traditional and online
• Week 8: After Submission – What Do You Do?
  • If you're funded – beyond celebration
  • Handling rejection
  • The basics of managing a funded projects
    • Implementing the plan of action
    • Managing the budget
    • Reporting
  • Preparing for the next phase

Notes from the Instructor: You can take this course at several levels of intensity and effort. The original idea for the course was that each student, over the course of the 8 weeks, would write an actual, fully developed grant proposal. As I taught this course in previous years, however, I found that not all students can expend this level of effort, nor is it necessary for everyone. Accordingly, I have identified three levels of effort and you can select whichever level works for you:
Level 1: Some students have told me that they get what they need from the course by simply reading the course material and participating in the online discussions and chat sessions. If you don't have a current project and just want to learn about the grant writing process for the future, this may suit you.
Level 2: The second level of effort involves doing the assignments that prepare you to write a grant application for your project, but not actually writing the application. I have created new exercises for this session of the course specifically to accommodate this level of effort.
Level 3: The most intense level of effort involves actually writing sections of a grant application to correspond with the course material in each week. Thus, in the second week you will write a statement of need, in the third you will develop the goals and objectives for your project, in the fourth you will write a narrative description of your program, etc. You will send the sections to me as you write them, and I will provide you with written feedback. If you already have a clear idea of what you want to do and have identified a possible funding source, you may want to work at this level as it is a good way to structure your work and to get one-on-one coaching.

You will be asked to complete a pre-course online survey, at which time you will be asked to indicate the level at which you plan to take the course.

Online Learning Details: This eight-week course will be taught online using the web. When you register, you will receive a registration confirmation which will include the URL to get to the course, as well as a username and password. Library Grant Writing Online will start on September 30, 2008 and end on November 24, 2008.

The workshop consists of eight learning modules. You can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night. However, you will be expected to log in to the course each week to do that week's assignment. We ask that you log in sometime during the first week of the course to begin the course work.

The materials will remain available to work on for two additional weeks following the official end date, but you will be expected to accomplish the majority of the course in synchronization with your peers during the first eight weeks.

Who Should Take This Course: Anyone interested in learning about what is involved in writing grant proposals for libraries.

Prerequisites:
This course is taught over the web. You must:

• Be able to save Microsoft Word .doc or Adobe .pdf files to your computer and print them out. (For .doc files, a free Word Viewer is available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en. Search for "Word Viewer." For .pdf files, a free Adobe Acrobat Reader is available at http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html).
• Be comfortable navigating on the web and navigating back and forward on a website that uses frames.
• To be most successful in this course you should be willing to share information with your colleagues and be willing to spend time reading and participating in the weekly discussion boards.

System Requirements: The online learning product that Infopeople uses is called Angel. The following are minimum system requirements for using Angel. You will need access to a computer that has at least these specifications to participate in an online course:

• Windows:
  • Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Vista
  • Internet Explorer 7.0 and above, Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and above
  • Phishing Filter disabled (IE 7)
• Macintosh:
  • OS X and above (OS 9 will NOT work with our online learning product)
  • Mozilla Firefox 2.0 and above, Safari 2.0 and above
• General
  • High speed Internet connection (dial up not recommended)
  • Java enabled (from Sun Microsystems not Microsoft) - test my computer - Java download latest version
  • Pop-up blockers disabled

If you are not comfortable with any of the above, please consider taking this course with a colleague who does meet these requirements.

If space is available you may register for this online class up to seven days after the official start date. Please contact Linda Rodenspiel at assist@infopeople.org if you are trying to register after the official start date.

Fee: $100 for those in the California library community and $175 for those out-of-state.

Course Start: This 8-week-long online learning course starts on October 7, 2008.

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