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Grant Writing for Teachers

Grant writing is a difficult and arduous process but the rewards for your students and school can be great.  Writing a proposal gives you an opportunity to think creatively about educational reform and seek funding for the kinds of projects that you think are most worthwhile and needed.  Leaning how to write grants is a process and it takes time and effort to improve your skills in this area. Don't expect your first proposal to be funded- expect to learn enough from the experience so that future proposals will be successful. There is an abundance of grant writing information available on the Internet but here are my top five tips:

1. Your ideas should be creative, innovative, and point toward the future of education. Seek creative solutions to your student's problems (often this is a new spin on a good old idea).

2. Focus on your students and describe clearly what they will do and how they will benefit.

3. Establish a need for your project by painting a real-life picture of your students which identifies their needs but then focuses on their possibilities.  Write in a clear, positive manner and show how your proposal can meet your student's needs.  If possible, cite research that supports your proposal.

4. Read and closely follow the guidelines and instructions that are specified by the funding agency.  Your proposal must be accord with the priorities that are outlined by the funding source.

5.  Present a detailed budget that matches your proposed program.  Grantors want to know how their money is being spend so explain this to them and show how each phase of your budget ties together to benefit your students.

Listed below are five sites that give very useful grant writing tips.  

Although there are hundreds of funding agencies, here are some excellent resources for teachers

If you exploring this website as part of your explorations as a graduate student at Kennesaw State University, your assignment now is to develop  your own idea for a grant proposal. Specifically, you should write a 2-3 paragraph description of your ideas. Name your proposal, make it creative, and try to point it toward to what you consider to be the future of education.  Your mini-proposal should be complete and ready  to share with your colleagues during our next class meeting.