Writing Federal Grants - A Practical Strategy

Writing Federal Grants - A Practical Strategy

Step One: Consuming the FOA

In my last post, I described traits needed to effectively write federal grants. These included:

• Time Management - Creating a timeline and sticking to it.
• Organizational skills - Organizing hundreds of pages of documents
• Detail Oriented - Paying attention to all the tiny bits of information needed
• Patience - Being able to read through 100-page instructions or sit through two-hour webinars
• Grace - Forgiving yourself (and others) for the inevitable errors or weaknesses
• Management Skills/People Skills - Getting all the information you need from people without making them hate you
• Writing Skills - Oh, sure...it helps if you can write well, too.

So...how EXACTLY are you supposed to use these skills to write a federal grant? If you are like me, you prefer to learn step-by-step how to accomplish something, rather than be expected to translate general concepts into reality.

NOTE: In this entry, I am assuming that your organization is registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) and has a DUNS number, etc. If you do not currently have these items, please click here to learn more.  You must be registered to apply for a grant, so do that first!

When we start tackling a federal grant, clients will often wonder "how are we going to do all this?" I tell them it's the same way you eat an elephant - just one bite after another until it's done. So...let's chow down!

Over the next few blogs (remember, I promised to keep these short), I will outline the steps I have developed for completing a federal proposal. This includes 8 general steps:

1. Consuming the FOA
2. Creating a proposal outline
3. Creating a timeline for completion
4. Pulling together the first draft
5. Reviewing the first draft
6. Putting together the second draft
7. Reviewing the second draft
8. The final draft and submission

STEP ONE: CONSUMING THE FOA

Consuming (purposefully and carefully reading) the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is the first step. You will find FOAs at www.grants.gov. I will assume you have already found and downloaded the FOA and scanned it to ensure you are eligible and interested in the grant (if you can't figure out how, please make a comment below and I'll help!).

1. Print the entire FOA. I want to save trees - really. I actually print very little. But the FOA is different for me. I need to hold this in my hand and have it physically handy at all times. If you can, print it in draft mode (to save ink) and double-sided (to save paper). 
2. Scan the FOA for this key information. Highlight the following items in the FOA (I also use sticky tabs to mark the pages for ease later):
• Reference Numbers. The Funding Opportunity Number (FON) and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA). You will need these later.
• Key Dates: These are usually in the first couple of pages. Look for:
• LOI due date (if applicable)
• Proposal due date
• Any webinars scheduled - put these on your calendar
• Anticipated announcement date (if they provide it)
• Award date
• Grant period (may be one year, may be multiple years)
• Award Amounts: These are also usually in the front. Look for:
• Maximum amount
• Minimum amount
• Note the average expected award amount. Find the total amount available for funding (this is usually listed), divide by the number of awards they expect to make and make note of the average expected award. I find this very helpful in deciding how much to ask for. For instance, if the average award is expected to be $2.4 million and I am working with a small nonprofit with revenues less than $1 million per year, the grant is probably not a good fit for them.
• Key components of the application. Depending on the agency, this will be in different places. I typically open the pdf or Word version of the FOA and search for the word "narrative." That seems to pull up the section listing all the key documents required. Highlight each main document as well as the page limits for each (this will tell you how long it will take to write the grant). For most grants I write, this may include:
• Typical Grant Forms - SF-424, SF-424A (budget) and other forms.
• An LOI - often optional
• Table of Contents
• Project Abstract
• Project Narrative - which also includes many sections (don't worry about it right now)
• Work Plan/Logic Model or other document
• Budget Narrative
• Attachments - may include:
• Letters of support
• Resumes of key personnel
• Organizational chart
• 501c3 letter or other proof of nonprofit status
• Any other documentation required.
3. Read the FOA. Block off at least an hour (preferably two), find a quiet place, and carefully read through the FOA, highlighter in hand. Read every word carefully, as you will often find "Easter eggs" in the instructions (important pieces of information seemingly hidden in the middle of a paragraph).  The only section I skip reading is the section on applying for a DUNS number and registering with SAM.

In my next entry, we will move on to Step #2: Creating a proposal outline; and Step #3: Creating a timeline for completion.