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Proposal Writing Workshop: Asking For and Spending Other People's MoneyCommunity Foundation of Boone County |
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14 January 2003
A Proposal Writing Workshop: Asking For and Spending Other People's Money, Presented by The Community Foundation of Boone County
Date: Thursday, February 20, 2003
Time: 9:25 a.m. - 3:25 p.m.
Location: Boone County REMC, Lebanon
Cost: There will be no charge to Boone County residents who have already submitted or who would like to submit grant proposals to the Community Foundation of Boone County on behalf of a not-for-profit organization or volunteer organization.
Registration: Although there is no registration fee for Boone County residents, it is necessary that reservations be made for attendance. Reservations will accepted on a "first-come first-served" basis. Attendance will be limited to twenty-five participants. A light lunch will be provided.
To register, call the Community Foundation of Boone County at 317-873-0210, or at 765-482-0024, or contact us by email at barb@communityfoundationbc.org.
Deadline: The deadline for accepting workshop reservations is 3:00 p.m., Monday, February 17, 2003. "Walk-in" reservations and attendance will not be available.
Prerequisites: None; no previous proposal writing experience is necessary
Content: The people who approve grant requests are, by the very nature of the responsibility entrusted to them, obligated to be extremely careful of how they make their funding decisions. They are actually making decisions on how to spend other people's money -- the many contributions given to the Community Foundation by citizens of Boone County. Thus, it is essential that successful grant applicants understand this process.
Grant making usually depends upon a competitive process. Only grant requests presenting the best investment opportunities for the Foundation and the donors it represents, can be selected to receive awards. Thus, the decision makers must approve only proposals meeting specified standards. There is no magic formula for writing a successful proposal, but there are guidelines. There are also some very basic, practical suggestions that will contribute directly to a writing a competitive, easily read, and particularly persuasive proposal. These suggestions will form the core of the workshop content.
A grant proposal is a document that answers all the questions it might raise, and persuades the reader to the proposal writer's point of view - all in the proposal writer's absence. The workshop will address issues essential to how this can be done. Also to be presented will be examples from "real-life" of things that have actually caused proposals to be denied.
Some of the issues that will be discussed include:
Instructional Format: An interactive classroom format will be used that will include ample opportunity for questions. Instruction will include the use of illustrative materials and handouts. The material presented will be applicable to the preparation of grant proposals to be submitted to the Community Foundation of Boone County. However, all topics will also be directly applicable to the preparation of any proposal being prepared for submission to another funding source.
Instructor: This workshop will be conducted by Dr. Wendell McBurney, an experienced proposal writer, reviewer and grant administrator. Dr. McBurney has conducted numerous proposal writing workshops for community and educational groups. He wrote and taught the proposal writing course for the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy's Fundraising School, and the graduate course in grant development and administration for the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
Additional Information and Assistance:
The Community Foundation of Boone County
PO Box 92
Zionsville Indiana 46077
Voice: 317-873-0210 or 765-482-0024
FAX: 317-873-0219
Email: cfbc@in-motion.net