FRCNCA Fund Development Toolkit
Why use this Toolkit?
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Demonstrate the FRCNCA’s and FRCs’ recognition in providing parent to parent support to
families in California
Help funders understand the importance of parent to parent support
Locate data and statistics related to disabilities
Access potential funders, tried and true fund raising events & ideas
Identify those fund raising ideas that have been identified by other FRCs as having the most
‘bang for the buck’
Before You Write – Components of a Grant Proposal
A brief description of the organization - This section of the proposal allows you to establish your
credibility and qualifications for funding. It is not the place to write a long-winded history of your
organization but to describe your purposes and long-range goals. The grant evaluators want you to
demonstrate how your existing programs were developed to meet identified community needs.
You will need to establish confidence in your organization’s capacity to deliver. This will include
short descriptions of the qualifications and experience of key staff in the area for which program
funds are being sought and other more general project management competencies.
FRC / FRCNCA Recognition that can be used in grant proposals:
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Governor’s Recognition
The (name of FRC) is a member of the Family Resource Centers Network of California
which had been recognized by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as the agency that is
responsible for the coordination, implementation and evaluation of the Family Support
Initiative 2005 grant from the Administration on Developmental Disabilities.
 Office of Special Education Planning (OSEP) Report, 1999
Independent evaluations and monitoring reports confirm the important role FRCs play in
helping families obtain information and access services, and in linking families and
professionals to improve service delivery: These Centers promote continuous family
centered services and are effective in grassroots child find and referral activities. This
Statewide initiative ensures ongoing family support for young children with disabilities and
their families and caretakers within their local communities, and therefore, assists the
formal service system with vital linkages to resources that are available and accessible.
US Dept. of Education, Office of Special Education Planning: Monitoring Report of
California's Early Start program, July 1999.
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California Early Start Annual Performance Reports
1999-2000
FRCs are vital partners in Early Start. Through the dedication of parents and
professionals, California is one of the few states with a structured, statewide system of
family support services. Each FRC is unique, reflecting the needs of the families in their
community and maintaining a crucial link to resources and supports for families.
Julie Jackson, Deputy Director, Community Services and Supports Division, Department of
Developmental Services.
2001-2002
FRC/Ns are essential partners in Early Start. They provide families in California with a
structured, statewide system of family support services and resources, while at the same time
being unique, reflecting the needs of families and strengthening the existing natural supports
in their local community. To continue with this work, FRC/Ns need additional resources
and technical assistance.
Rick Ingraham, Part C Coordinator, Department of Developmental Services. Community
Services and Supports Division, Children and Family Services Branch
July 2002 – June 2003 & July 2003 – June 2004
California values family support as an integral component of early intervention services. As
such, DDS funds more than 50 Early Start Family Resource Centers (FRCs) throughout the
Sate that actively collaborate with regional centers and LEAs to help parents and families
access early intervention services.
FRCs are often staffed by families of children with special needs. They offer parent-toparent support and help families locate needed services. They offer support and resources,
often in many languages, which may include newsletters, libraries, websites, parent-toparent groups, sibling support groups, warmlines and information and referral for parents
and professionals.
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AIR Statement
Early Start Program Evaluation Final Report to Department of Developmental
Services
The support and information provided by [FRC] resource parents helped to reduce the
feelings of being overwhelmed that new parents commonly mentioned. [FRCs] are also
widely regarded as instrumental and effective in facilitating critical activities which promote
parent-professional partnerships and interagency collaboration, including information and
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referral, community outreach and public awareness, and training. Family satisfaction with
FRC services was high.
Montgomery et al July 1997.
The case for support
It is critically important to establish a specific problem or issue in a geographically identifiable area.
The dimension of the problem to be addressed should be realistically achievable by your
organization. A small community organization will not be able to solve the problems of the world.
Evidence and more evidence
Subjective impressions will not hold any sway but a simple evocative case study illustrating the
issue may capture the imaginations of tired assessment panels. This should then be backed by
accurate data based on objective research. Statistics that are out of date or incorrect will damage
your case sometimes irreparably.
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Value of Parent to Parent Support Resources
o The Parent to Parent Handbook, Connecting Families of Children with Special
Needs, Santelli, Poyadue, Young. 2001.
o Parent to Parent Programs: a unique form of mutual assistance. Santelli et al.
1995.
http://www.beachcenter.org/Research/FullArticles/PDF/PP1_P2P_programs_uni
que_support.pdf
o Parent to Parent USA - www.p2pusa.org
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Research, Statistics & Data Sources:
o NICHCY – Research evidence on a wide range of educational practices:
http://research.nichcy.org/
o Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health- default national, state
and regional survey data. http://childhealthdata.org/content/Default.aspx
o Harvard Family Research Project – links to research, information, programs, and
tools from over 100 national organizations
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects.html
o US Census Bureau – Economic Status of Families With Members Who Have a
Disability http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/censr-23.pdf
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o National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (NECTAC) – early
childhood mental health section with links to definitions, legislation, initiatives,
organizations, foundations, research centers and supports
http://www.nectac.org/topics/menhealth/menhealth.asp
o Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), The National Survey of
Children with Special Health Care Needs Chartbook 2001 reports results of a
survey on the prevalence of special health care needs among children. Provides
demographic characteristics, types of services needed, and satisfaction with current
services http://www.ask.hrsa.gov/detail.cfm?id=MCH00139
o Office of Disability Employment Policy has fact sheets on disability data and
research resources http://www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/data.htm
o Cornell University - US disability statistics. Condenses several data sources into
a single, user-friendly, accessible resource. www.disabilitystatistics.org
o National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs provides
information on access to care, health and dental coverage, acute and chronic
conditions, family functioning, and more www.cshcndata.org
o National CAHPS Benchmarking Database (NCBD) Health Plan Survey
Chartbook presents summary-level results for the CAHPS Health Plan Surveys
https://www.cahps.ahrq.gov/content/NCBD/HP/NCBD_HP_HPProductsAndSer
vices.asp?p=105&s=52
o Children NOW offers the 2006-2007 California Report Card: The State of the
State's Children. The report presents the most current data available on the status
of California's children, who represent 27% of all Californians and 13% of the
nation's kids. Recommendations are provided for how policymakers can better
address children's basic needs for growing into productive adults.
http://publications.childrennow.org/publications/invest/reportcard_2007.cfm
o Urban Institute: Children in Vulnerable Families: Facts and Figures. This fact
sheet looks at trends in some of the most significant risks facing families today:
child maltreatment, domestic violence, children’s disabilities, substance abuse,
and parental mental illness. December 2006
http://www.urban.org/publications/901016.html
o California Department of Education: Provides data and statistics that can be
queried by district such as test scores, English learners, enrollment, physical
fitness results, staffing, special education enrollment by age, ethnicity, grade and
disability. www.cde.ca.gov
o Incenter Strategies for the Advancement of Adolescent Health has reports on
adolescent health and health care. www.incenterstrategies.org.
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The Budget
The required presentation of the program budget can vary from a simple one page statement of
income and expenses to a more complex set of budget papers including explanatory notes various
items of revenue or expense. The main thing is to be honest about your proposed expenditure and
income as Sam Lipski, Chief Executive of the Pratt Foundation writes, "Be as open as possible
about your financial situation e.g. your balance sheet, where else you are applying for funds, and
how you have arrived at the sum that you are seeking."
Community support
Evidence of community support is often required. Hint from community representative, "We
require letters of support as part of the grant proposal. Unfortunately many applicants send in letters
of support for the organization rather than the requested letters of support for the project. Every
community organization is valuable to our community, but what the Grant evaluation committee
needs to assess is the value of the project for the Community."
The proposed project
This is the section that will explain to potential investors that you have developed a clearly defined,
creative, achievable and measurable strategy to address the issue/s previously described.
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Clearly defined aims and objectives
o The overall aims and specific objectives of the program first need to be stated.
o An aim or goal is usually an abstract but very succinct description of what your
program hopes to achieve.
o Objectives should be specific, achievable within a twelve-month time frame, in a
distinct geographical location and result in real outcomes that are easily measurable.
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The methodology
o Objectives need to be matched with strategies that show how each will be achieved
by whom and by when.
o Should begin with a rationale for why the particular approach was chosen at this time
and for this community.
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Evaluation
A project is a set of activities, limited in space, time, and scope, which is to achieve specified
objectives. Project evaluation is the control of the planning and implementation of project activities
with regard to the objectives to be achieved. This means that project evaluation puts normative
assessments into the context of planning and management and hence into the context of intentional
action and cycles of action.
o Grant proposals need a detailed evaluation strategy to measure accomplishment of
program objectives.
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o Foundations and other grant makers require assistance to determine whether a
proposed project represents a sensible investment for them.
o Ideally provision should be made for an independent outside evaluation of the
proposed project.
o Information on evaluation may be found at
http://www.cerlim.ac.uk/projects/efx/toolkit/eval-meth.html
When you receive the grant
If you are successful in securing a grant for your project, don't forget to show your appreciation to
your funders and to communicate regularly with them throughout the life of the project and beyond.
If they know you have successfully completed a project that continues to provide ongoing,
sustainable benefits for the community, how much easier will your next attempt to win funding be?
Grant writing & Fund Development websites & Resources
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Fundraising and Grant writing resources http://www.fundsnetservices.com/grantwri.htm
About.Com offers a wide range of information for non-profits. http:/nonprofit.about.com/
The Fundraising Planner A Working Model for Raising the Dollars You Need. Terry &
Doug Schaff. 1999. Jossey-Bass Publilshers www.josseybass.com
Tried and True Grant Sources
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California Nonprofit Resource Centers
http://www.cafoodbanks.org/NonprofitContactList.html
California State resources http://www.nichcy.org/stateshe/ca.htm#state
Community Parent Resource Center http://www.Ed.gov
Computer http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/2comptec.htm
Department of Developmental Services Early Start - announced to Part C Early Start FRCs
Family Empowerment Center http://cafec.org/
Federal agencies are required to post all competitive grant opportunities on this site
http://www.grants.gov/index.jsp
Hewlett Packard http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/grants/
Internet http://www.fundsnetservices.com/computers.htm
Local community foundation (assist with grant writing classes and listings of grants)
http://www.forgoodforeverca.org/finder.html
Local First 5 Commission http://www.ccfc.ca.gov/countyinfo.htm
Regional Center http://www.arcanet.org/regional_centers.htm
State Council on Developmental Disabilities http://www.scdd.ca.gov/
Tried and True Special Fund Raising Events
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Car wash
Hot Dog event
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Texas Hold-Em Tournament
Scrap booking
Golf Tournament
Gala
Online Auction
Walk-a-thon
Garage Sale
Raffles
Tried and True Sales Items
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Craft Pins
Car magnets
Boutique
See’s candy
Tupperware
Fireworks
Avon
Thrift Store
Tried and True Programs & Projects
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Appeal letters, remit envelopes
Trained staff to accept donations,
Solicitation letters to businesses and corporations
Friend in deed certificates
Board directed decision to serve 0-life – fund positions
Good Neighbor campaign
Library donation / deposit
recycle in house, printer cartridges, cell phones,
Thrift store
Charge for conferences
Collaborate / MOUs
Tried and True Donation Opportunities
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United Way – give potential United Way donors your 501c3 number to designate you as a
recipient
Donation Jar
Service clubs
Grocery store cards
Tried and True In Kind Volunteer Sources
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Universities
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Regional Center
California Children’s Services
Most Bang for Your Buck
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Online Auction
Christmas Auction
Friend in Deed Certificates – to honor a friend & in newsletter
Raffle
Golf ball pool tourney
Dinner dance auction
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