21st Century CCLC Grant Writing Training
January 12, 2012
McREL
 501(c) (3) private non-profit research and development corporation
 Denver and Honolulu
 Committed to helping educators change the odds for the success for
all students
 Research and evaluation, developing resources/tools, providing
technical assistance, PD and consultation
 Started in 1966; we are celebrating our 45th year
Today’s Learning Outcomes
Participants will:
• Become familiar with strategies for writing a successful grant
• Identify key structures, processes and people to have in place
before and during the grant writing process
• Become familiar with the 21st CCLC Grant Program RFP
• Practice developing key sections of the grant application
Warm-up Activity
At your table, introduce yourself to someone new and discuss how
the word on your card impacts grant writing.
Before you Start
• Read and understand the Request for Proposal (RFP).
• What are the funding priorities?
• Highlight all of the questions you have to answer.
• Identify key structures, processes and people to have in place.
• Organize your ideas-identify your main concept or theme as your
central idea.
• Become very familiar with the proposal evaluation criteria or rubric.
• List tasks to be accomplished, who is responsible, and by what date.
• Write an outline of your proposal.
Good planning is key to on-time delivery!
Before you Start
Write a one paragraph description of your request. It should
include:
Who you are
2. What your project is
3. How much you’re requesting
1.
Writing the Proposal
 Define your project.
 Is the project you are proposing a priority with the funding agency?
 Develop a message that is easily understood and believable.
 Follow the format suggested in the RFP.
 Write the proposal so that it clearly addresses each area in the
evaluation rubric.
 Draft, review, edit…repeat. Draft, review, edit…and repeat.
Budget
• Budgets are cost projections
• Well-planned budgets reflect carefully thought-out projects
• Only include items the funder is willing to support
• The budget narrative must describe a clear relationship between the
activities described in the application and the proposed allocation of
grant funds.
• A good budget narrative must also address the necessity and rationale
of proposed costs.
Budget Considerations
 Can the project be accomplished with this budget?
 Are costs reasonable for the market?
 Is the budget consistent with the proposed activities?
 Is there sufficient budget detail and explanation?
Evaluation Plan
 How will you assess what you are doing?
 Connected to work plan
 Includes strategies for measuring outcomes, data collection and
date sources
Goal
 Goal-broad statement of what you wish to accomplish
 About the final impact or outcome that you wish to bring about
 Make sure they are linked back to your need statement
Objective
• The objective represents a step toward accomplishing a goal.
• An objective is narrow, precise, tangible, concrete, and can be
measured.
• Describe program results to be achieved and how they will be
achieved
• Help set priorities and targets for progress and accountability
SMART OBJECTIVES
S= Specific (Who? What?)
M= Measurable (How much change is expected?)
A= Achievable (Can it be accomplished?)
R= Realistic (Proposes reasonable action steps)
T= Time-phased (When will objective be met?)
p.8
SMART Verbs
Achieve
Eliminate
Collect
Implement
Compile
Obtain
Conceptualize
Produce
Decrease
Publish
Deliver
Recruit
Develop
Train
Tips for Writing Good Goals and
Objectives
• Tie directly to your need statement
• Include all relevant groups in your target population
• Do not confuse outcome objectives for methods
• Know how you will measure the change projected in each
objective
• If you can’t measure the objective, then change it so you can
BREAK TIME!
Please return in 15 minutes
st
21
Century Community Learning
Centers Grant Program
Purpose
Establish or expand community learning centers that provide students
with academic enrichment opportunities along with activities designed
to compliment the students’ regular academic program.
• Services should focus on helping students in low income schools succeed academically
through the application of scientifically based practice and extended learning time.
• Examples: tutorial services in core academic subjects; youth development
activities, drug and violence prevention, counseling, art, music and recreation
programs, technology education programs, and character education programs
designed to reinforce and complement regular academic program
Opportunities for literacy and related educational development for families
pg 3
Priority Areas for Funding
•Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)
•Serving high school students
•Project based and service learning programming
•High school programs with three times the state average number of
McKinney-Vento homeless identified students
pg 3
Who is Served?
Students and families of students who primarily attend high poverty, low
performing schools as evidenced by:
• Free and Reduced Lunch rate of 40% and above; AND
• Demonstration of low achievement and low growth on Colorado reading
and math content standards
OR
• High schools that are three times the state rate for high school eligibility of
McKinney-Vento regardless of poverty or performance
pg 4
Who is Eligible?
Any public or private organization or consortia of organizations
including:
• Public schools
• Non-profit agencies
• City or county government agencies
• Faith-based organizations
• Institutions of higher learning
• For-profit corporations
• BOCES
• Consortium of organizations and/or school districts
• Charter schools
pg 4
Grant Awards
• $6 million will be awarded
• Not less than $50,000 and no more than $150,000 per year
• Five years with funding decreasing by 20% per year beginning in year
four (sustainability is crucial!)
p.4
Collaboration
Applicants must collaborate with other public and private agencies,
including the local school district, to create programs as
comprehensive and high quality as possible.
p. 3
Evaluation Rubric
The criteria outlined in the evaluation rubric is used by reviewers to
evaluate the application as a whole.
The evaluation rubric is your friend!
Evaluation Rubric
 Part I: Proposal Introduction- No Points
 Part II: Narrative- 159 points + 10
Section A: Need for the Project
Section B: Quality of Project Design
Section C: Quality of Project Evaluation
Section D: Quality of Management Plan
Section E: Adequacy of Resources
Section F: Priority Areas
Narrative
• Reader’s first impression
• State your case
• State the problem (data)
• Gaps in current program
• Description of your proposed plan
Research-based Practices
• Institute of Education Sciences-What Works
Clearinghouse - http://ies.ed.gov
• Youth for Youth- http://y4y.ed.gov
• Southwest Educational Development Laboratorywww.sedl.org
Thank you!!!
 Please complete an evaluation. Your feedback is valued.