Steps for Grant Proposal Writing
With any questions contact Cielo Contreras:
(202)393-6999x312 or ccontreras@americascores.org
1. Gathering Background Information
First, gather information in three areas:

Concept: Does the funder’s area(s) of interest match with your project and activities? Does your
proposed project fit in with your program goals?

Program: What is the project and how will you complete it? What is the timeline? What are the
anticipated outcomes? What are the staff needs?

Expenses: What are the costs associated with implementing the proposed project?
2. Proposal Components

Executive Summary: gives an overview of the problem to be addressed, your proposed project, funding
requirements, and details about your organization.

Statement of Need: explains why your project is needed using facts and statistics and why your
approach is the most (or one of the most) effective.

Project Description:
o
o
o
o
o
Objectives: measurable outcomes of the project
Methods: specific activities that will take place to achieve the objectives
Staffing/Administration: who will implement the activities and who will oversee the project to
make sure it is completed
Evaluation: how you will make sure you have achieved your objectives
Sustainability: how your project will continue once this funding has ended

Budget: shows the expenses related to the project in detail. Depending on the amount of the grant, the
funder may also ask for a budget narrative to explain the costs.

Organizational Information and Conclusion: gives an overview of the organization’s mission, history,
accomplishments, and programs. Some funders may ask for specific details about leadership, the
Board of Directors, and other staff.
3. Letter Proposal
Some funders require a letter instead of a full proposal. The components of a letter may include:






Ask for the gift
Describe the need
Explain what you will do
Provide general information on your organization
Include appropriate budget data
Attach any information that may be required
GRANT SEARCH RESOURCES
Foundation Center - http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/
The Foundation Center is recognized as the nation’s leader in organized philanthropy and connects grant
writers and funders with tools necessary to growing and shaping their organizations.
Afterschool Alliance - http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/fundingData.cfm
Afterschool Alliance is the nation’s leading voice for after school programs and they offer a database of funding
resources.
Donors Choose - http://www.donorschoose.org/
Donors Choose allows public school teachers to post projects online and gives donors the options to pick which
projects to fund and the amount of money they’d like to donate toward the project.
ANC - http://anc.dc.gov/anc/site/default.asp
Some Advisory Neighborhood Commissions offer grants to eligible non-profit organizations/school groups doing
good works in their communities.
Youth Service America - http://www.servicewire.org/nsb/Grants-and-Awards
Youth Service America’s National Service Briefing provides a list of grants and funding opportunities for
organizations around the country along with a detailed profile of the grant available.
Grant Wrangler - http://www.grantwrangler.com/
Grant Wrangler is a free online resource of grants available specifically to teachers in arts and humanities,
health and physical education, and libraries.
Aftershool.org - http://www.afterschool.org/grantsfororganizations
- http://www.afterschool.org/grantsforyouth
Afterschool.org provides a listing of grants/awards specifically for after-school programs and the funding
necessary to support them. They have grants for two categories: organizations and youth-led projects.
Pennsylvania Service-Learning Alliance -http://www.paservicelearning.org/Initiatives/21stCCLC/grants.htm
Though based in Pennsylvania, this website often lists national and regional grant opportunities that apply to
Washington, DC and the metro area.
Program Overview
DC SCORES, in operation since 1994, seeks to increase school engagement, levels of physical activity, and
students’ sense of self-worth and belonging. We aim to fill gaps in an environment where students have little to
no exposure to organized physical activity, childhood obesity rates are dangerously high, and literacy rates are
far below average. Our program serves 25 public and public charter schools spread across Washington, DC
Wards 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8. Of the 800 participants, 65% are African-American, 33% are Latino, 1% are Asian,
and 1% are white or other ethnicities. Approximately 80% of our students receive free or reduced price lunch.
Mission & History
The mission of DC SCORES is to empower students in urban communities using soccer, writing, creative
expression, and service-learning. With teamwork as the unifying value, DC SCORES inspires youth to lead
healthy lifestyles, be engaged students, and become agents of change in their communities.
DC SCORES was founded by a DC Public School teacher who noticed the girls in her class had few
constructive activities available to them after school. In 1994, Julie Kennedy began to teach the kids to play
soccer each day after school. One rainy day, Kennedy began to teach her school’s first soccer team to use their
minds creatively through poetry. Soon after, Kennedy introduced service-learning as a third component to the
program, realizing that a cohesive and empowered team who had accomplished individual and team goals on
and off the field could make an impact on their surrounding community. Today, DC SCORES is a leader
amongst after-school program providers and is serving more students from under-resourced communities
through soccer than any other District entity. DC SCORES aims to increase school engagement, improve
physical fitness, and increase self-worth and sense of belonging for participating youth.
Programs
Each year, students participate in over 24 weeks of programming that combines soccer and health education
two days per week, poetry and service-learning two days per week, and one day is reserved for inter-school
soccer games. At the middle school level, we combine soccer and poetry or service-learning all on one
programming day. The program follows a school-based model for after-school programming by hiring and
training four teachers (“SCORE Corps”) from each school to administer the writing and soccer curriculum, which
combines academic enrichment modules, health & nutrition lessons, project planning templates, and readily
usable soccer practice plans that incorporate team building and leadership activities. Our curricula are also
aligned to each age group’s academic and physical education standards as defined by DC Public Schools.

Power of Poetry (fall semester): This curriculum teaches students how to write, analyze and perform various
forms of individual and group poetry. Through the word games and fun writing activities in the curriculum,
students in DC SCORES learn to see poetry and writing as something other than a school assignment.
They begin to see it as a way to express their thoughts and feelings and tell others about themselves.
(Curriculum developed in partnership with the University of Iowa’s Writer’s Workshop.)

Writing for the Community (spring semester): DC SCORES students examine their community and then
focus on one issue to address through this project-based curriculum. As a team, the students develop and
implement their project to help their community. Past projects have included organizing a school-wide
clothing drive for the homeless, community gardens and tackling school safety. (Curriculum reviewed by the
University of Washington.)

Soccer and health (year round): DC SCORES’ soccer and health curriculum is a progression of technical
skill building as well as tactical understanding of the game combined with activities designed to teach
students proper nutrition, health, and physical fitness. Each day’s session incorporates teamwork,
leadership and commitment. These characteristics are also awarded seasonally through the America
SCORES patch program. All students participate in DC SCORES’ city-wide soccer league. (Curriculum
approved by National Soccer Coaches Association of America.)
Each of our schools participates in our city-wide elementary and middle school soccer leagues, the first and only
of their kind within DCPS. In addition to daily programming, students, coaches and families participate in
several city-wide events throughout the school year that showcase and celebrate our students’ work with DC
SCORES in a fun, positive environment. Our events include a Fall Frenzy and Jamboree! (city-wide soccer
tournaments), poetry readings at Starbucks, and the annual Poetry Slam!, a spoken word competition for all 800
DC SCORES students.
Issues Addressed
DC SCORES addresses the intersection of prevalent issues such as declining test scores and literacy rates,
rising school dropout rates, and skyrocketing obesity and inactivity rates among youth. Simply put, DC
SCORES believes that students who are healthy, have a strong sense of self, and are praised for their creative
writing and public speaking attend, participate, and excel in a formal school environment.
DC SCORES provides over 90 hours of academic enrichment and language arts instruction annually.
Compared to 11 of the nation’s largest urban centers, the District of Columbia has the highest percentage of
below basic readers.1 According to the DC Office of the State Superintendent (OSSE), only 45% of elementary
school students in the District scored "proficient" in reading on the 2010 DC CAS standardized test.2
Additionally, Washington, DC has the ninth highest obesity rate (35.4%) in the country for children ages 10-17.3
This is due to a lack of school-based physical education, healthy food options, and safe places for children to
play in the District.4 There is a growing body of research dedicated to the connection between adolescent
obesity and school performance. One study found that the more physical fitness tests elementary and middle
school students passed, the better they did on academic tests.5 The evidence suggests, then, that programs
like DC SCORES, where students receive over 120 hours of physical activity annually through soccer, benefit
students both mentally and physically.
Measurable Results
In 2009, we completed our first outcomes evaluation using newly created tools to measure our three main goals
for youth: (1) increase school engagement; (2) increase levels of physical fitness; and (3) increase self-worth
and sense of belonging. We utilized student pre- and post-surveys to measure attitudinal changes based on our
program model towards self, peers, school, coaches, and the community. In addition, we measured physical
fitness through a program called FitnessGram, which is designed to measure aerobic capacity, body
composition, and muscular strength. Some of the highlights from the report, published January 2010, include:



We found a relationship between liking and participating in DC SCORES and levels of school engagement
and sense of belonging and self-worth. Specifically, by the end of the program:
 81% of middle school students indicated they liked school (7% increase).
 93% of students said they feel safe around their teachers (11% increase).
 92% of students said they feel their soccer coach is supportive (11% increase).
 74% of students found their writing coaches approachable (7% increase).
At the conclusion of the program, the majority of elementary students reported that most or all of the time
they get along with teachers (78%), participate in class (90%), and get along with other students (80%).
For both elementary and middle school participants, we found marked improvements in cardiovascular
fitness and students who either decreased or maintained body mass index (BMI).
 The number of boys and girls in the “normal” BMI classification increased by 8% and 3%,
respectively.
 The number of boys classified as “overweight” or “obese” decreased by 10% and 2%, respectively.
 The number of girls classified as “obese” decreased by 3%.
 The number of laps each participant could run during the test increased by an average of 10 laps.
National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress – Reading, 2007.
“No Child Left Behind Data Reports.” DC Office of the State Superintendent for Education, 2010.
“F as in Fat,. 2009: How Obesity Policies are Failing America” Trust for America’s Health, 2009.
4
Ibid.
5
Chomitz, Virginia R., et al. “Is There a Relationship Between Physical Fitness and Academic Achievement? Positive Results From Public School Children in
the Northeastern United States,” Journal of School Health 79, no. 1 (2009): 30-37
1
2
3