"Grant opportunities abound. Why not go after one?" said Board member Mary.
"ABC Charter School Wins $123M in Grant Awards," announced Your Town's Daily News.
"We need X, Y, and Z to serve our students, but the money is not there," said your teachers.
Do any of these sound familiar?
Facts:
There are many grant opportunities available to schools.
Some schools are winning them at an astounding rate.
Your school has needs that exceed your operating budget.
Don't Let Limitiations of Today Prevent Success for Tomorrow
Do you remember that 90’s movie, "Reality Bites"? It was full of snappy songs, such as “My Sharona,” “Going, Going, Gone,” and “Spin the Bottle.” The movie portrays life as a series of accidents beyond our control, and it's easy to believe that school life is the same way.
Truly, there will always be school budget realities beyond our control, but with some foresight, school budget reality doesn't have to bite. Instead of singing along with the crowd that your money is going, going, gone, sing another tune.
Start by telling yourselves these truths:
I can find grants that will meet your needs.
I can write award-winning grant applications.
I can get what I need to serve my students beyond my wildest dreams.
Here’s how:
Figure Out What You Want.
I mean, really figure out what you want. Start by answering these questions:
What problem am I solving?
What does the solution look like?
How will you measure success?
How does this solution help your school reach its mission?
How is this solution tied to the board's strategic goals?
Drill down by answering these questions too:
What will you buy?
Who will implement it?
How long will it take?
How do I know this is the solution?
What does success look like?
Once you have these answers, you can start the research process to find that perfectly fitting grant.
Special Note:
Please don’t start the research process until you know what you want. You will waste precious time and enthusiasm reading about grants that fund solutions to problems you don't have.
The Steps:
Get a clear picture of what you want.
Find the grant that supports it.
Start writing!
Here’s what I know is true:
You attract things that you give a lot of thought to. The more you refine the definition of what you want, get a clear picture of what you want, and gain supporters for what you want, the more likely it is that you'll receive what you want. Get started today.
If you need a certified grant writer to review or even write your grant application for you, email me at Katy@KLRPartnersLLC@gmail.com. I've helped schools win over $20.8M in grant awards. I will help you too.
Visit my website at KLRPartnersLLC.com.