Turning Your Dreams into Dollars – Grant Writing

Basics

David Young, Community Health Specialist, Research Professor, College of Nursing, MSU

dyoung@montana.edu (406) 994-5552

Where are We Going?• Fundamentals• Key components• Resources• Important tips• Performance measures• Hallmarks of successful proposals• Common mistakes resulting in no funding• Hands on fun time

Fundamentals

Passion for the Project

Fundamentals

• Start EARLY• Do your homework• Match your idea with a funding source• Make contact with the funding source• Read and re-read the guidelines• Consider collaborators/partners• Review a successful proposal

Ideas for Grants

Key Components

• Title that fits the project• Statement of need/significance of the problem• Goal(s) and objectives• Proposed approach/work plan/methods• Evaluation/performance metrics/outcomes• Model project/replication elsewhere• Budget and budget justification

Resources• Grants.gov• Federal Register• Individual Federal Agencies• Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance• Foundation Center• Chronicle of Philanthropy • Local Colleges & Universities • Montana Foundation Directory• Montana Community Foundation

Important Tips• Have a novel/creative/new idea• Collect well-documented background info/stats• Contact the funder• Enlist key collaborators/partners• Watch for pre-submission webinars• Review a successful proposal• Proofread! Have ZERO tolerance for mistakes• Have others review your proposal• Request reviewers comments if not funded

Don’t Overstate the Need

Performance Measures

INPUTS OUTPUTS OUTCOMES

Program investments

Activities Participation Short Medium

What we invest

What we do

Who we reach

What results

SO WHAT??

What is the VALUE?

Long-term

Hallmarks of Successful Proposals

Met all grant requirementsClear concise justification/needClear goals and objectivesGood methodology or designQualified management/staffingAdequate time period and fundingGood writing and editing

Reasons Proposals Fail

12 Reasons Proposals Fail*

• Bad ideas• Good ideas poorly presented• No documented need statement• Lack of measureable objectives• Target population not clearly identified• Methods not well thought out

* Miner, J. & L. Miner (2008) Proposal Planning & Writing. Greenwood Press.

12 Reasons Proposals Fail (con’t)*

• Weak evaluation approach• Inadequate dissemination strategy• Inexperienced project director• Failure to follow application guidelines• Insufficient pre-proposal contact• Poor budget justification

* Miner, J. & L. Miner (2008) Proposal Planning & Writing. Greenwood Press.

Connect the Dots

USDA FOA Focus Areas

• Healthy living behaviors, family interaction and environmental attributes in rural areas;

• Health literacy and its impact on health status in rural and farm families; and, or

• Related issues of health promotion and health care to rural individuals and families with information and training.

Health Enhancement for Rural Elderly(HERE)

Goal – to enhance the health and well-being of rural elders to remain at home

Objective 1 – to improve the level of health literacy and health-related decision-making;

Objective 2 – to support and encourage improved self-care management;

Objective 3 – to engage and empower family members, friends, relatives and community members for appropriate caregiving and support services.

Health Literacy & Elderly• 68% have difficulty interpreting numbers and

performing calculations• 71% have difficulty using print materials• 80% have difficulty using forms and charts• Only 3% are rated proficient in health literacy

compared to 8-16% in other age groups• High incidence of chronic health conditions

and frequent users of health services

Poor Health Literacy Leads to:

• Lower use of preventive care services• Greater use of emergency care• Frequent hospitalizations• Poor self-care management• Unhealthy behaviors• Poor health outcomes & premature deaths• Higher health care costs (loss of $238

billion/year)

Approach/Design/Methodology

Selected 4 Montana communities with high percentage of rural elderlyRecruited 4 key community partners:

Extension AgentSenior Center DirectorPublic Health NursePublic Librarian

Approach (con’t)

Implemented 4 interventions in the 4 rural Montana communities:

My Health Companion© - simple way to track and maintain health information;

‘Hands-on’ Workshops – guiding elderly on computers seeking web-based health information;

Health Information Webinars – five webinars on health-related information for elders;

Powerful Tools for Caregivers© - held train-the-trainer workshops on self-care and caregiving.

Participating Communities

Community Population % Elderly 65 & OverForsyth 1,857 17.4

Scobey 891 27.7

Terry 544 31.3

Wibaux 465 26.8

Montana 974,989 14.2

United States 307,006,550 12.8

Interventions & ParticipantsIntervention Description Participants

My Health Companion© A simple and effective way for tracking and maintaining health information

68

Powerful Tools for Caregivers A train-the-trainer workshop focused on appropriate self-care for those involved in informal caregiving

12

Prescription for Success A 'hands-on' workshop guiding elderly to quality web-based health information

41

Health Information Webinars A series of five monthly webinars on health-related information for elders

152

Key Findings• Senior Centers are hubs of activity in rural

communities• Two subsets of seniors were found with

respect to computer literacy and level of interest in participation in the program

• Rural research projects have limitations• Powerful Tools for Caregivers was the most

popular intervention

Lessons Learned• Local committed stakeholders are critical to

the success of a rural project• Selecting the appropriate ‘hub’ in the

community for activities is important• Ample lead time is needed for a rural research

project conducted at a remote location • Local high school students could help seniors

with computer skills and health information searches on the internet

Health Enhancement for Rural Elderly (HERE)

HERE Project Publication

Young, D.M, Weinert, C. & Spring, A. 2012. Home on the Range – Health Literacy, Rural Elderly, Well-Being. Journal of Extension Vol 50; No 3 (article Number 3FEA2).

http://www.joe.org/joe/2012june/a2.php

Q & A

Turning Dreams Into Dollars