November 2011 - Parks & Recreation - 74

Parks & reCreatIon at Work

Question #4: Design
■■ ■Describe the logistics-how
will this program work?
■■ ■This is a great place to highlight programming creativity and innovation.
Question #5:Primary audiences
■■ ■If possible, narrow your audience.
Who would be directly targeted by
your program? Of course it will be
open to all in the community, but who
would you market the program to?
Question #6: Measures of success
■■ ■Describe the tools you would use to
measure success. Examples might
include participation numbers,
new participants, surveys.
■■ ■Think of realistic numbers of people
your agency could impact. Base
those numbers on the need statistics,
past experience, and advice from
the experts in your agency.
■■ ■Don't skimp on the evaluation
section-it is often key to getting
funded. A complete evaluation
will have a list of all the methods
that will be employed, as well as
details of the expected outcomes.
Question #8: Communications
and Dissemination Plan
■■ ■Describe how you will tell your
community about your program
and the funding partnership.
■■ ■Some grantors may not need a lot of
recognition-try to assess their level
of recognition interest by looking to
others the organization has funded.

necessary. If your budget is too high or
too low, the reviewer will wonder why.

3. Start Putting the Puzzle Together
In much the same way as you would put
together a jigsaw puzzle, you should begin writing paragraphs to fi ll in the outline with needed information. If you get
stuck in one area, move on to the next
and come back later. One good approach
is to write the budget fi rst and the introduction or summary last.
Writer Anne Lamott's book Bird by Bird:
Some Instructions on Writing and Life offers
good advice on tackling the writing process
without stress and anxiety. " Thirty years
ago my older brother, who was ten years
old at the time, was trying to get a report
on birds written that he'd had three months
to write. It was due the next day. He was at
the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the
hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father
sat down beside him, put his arm around
my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by
bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.' "

4. Make Sure You Are Telling a Story
The grant application as a whole should
paint a detailed picture of how there is a
need or problem in your community-
and with funding assistance, how your
agency is going to solve it. Draw a picture
for the reader. The story should be realistic, but it should also inspire confidence in
the reader that your agency can make a
difference in this specific area.

5. Edit-and then Edit Again
Question #9: Budget
■■ ■The budget portion is usually
presented in a table or chart, with
expenses in major categories outlined.
■■ ■Follow any specific directions
from the funder.
■■ ■Be as realistic as possible-and
include additional research if

Parks & Recreation N O V E M B E R

Spend additional time reviewing your
grant application for grammar, spelling,
and punctuation mistakes. Avoid jargon
and acronyms. Consider going through
your grant application sentence by sentence backwards. This way you are scrutinizing each sentence individually, rather
than in the context of the paragraph. Delete

2 0 1 1 w w w . N R P A . O R G

any unnecessary information, keeping
only sentences that explain or add to your
overall story. You may even want to hire a
professional to do a copy edit of your work.
April Northstrom from Jigsaw Communications writes in her blog Grant
Savvy to remember the following about
formatting:
■■ ■Complete the entire application, and
answer every question completely
and to the best of your knowledge.
■■ ■Don't give half answers
or false information.
■■ ■Adhere to word limits. They
are not suggestions.
■■ ■Apply all required formatting (12pt,
Times New Roman, 1 " margins,
etc.) to the entire document.
■■ ■Use letterhead whenever possible.

6. Get to Know the Funder
Finally, the best grant application goes
hand in hand with a well developed relationship with the funder. If you do not
know staff at the foundation or corporation to which you are applying, your
chances of obtaining funding go down
significantly. Start with local foundations
and corporations in your area, and build
out to regional and national foundations.
Feel free to send a letter of introduction
asking for an appointment or phone call
to discuss your funding idea. Be polite
but persistent when following up on your
letter.
Congratulations! You finished your
first grant application. Future applications will be easier now that you have
been through the process. Remember
that successful parks and recreation grant
applicants stick with the basics and use
the application as a platform for telling a
compelling story-a story of how a community can be improved through partnership between funder and agency.
shelley R. o'BRieN is NRPA Senior

Fundraising Manager

November 2011 - Parks & Recreation

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