Talking Stick - July/August 2011 - 21

everybody; what is often missing from the equation is the funding. Simply put, everyone is being asked to do more with less, and thus the housing profession needs to seek creative ways to ﬁnd the funding for these projects.

PLANNING FOR A GRANT PROPOSAL
Grant writing is a skill that most professionals in higher education are familiar with, but many are intimidated by the process or confused by its seeming complexities. The process, when broken down into its basics, is actually quite simple: identify a need or problem, determine an effective solution, identify potential sources of funding, and then determine the budget. Simply put, grants are a source of funding for a wide range of projects and research. Colleges and universities are intimately familiar with grants, as they provide the bedrock for faculty research. From studies on identity, student engagement, and the effects of medical treatment to studies on sustainability, energy efﬁciency, campus emergency preparedness, and ﬁre safety, grants can help to fund work all across the collegiate environment. However, grants will not fund buildings. Grants are focused on activities, programs, studies, and treatments in communities, but they will not resolve the need for a new community center or residence hall. Though it may seem that the request for funding is one-sided, there are many good reasons for the funding source to support a particular project. It may help them meet their own needs by promoting something of value to them. Additionally, grants aid in the development of leadingand bleeding-edge technologies that might not otherwise be incorporated into campuses, and they provide an opportunity for new ideas to enter

the marketplace. The hope is that the grantee and the grantor can develop a symbiotic relationship where both sides win: The campus gets to install and utilize new technology, and the funding agency is seen as enhancing the campus while meeting its own goals and needs. Any new grant consideration includes a certain set of assumptions. First and foremost, you need to be able to articulate a need or problem that has been identiﬁed in your community or building. At North Carolina State University in Raleigh, for example, staff were concerned about an increase in cooking ﬁres, which had become a nuisance not only for the staff and students but also for the ﬁre department, whose ﬁre engines were called to action at one campus apartment complex or another at least monthly and sometimes more frequently. Other campuses may have problems related to campus safety, new ideas to propose for educating students about drugs and alcohol, or better ways to strengthen campus programming. In any case, what is important in the initial stage of formulating a grant proposal is that the need or problem be clearly identiﬁed; and, ideally, it will be as compelling to the funding source as it is to you. Once the problem has been deﬁned, there should be a clear understanding of how the proposed project will provide an effective solution. Do you want to install a device that reduces cooking ﬁres? Or provide drug and alcohol assessments for residents? Or provide alternative programs that have direct learning outcomes for your on-campus population? Whatever the issue, you must have a strong and fully informed strategy for how you intend to solve the problem. Finally, you or your department must demonstrate a desire to complete the work that needs to be

accomplished. Every project needs a shepherd, and in the administration of a grant that shepherd is responsible for the completion of desired outcomes, as well as assessment of those outcomes.

SEEKING INFORMATION AND SUPPORT
Once the problem and potential solution have been identiﬁed, researching the options for grants begins. Grant opportunities truly run the gamut – from local to regional to national sources and from small and simple to large and complex. The Foundation Center, a helpful online resource for any new grantseeker, provided a snapshot of grant awards for higher education in 2008: Over 2,000 grants were identiﬁed as potential sources for funding, worth over $1 billion (foundationcenter.org/ ﬁndfunders/statistics). Clearly, the money is there – and this snapshot records only grants of $10,000 or more. With local community action groups and national organizations offering a plethora of smaller grants, the possibilities are limitless. State agencies can also provide opportunities; North Carolina, for example, has offered signiﬁcant energy-related funding year after year. Research will lead to grant opportunities, but there are required steps to follow in order to establish your eligibility. The campus ofﬁce of grants and contracts can not only provide a wealth of knowledge and support but can also help you avoid pitfalls and errors that could cost money or, ultimately, the grant itself. The ofﬁce also has information about the expenses associated with grant applications; in many cases, since grants and contracts are a signiﬁcant part of any large institution’s workload, there are associated fees, called facilities and administrative fees, that
JULY + AUGUST 2011

http://www.foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics http://www.foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics

Talking Stick - July/August 2011

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