The Individual’s Guide to Grants

295 Pages·1983·3.44 MB·English

by  Judith B. Margolin (auth.)

THE INDIVIDUAL'S
GUIDE TO GRANTS
THE INDIVIDUAL'S
GUIDE TO GRANTS
Judith B. Margolin
PLENUM PRESS • NEW YORK AND LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Margolin, Judith B.
The individual's guide to grants.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
I. Research grants-United States-Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title.
A ~188.U5M37 1983 001.44 83-2252
ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-4522-0 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-4520-6
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-4520-6
The author and the publisher gratefully acknowledge the permission of the copy
right owners to reprint the quotations that introduce the various chapters, in partic
ular, the quotation on page 63, from The Seven Laws of Money, by Michael
Phillips, Copyright © 1974, Random House, New York 10022, and the quotation on
page 157, from What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard M. Bolles, Copyright
© 1978, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, California 94707.
Also, the list of "manipulative verbs" on page 57 is reprinted, with permission , from
The Universal Traveler: A Soft-Systems Guide to Creativity. Problem-Solving. and
the Process of Reaching Goals. by Don Koberg and Jim Bagnall, Copyright © 1981,
William Kaufmann, Inc., Los Altos, California 94022. The "time saving strategies"
on page 69 are reprinted from Do It Now. by William J. Knaus, Copyright © 1979.
Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632.
15 14 13 12 1110 9 8
© 1983 Judith B. Margolin
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1983
Plenum Press is a Division of
Plenum Publishing Corporation
233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise. without written permission from the Publisher
To the memory of my father
Edwin L. Goldberg
If only he had lived longer
- or I had written faster-
he might have seen it all in print
PREFACE
This book is a work of conscience. It is the product of a long-standing
feeling of obligation on my part to write something useful for a special
group of people to which you probably belong-individuals who seek
grants.
In my years as Director of the New York library of The Foundation
Center, * each and every day I encountered numbers of individuals look
ing for grant money. Although I tried to be as supportive as possible, in
the face of the particular problems shared by this group of library users,
my own reaction was one of relative helplessness. Simply stated, most of
the fund-raising guides, printed directories, and computer files purport
edly created to serve the fund-raising public are of little or no use to
individuals who seek funding on their own. These resources are directed
*The Foundation Center is the independent, nonprofit organization established by foun
dations to provide information for the grant-seeking public.
vii
viii I PREFACE
toward the nonprofit, tax-exempt agency, which is the most common
recipient of foundation, corporate, and government largess. They are not
designed to respond to the special requirements of the individual grant
seeker.
In the applicant eligibility index, the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance defines individuals as "homeowners, students, farmers, artists,
scientists, consumers, small-business persons, minors, refugees, aliens,
veterans, senior citizens, low-income persons, health and educational
professionals, builders, contractors, developers, handicapped persons, the
physically afflicted." In short, practically everyone qualifies.
The term individual as I use it here also has several meanings. Of
course, each one of us is a unique individual with something special to
offer a potential funder. In a sense, every grant awarded is given to indi
viduals, since it is individuals who will carry out the grant projects. I also
use the term individual according to the more technical meaning-a per
son with no formal affiliation to an institution, who still seeks grants. The
individual for whom this book is primarily intended has little or no expe
rience with the grant-seeking process. He is unaware of grants for which
he may be eligible or whether, indeed, he is eligible for any at all. Pres
ently, he is either unaffiliated with a nonprofit organization, or, if he is
affiliated with one, does not know how to make the best use of his rela
tionship with a sponsor. He is not sure where to begin his quest for fund
ing nor how to write a successful proposal. He does know that he has a
good idea and he would like a grant either to begin or to continue working
on that idea.
One of the purposes of this book is to demonstrate that it is possible
for an individual to maintain his uniqueness while at the same time hook
ing up with mentors, umbrella organizations, sponsors, and other insti
tutions for the purpose of seeking funds. As I will indicate, the individual
grant seeker's association with sponsoring organizations may be on a con
tinuum, so that he is able to retain his desired level of independence while
still qualifying for funding. Once the individual builds a reputation
through the receipt of awards, honors, and small grants, he may wish to
"trade up" to a larger grant and then become more formally affiliated
with an organization.
PREFACE I ix
Hence, this book, although providing as many concrete recommen
dations as possible for the unaffiliated grant seeker, will also prove useful
to representatives of tax-exempt organizations seeking funding for their
agencies. Many of the facts and recommendations set forth relate to
organizations as well as to individuals. Details are given on the creation
and construction of a full proposal. Even if the grant seeker has to submit
only a short letter of intent, it is helpful to understand the components of
a successful proposal and reassuring to know that one can go back and
select from these elements if he has to write a longer proposal at a later
date.
The grant seeker is plagued by a series of questions to which he has
few answers: How do I begin? What types of projects stand the best
chance of being funded, and is mine among them? What do I need to
know? Once I've identified a potential funder, what do I do next? This
book is a guide to the reader in finding those answers for himself.
For most people, time is a precious resource. Invest that resource
wisely. Allow adequate time to identify a likely source of grant money
and to elicit as much information as possible about your prospective
funding source. Do not waste your time sending out a blanket mailing to
every funder whose name has ever been mentioned to you. Don't toil for
weeks preparing a near-perfect proposal and then casually send it out to
a carelessly compiled list of prospects. Do your homework carefully.
Select your potential funders wisely. A properly worded proposal will be
much easier to assemble after you have selected the right funding source.
Indeed, if you've done your homework correctly, your proposal should
almost write itself. Because you have selected your funding sources with
such care, it follows logically that presenting your ideas to them will be
much easier.
I hope this book will be useful to you in your endeavor to raise funds.
Good luck!
Judith B. Margolin
Old Greenwich
July 20. 1982
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank my husband, Harold Margolin. He sug
gested-no, insisted-that I write this book. He believed in it long before
I really did. Most of all, he provided the financial and emotional support
necessary.
I also thank my children, Adam and Jessica, for getting along per
fectly well without me. I apologize to them for my too-frequent absences
(sometimes even when I was physically present) and for occasional bouts
of short-temper. I hope when they are old enough to read the book they
will think it was all worthwhile.
I am grateful to Helen Weisner, Shirlie Schwarz, and Lauren Grieb
for the excellent substitute mothering they provided. Without them, there
would have been no time to write.
To my editor, Linda Regan, I would like to express my most sincere
gratitude for the twin traits of empathy and tact, which she has developed
to the highest degree.
xi
CONTENTS
Chapter 1. Introduction 1
You Can Get a Grant 3
Inadequacy of Existing Resources 5
Foundations 5, Corporations 6, Government Agencies 6, Individ
ual Donors 7
Explanation of Terms Used 8
What This Book Contains 9
Notes 10
Chapter 2. No Man Is an Island 13
Who Should Read This Chapter 13
Why Many Grants Call for Institutional Affiliation 15
The Affiliation Continuum 17
Work on Your Own 19, Form Your Own Organization 22,
Umbrella Groups 23, Sponsors 24, Become an Employee 31
xiii
xiv I CONTENTS
Conclusion: Individualism and the Grant Seeker 33
No One Works Alone 34
Notes 35
Chapter 3. In the Beginning Is an Idea 39
What Makes a Good Idea 39
Some Definitions 40
Ideas 40, Solutions to Problems 41, Related Terms 42
What Kinds of Ideas Attract Funders? 42
How the Present Grants System May Hamper the Growth of New
Ideas 44
How to Develop Your Idea for a Grant 47
Hints for Getting Started 47, Creativity Enhancement Tech
niques 48
Blocks and Overcoming Them 52
How to Overcome Blocks to Creativity 53
Now That You've Got a Good Idea, What Should You Do with
It? 54
Writing It Down 54, Testing Yqur Idea 56, Revising Your
Idea 56, Selling Your Idea 57, Protecting Your Idea 59
If Developing New Ideas for Grants Is So Difficult, Why
Bother? 60
Postscript 60
Notes 60
Chapter 4. Getting into Gear 65
Achieving a State of Grant Readiness 65
Your Own Attitude Is Essential 67
Prescription for a Positive Attitude 68, Procrastination 69
The Importance of Planning 70
Specific Resources for the Grant Seeker 71
Getting Your Own House in Order 73
References 73, Endorsements 74, Resumes 75, Filing
Systems 76, Basic Personal Reference Library 77
Notes 78