Learn more about how to plan your projects and find funders.

The needs statement serves as the most important part of your grant application as it outlines the problem that you seek to remedy through your program. Remember that your grant reviewers don't necessarily have the same depth of knowledge about this problem or the same passion about solving it as you do; this section serves as your opportunity to convince them of the need to act (by funding you, of course!). Yet most needs statements fall short. Learn the elements of a persuasive needs statement with practice writing your own.

Now that you have explained in great detail the problem your clients or community faces, you need to describe how you propose to fix the problem using grant dollars. The more specific, the better! Learn how to write a compelling project plan that convinces the funder that they should fund your solution to the identified problem.

While every application describes the need and the project plan, the other elements fluctuate. This session will discuss the other key elements of most grant applications; the budget, sustainability, evaluation, and dissemination steps. Once complete, you should have a complete grant application that you can submit to a funder for consideration!

Now that you have all of the elements of the grant application completed, you want to make sure you have written in well, which means clearly, without errors, and in a way that relates to your audience. This session will look at some of the ways that you can evaluate your application to make sure that you have put your best foot forward.