It is common for schools and other organizations to seek funding for various initiatives. One source of funding is grant seeking. When attempting to develop a grant proposal. Several concepts need to be included to develop a comprehensive proposal. The parts to be included are

• Pain point
• Answer
• Commitment

When these three components are included it can help a team to attain the grant funding they are seeking. Before writing, it is critical to brainstorm various ways to address these three components before settling on the best choices for the proposal.

The Pain Point

The pain point comes from the context of the grantees. For example, this can be the classroom, the community, or some other aspect of society as a whole. The goal at this point is to be able to paint a picture of the issue that requires financial support to address. The illustration of this can be through the use of statistics, observations, stories, and literature.

The goal here is to document the gap. By gap, it means the distance between where you are and where you want to be. Again, the distance between these two places will be filled through the judicious use of grant funding.

The Answer(s)

The answer(s) are the ways and strategies that will be employed upon receiving grant funding to address the needs and strengthen the system. For example, if a school is struggling with providing tablets to students the solution would be to purchase tablets using grant funding.

Remember that the goal right now is to brainstorm. This means several solutions are proposed until the team can agree on one. Also, remember that if you are applying for several different grants different solutions to the same problem might be more appealing to different grantors. Therefore, it is important to know your audience when developing grant proposals.

The Commitment

The commitment is often confusing for people. Essentially, the commitment is a part of the proposal in which the grant-seekers attempt to explain the extra effort the team will make when using the grant funds. Depending on the culture, demonstrating passion is important. The grantors often want to know that you are on fire to use this money to implement change and address needs.

Documenting one’s commitment can include expressing your eagerness to help students. You can speak on how you will make adjustments to your classroom and or teaching once the money is put to good use. Again, it is important to think of several different ways to address this before settling on the first idea that occurs in one’s head.

Attainment

If everything goes according to plan in mapping ideas in the first three parts, it is hopeful that the money will be granted. When this happens it is now possible to acquire the tools and or train the people to meet the needs of the context.

Conclusion

The information above provides a framework for getting started in the grant writing process. In summary, it is important to try and document the need, solution, and commitment you are making when seeking funding.