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Preparing for the Shortened Grant Application Period By: Domingo Herraiz, Director, Government and Enterprise Funding, Motorola Solutions Inc., and formerly, Director of the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance Congress passed the FY2011 budget in April. Because of the lateness of the federal budget, there has been a delay in the posting of grant solicitations by federal agencies. It can be anticipated that grant solicitations should start to be posted within the next 30 days. Keep your eye on this page or agency-specific websites in order to monitor the various opportunities. Funding has to move through the grant management system by the end of September so the agencies will be pressed to make quicker decisions this year. They will also most likely shorten the grant application period in order to accommodate this shortened grant cycle, often times making it more difficult for customers to submit an application in the tight time frame. The secret to beating this problem is begin your grant writing now, regardless of the posting of a grant opportunity. The first step is to look at last year’s grant solicitations on agency web sites. Most grant programs will resemble the same format and questions year after year with only a few minor changes. If your draft application is ready once the grant opportunity is posted live, all you will need to do is tweak your proposal based upon any changes in the solicitation. An additional step you can take is to get prior approval from your unit of government to apply for the specific grant program when it is formally announced thus saving the approval process time at the local level. Remember that most grant solicitations contain similar program elements that every grantee is expected to address in their application: • • • • • Who is the target audience? Describe the problem to be addressed. Describe what has been done and where the gaps are. Determine resources available and those that are needed. What is the problem that requires a solution? • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • What will happen if the problem is not addressed? What is the gap between what is and what ought to be? Why should grant funds be used to solve the problem? What will we do to fix the problem? What is the proposed solution? What are the goals and objectives of the project? What are the results expected from program’s operation? Address why the agency you are writing the proposal to should give you these funds? Address why is it a State / Federal issue and not just a local issue. What makes your project different from someone else’s or what makes your community unique? Describe how this project will it make a difference in your community. Describe your commitment to the project and your contribution – cash or in kind match – money or services. What are the specific tasks to be completed or the deliverables? Describe how are you going to measure success /how will you know your solution was the right one? What is the project timeline? Describe how this project will keep people safe. So begin writing your applicant now making use of our valuable resources and grant writing webinars on our website so that you are well prepared for this shortened grant application period in 2011.