Writing a Grant

Writing grants is a challenge but do not give up if you believe in your project. Each funding source is different so in each case follow their instruction.

Writing a Successful Grant Proposal by Barbara Davis has great advice and Q&A.

The following is a general structure of what will be asked in most grants applications.

Executive Summary

Problem
Write a brief statement of the problem or need (one to two paragraphs). Include the amount you are asking for in the first paragraph. This needs to peak the grantors interest.

Solution
A short description of the project, time frame, people involved like who will oversee the funds.

Funding Requirements
Restate the amount and how you will use it, ie how it will be given out and in what amounts, times and what will the selection criteria.

Organization and Expertise
Talk a bit about your expertise, successes, purpose, and history. Why should the granting organization invest in your expertise? The above four items should fit on the first page.

Statement of Need
Elaborate on the problem further and what is particular to your situation. Give hope, point to some successes, possibly by others as precedent, or from your own experience. Is your situation acute? This can be one paragraph.

Project Description

This repeats the executive summary in more detail, so depending on what you develop for the summary; you can expand or just make sure you include the following.

Objectives
Must be tangible, specific, concrete, measurable and achievable in a specific period of time.

Methods
Explain what will be achieved. You can use How, When & Why to lead the explanation. State the time frames.

Staffing/Administration
How is the initiative led? Who will lead it? You?

Evaluation
How will you measure the results? What are the metrics for success?

Budget
This will be a detailed itemized list of what the project will cost. Sometime they require further justification of each item.

Additional Considerations

Basic proposals can average about two pages (federal research grants they can be up to fifteen pages). This is only a starting point and does not mean it can’t be longer. In addition, this is only a starting point to get your thinking started in explaining your needs. Each granting organization will have different requirements and you will have to edit according to those requirements. Follow the instructions exactly. Even things like font size, margin spacing and type of file can be on the criteria for submission. They are all different and the small details count.

Residency Programs

The Alliance of Artists Communities has a great deal of information on their website. These two pages are a quick set of guides to consider when applying for a residency:

Selecting The Right Residency
Applying for a Residency

Funding List

This guide provides information on finding grants, funding, professional development and other opportunities in architecture, art and design.

Additional Opportunistically
Source: https://www.nyfa.org/Content/Show/Awards%20and%20Grants
Foundation Center: http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_arts.jhtml
Alliance of Artists Communities: http://www.artistcommunities.org
Trans Artists: http://www.transartists.org
ResArtis: http://www.resartis.org/en/
VCUARTS: http://arts.vcu.edu/research/for-faculty/faculty-deadlines/

WU Research News

The WU Research News announces current topics and issues related to research administration, management, compliance, and funding opportunities.

WU Research Website

The WU Research website contain all University information about research and sponsored activity in general. It is focused much more on the medical and sciences, but still relevant to many areas of our school.

Effort Reporting (ePARS)

The ePARS system where faculty and staff certify salaries charged to any sponsored projects. Since many of the Sam Fox School funding sources come from internal WU and gift funding, one does not often need to fill this out. However all federal and many foundation funds need to have ePARS certification by PI’s.

Managing Funding with FFR

FFR provides WUSTL faculty with:

  • Budget, expenditure and available balance data on all of WU accounts/funds;
  • Views of Co-PI allocations/accounts in other departments/schools;
  • Drill down capability to reports and detail transactions (including payroll);
  • Ability to download reports to Excel or PDF formats; and,
  • 24/7 access via secure website.
  • Please note that all SFS grants and some pooled grants by WU will not have this as an option.
Grant Application Examples

The Office of Training Grants (OTG) has developed a Grants Library to serve as a centralized resource for grant writers and investigators at various career stages. The site contains:

  • Nearly 100 awarded training, career, and research grant applications (NIH, private, and institutional) over the last 5 years including: 41 R Awards; 18 K Awards; 3 F Awards.
  • NIH Summary Statements and reviewer panel feedback
  • General stock language and proposal templates and tools (e.g. Letters of Support examples, Facilities, Resource Sharing Plans, Responsible Conduct of Research etc.)
To Access (WUSTL Key required): wustl.box.com/wustlgrantslibrary