IL NET an ILRU/NCIL National Training and Technical Assistance Project Expanding the Power of the Independent Living Movement GRANT WRITING TOOLS TO FURTHER YOUR MISSION A National Conference Participant's Manual March 4-6, 2002 San Francisco, CA Contributors to the training materials: Quentin Smith Darrell Jones Maggie Shreve Raweewan Buppapong Kristy Langbehn Anne-Marie Hughey Carri George Richard Petty Dawn Heinsohn (c) 2002 IL NET, an ILRU/NCIL Training and Technical Assistance Project ILRU Program NCIL 2323 S. Shepherd Street 1916 Wilson Boulevard Suite 1000 Suite 209 Houston, Texas 77019 Arlington, Virginia 22201 713-520-0232 (V) 703-525-3406 (V) 713-520-5136 (TTY) 703-525-4153 (TTY) 713-520-5785 (FAX) 703-525-3409 (FAX) ilru@ilru.org 1-877-525-3400 (V/TTY - toll free) http://www.ilru.org ncil@ncil.org http://www.ncil.org Permission is granted for duplication of any portion of this manual, providing that the following credit is given to the project: Developed as part of the IL NET: an ILRU/NCIL National Training and Technical Assistance Project. IL NET is funded through a special provisions cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration, Agreement No. H132B99002. Grant Writing Tools to Further Your Mission March 4-6, 2002 San Francisco, CA Table of Contents Section 1 Agenda i About the Trainers iv List of Trainers and IL NET Staff vi About ILRU viii About NCIL viii About IL NET ix Welcome! 2 Section 2 Establishing Superior Performance: Developing a competency based model 3 The Vision Thing: Defining terms for project development/grant writing 8 Organizational Analysis: Where Is Your CIL Going and Is It Getting There? 16 Sample CIL Vision and Mission Statement 27 Steps in the Planning Process 30 Section 3 Grant Writing Resources: Types of Grants 34 A Checklist for Simple Grant Writing 36 Likely Funding Sources for Project Support 44 Getting Started: What to do before you start writing 52 Writing the Application 55 Preparing a Realistic Budget 63 Section 4 Appendix: Sample Successfully Funded Federal Grant 71 Sample "Roadmap for Reviewers" 118 Sample Successfully Funded Foundation Grant 123 Funder Profile Sheet 129 "Who do you know" Worksheet 132 Section 5 Slide Presentation: Building Relationships with Private Funding Sources 134 Readiness to Raise Money: Is Your House in Order? 169 About the Trainers Quentin Smith has extensive experience in project development and securing project funding from a variety of public and private sources. He is an associate professor of family and community medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Quentin holds a master of science degree in health care administration from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He also completed doctoral level coursework in health education and management at Texas A&M University. Since leaving graduate school in 1978, Quentin has worked in several positions in which he has had major responsibility for project development and grant writing. In 1983-84, Quentin served as executive director of the Houston Center for Independent Living. He continued working on independent living projects as a consultant with ILRU during tenures as administrator of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the University of Alabama in Birmingham and grants and contracts manager of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C. In January 1989, Quentin returned to Houston to devote more time and effort to his interests in independent living, working at ILRU until 1996. In more than 20 years of doing project development and preparing grant applications, Quentin has been the primary writer of proposals that have garnered more than $200 million in project funding. He has written successful proposals to the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He has also written successful proposals to numerous private foundations, including The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Milbank Memorial Fund, the California Endowment, and the J.M. Foundation. Quentin has also published numerous articles in professional journals dealing with training, research, and policy issues. He has co-authored a number of monographs dealing with management issues in independent living and other topics related to service delivery for people with disabilities. Quentin brings to his training activities a commitment to equal access and opportunity for all individuals and extensive experience in developing projects that merit support by public and private funding agencies. Darrell Lynn Jones is Training Specialist for the IL NET Project at the National Council on Independent Living and has been involved in the IL movement for 24 years. She was founding Executive Director of the Rochester Center for Independent Living in Rochester, New York, and subsequently became the first director of the Association of Independent Living Centers in New York. In both positions she was a principle player in the creation of independent living as a statutory program in New York State, expanding CILs from an initial nine to 34 by 1987. Darrell has authored numerous successfully funded grants from foundations, corporations, and state and local governments. In various capacities she has provided technical assistance to CILs for over 14 years in the areas of board training, management, resource development and strategic planning. She has been a consultant to Cornell University, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, New York State Office of Advocate for Persons with Disabilities and various other institutions. Darrell holds an M.A. in counseling from Eastern Michigan University and a B.A. in sociology from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. She is also co-author with June Isaacson Kailes of A Guide to Planning Accessible Meetings. Grant Writing Tools to Further Your Mission March 4-6, 2002 San Francisco, CA Trainers Quentin W. Smith 4128 E. Bujia Segunda Tucson, Arizona 85718 520-299-7990 (V) 520- 299-5787 (FAX) quentin.smith@prodigy.net Darrell Lynn Jones National Council on Independent Living Suite 209 Arlington, Virginia 22201 877-525-3400 (toll-free -V/TTY) 703-525-3406 (V) 703-525-4153 (TTY) 703-525-3409 (FAX) darrell@ncil.org IL NET STAFF ILRU Lex Frieden Laurie Gerken Redd Executive Director Administrative Coordinator lfrieden@ilru.org lredd@ilru.org Richard Petty Carri George Program Director Publications Coordinator richard.petty@bcm.tmc.edu cgeorge@ilru.org Laurel Richards Dawn Heinsohn Training Director Materials Production Specialist lrichards@ilru.org heinsohn@ilru.org ILRU Program 2323 S. Shepherd Suite 1000 Houston, TX 77019 713-520-0232 (V) 713-520-5136 (TTY) 713-520-5785 (FAX) ilru@ilru.org http://www.ilru.org NCIL Anne-Marie Hughey Executive Director hughey@ncil.org NCIL 1916 Wilson Boulevard Suite 209 Arlington, VA 22201 703-525-3406 (V) 703-525-4153 (TTY) 703-525-3409 (FAX) 1-877-525-3400 (V/TTY - toll free) ncil@ncil.org http://www.ncil.org Kristy Langbehn Project Logistics Coordinator kristy@ncil.org Darrell Lynn Jones Training Specialist darrell@ncil.org Raweewan Buppapong Project Assistant toony@ncil.org ABOUT ILRU The Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) Program was established in 1977 to serve as a national center for information, training, research, and technical assistance for independent living. In the mid-1980's, it began conducting management training programs for executive directors and middle managers of independent living centers in the U.S. ILRU has developed an extensive set of resource materials on various aspects of independent living, including a comprehensive directory of programs providing independent living services in the U.S. and Canada. ILRU is a program of TIRR, a nationally recognized, free-standing rehabilitation facility for persons with physical disabilities. TIRR is part of TIRR Systems, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to providing a continuum of services to individuals with disabilities. Since 1959, TIRR has provided patient care, education, and research to promote the integration of people with physical and cognitive disabilities into all aspects of community living. ABOUT NCIL Founded in 1982, the National Council on Independent Living is a membership organization representing independent living centers and individuals with disabilities. NCIL has been instrumental in efforts to standardize requirements for consumer control in management and delivery of services provided through federally-funded independent living centers. Until 1992, NCIL's efforts to foster consumer control and direction in independent living services through changes in federal legislation and regulations were coordinated through an extensive network and involvement of volunteers from independent living centers and other organizations around the country. Since 1992, NCIL has had a national office in Arlington, Virginia, just minutes by subway or car from the major centers of government in Washington, D.C. While NCIL continues to rely on the commitment and dedication of volunteers from around the country, the establishment of a national office with staff and other resources has strengthened its capacity to serve as the voice for independent living in matters of critical importance in eliminating discrimination and unequal treatment based on disability. Today, NCIL is a strong voice for independent living in our nation's capital. With your participation, NCIL can deliver the message of independent living to even more people who are charged with the important responsibility of making laws and creating programs designed to assure equal rights for all. ABOUT THE IL NET This training program is sponsored by the IL NET, a collaborative project of the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) of Houston and the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL). The IL NET is a national training and technical assistance project working to strengthen the independent living movement by supporting Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs). IL NET activities include workshops, national teleconferences, technical assistance, on-line information, training materials, fact sheets, and other resource materials on operating, managing, and evaluating centers and SILCs. The mission of the IL NET is to assist in building strong and effective CILs and SILCs which are led and staffed by people who practice the independent living philosophy. The IL NET operates with these objectives: * Assist CILs and SILCs in managing effective organizations by providing a continuum of information, training, and technical assistance. * Assist CILs and SILCs to become strong community advocates/change agents by providing a continuum of information, training, and technical assistance. * Assist CILs and SILCs to develop strong, consumer-responsive services by providing a continuum of information, training, and technical assistance. Grant Writing Tools to Further Your Mission A Manual to Accompany Training Produced by Quentin Smith and Darrell Jones In Association with Including Material Developed by Maggie Shreve WELCOME! "Grant Writing Tools to Further Your Mission" is a workshop for staff, board members, and consultants working with Centers for Independent Living (CILs) and Statewide Independent Living Councils (SILCs). The original authors of these materials are Quentin Smith and Maggie Shreve. This adaptation was produced with the help of Darrell Jones. Thanks to support provided through a cooperative agreement with the Rehabilitation Services Administration, this workshop provides information about how to develop effective projects and seek appropriate funding for them. This workshop lasts three and three-quarter (33/4) days and covers a wide variety of topics, including: • Examining the current federal and state disability-service environment and its implications for CILs and SILCs • Defining vision, mission, and goals • How to find appropriate funding sources • How to approach public and private funding sources • Tips on writing effective proposals • What to do once the proposal has been sent • How to review a federal proposal Training methods for this workshop include some lectures, but a great deal more of group and individual activities. Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to: ( Relate independent living mission to fund raising efforts ( Demonstrate effectiveness in documenting the need and rationale for the project for which you are seeking funding ( Identify measurable objectives to serve as the basis for proposed activities ( Develop and describe a rational plan for achieving the objectives identified ( Characterize project outcomes in ways that make clear the importance of the project ( Devise an evaluation plan that clearly indicates how progress will be measured and results documented ( Identify public and private sources of funding appropriate for CILs and/or SILCs Establishing Superior Performance: Building a Competency-Based Model For Project Development and Grant Writing Establishing Superior Performance: Building a Competency-Based Model for Project Development and Grant Writing Grant Writing Tools to Further Your Mission Definitions COMPETENCY: Underlying characteristics of a person, learned and innate, encompassing: > values > traits > knowledge > attitudes > skills > behaviors > potential for future that leads to effective superior performance Building A Competency-Based Model For Project Development And Grant Writing Definitions SKILL: Behavior which creates the ability to perform a work task. KNOWLEDGE: Familiarity with an awareness and understanding of a range of information necessary to perform specific work tasks. Building A Competency-Based Model For Project Development And Grant Writing Definitions COMPETENCY MODEL: A blueprint or tool of characteristics associated with superior performance in a particular job, encompasses: > critical elements of the job * desired behaviors, skills, and knowledge for * superior performance Building A Competency-Based Model For Project Development And Grant Writing Questions to be answered 1. What are the identifiable characteristics of the superior project developer? 2. What are the identifiable characteristics of the superior grant writer? 3. How can we measure ourselves against the competency-based model we build? The Vision Thing: Defining terms for project development/grant writing The Vision Thing: Defining terms for project development/grant writing DEFINITIONS VISION ( something seen in a dream; ( an object of imagination; ( the art or power of imagination; ( mode of seeing or conceiving; ( unusual discernment or insight DEFINITIONS MISSION ( a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity GOAL ( the end toward which effort is directed (aim) OBJECTIVE ( something toward which effort is directed (goal, aim) DEFINITIONS ACTION ( the manner or method of performing; ( a thing or things done; ( behavior, conduct; ( often implies more than one step, is continuous or is capable of repetition DEFINITIONS STRATEGY ( the science and art of employing the political, economic, psychological and military forces of a nation or group to afford maximum support to adopted policies in peace or war STRATEGIC ( necessary to or important in the initiation, conduct or completion of a strategic plan DEFINITIONS POLICY ( prudence or wisdom in the management of affairs; ( management or procedure based primarily on material interest; ( a definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions. DEFINITIONS PROCEDURE ( a particular way of accomplishing something or of acting; ( a step in a procedure; ( a series of steps followed in a regular definite order VISION ฺ ฺ MISSION > > > > > > ื ื ื ื ื ื ื OUTCOMES ฺ ู ฺ ู GOALS/OBJECTIVES ู ฺ ู ฺ > > > > > > > >STRATEGIES > > > > > > STRUCTURE TACTICS PROGRAMS METHODS PLANNING APPROACHES EVALUATION ฺ ฺ ฺ ู POLICIES > >PROCEDURES > > Administration, Personnel, Finance, Fund Raising, Marketing, Public and Community Relations, Services and Programs ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS: WHERE IS YOUR CIL GOING? and IS IT GETTING THERE? Below are brief statements to be completed by you about your CIL. Definitions for key terms precede each statement. 1. VISION * something seen in a dream; * an object of imagination; * the art or power of imagination; * mode of seeing or conceiving; * unusual discernment or insight As a result of our CIL's vision and work, I see a community where: 2. MISSION * a body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity Our CIL's purpose within this vision is to: 3. GOALS * the end toward which effort is directed (aim) OBJECTIVES * something toward which effort is directed (goal, aim) To fulfill our purpose and to realize our vision, our CIL has the following long-term goals objectives (permanent goals or goals which will take 3 or more years to accomplish): 1. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 4. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 5. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 6. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 7. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 8. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 4. ACTION * the manner or method of performing; * a thing or things done; * behavior, conduct; * often implies more than one step, is continuous is capable of repetition To reach our long-term goals/objectives, our center engages in the following actions on a regular basis (activities done daily, weekly, or monthly): 1) ___________________________________________________________ 2) ___________________________________________________________ 3) ___________________________________________________________ 4) ___________________________________________________________ 5) ___________________________________________________________ 6) ___________________________________________________________ 7) ___________________________________________________________ 8) ___________________________________________________________ 9) ___________________________________________________________ 10) ___________________________________________________________ 11) ___________________________________________________________ 12) ___________________________________________________________ 13) ___________________________________________________________ 14) ___________________________________________________________ 15) ___________________________________________________________ 5. STRATEGY * the science and art of employing the political, economic, psychological and military forces of a nation or group to afford maximum support to adopted policies in peace or war STRATEGIC * necessary to or important in the initiation, conduct or completion of a strategic plan Our center uses different strategies (methods or approaches) to conduct our activities and to reach our goals/objectives. Some of our strategies are: 6. POLICY * prudence or wisdom in the management of affairs; * management or procedure based primarily on material interest; * a definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions. Our center has developed policies to guide staff and volunteers in completing their work so that our vision, mission and goals will be realized over time. Samples of some of these policies include: 7. PROCEDURE * a particular way of accomplishing something or of acting; * a step in a procedure; * a series of steps followed in a regular definite order Certain procedures have been established within our center to ensure that we follow policies in reaching our goals, fulfilling our mission and realizing our vision. Examples of some procedures which facilitate goal accomplishment by our center include: 8. EVALUATION * the determination or fixation of a value * the determination of the significance, worth or condition of something, usually by careful appraisal and study To assess how well our center is doing in realizing our vision and fulfilling our mission, we should evaluate progress on our long-term goals/objectives. Here is how we should or do evaluate ourselves on each of the goals listed in number 3. GOAL HOW EVALUATED 1) ___________________________ _____________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________ 2) ___________________________ _____________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________ 3) ___________________________ _____________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________ 4) ___________________________ _____________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________ 5) ___________________________ _____________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________ 6) ___________________________ _____________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________ 7) ___________________________ _____________________________ ___________________________ _____________________________ SELF-ANALYSIS: Where Do I Fit Into the Organizational Analysis? Name: _______________________________________________________ Title: _______________________________________________________ 1. I report to: __________________________________________________ (Title of your immediate supervisor or supervisions) 2. ...who reports to: ____________________________________________ (Title of your supervisor's supervisor or supervisors) 3. My responsibilities for program evaluation include (list all that apply): 4. I am expected to produce the following reports (list all that apply): 5. My authority over or for program evaluation could be described as: 6. We face a number of pressures for reporting which have a direct impact on our program evaluation methods. These sources and the pressures they apply include: Source of Pressure Evaluation Pressures Applied ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ ____________________________ 7. The problems I see with program evaluation in our center include: 8. The most important information we could possibly get form a superior program evaluation system would be (list 3 to 5 things, in priority order, you think are critical to knowing how effective your center is in relationship to your vision and mission.): 1) ______________________________________________________ 2) ______________________________________________________ 3) ______________________________________________________ 4) ______________________________________________________ 5) ______________________________________________________ 9. We could do a better job of program evaluation if (complete the sentence with as many points as you can): * ____________________________________________________________ * ____________________________________________________________ * ____________________________________________________________ * ____________________________________________________________ * ____________________________________________________________ 10. My personal values related to program evaluation include (list the things you value from a program evaluation system, whether the data is relevant or not relevant to your vision, mission, or funding source requirements): * ____________________________________________________________ * ____________________________________________________________ * ____________________________________________________________ Sample CIL Vision and Mission Statement Reprinted with permission of Southern Tier Independence Center Binghamton, New York Southern Tier Independence Center Independent Living Philosophy People with disabilities should be empowered to control the direction of their own lives. This means choosing their goals, plotting their course and taking responsibility for their actions and the results. People with disabilities have the right to make their own choices and decisions and the right to make mistakes and learn/benefit from those mistakes. Independent living centers (ILC) foster independence, help disabled people to develop networks and supports and promote self-reliance. ILCs advocate for the inclusion and integration of people with disabilities in all aspects of community life. STIC Mission Statement STIC's mission has three parts. We provide assistance and services to people with all disabilities of all ages to increase their independence in all aspects of in-tegrated community life. We also serve their families and friends and businesses, agencies, and governments to enable them to better meet the needs of people with disabilities. Finally, we educate and influence our community in pursuit of full inclusion of people with disabilities. STIC Values Statement * We value the ability of every human being to reach for their dream. * We hold that each individual has strengths and weaknesses that must be taken into account in their journey toward their dreams. Each individual must accept the responsibility for the dream, the journey, as well as the work to get there. * We offer support, ideas, tools, training, respect and concern. * We will not do for, when it can be done by the person. * We will not patronize for the sake of efficiency, or in the guise of caring. We will try to understand when this causes fear, anger and frustration. * As we develop programs and policies, we will be guided by the dreams and abilities of the people we serve. * No matter how difficult the road, we will always choose the path of inclusion and integration. * We will not sacrifice our principles or values for money, convenience or expediency. * We will not shy away from controversy if that controversy will further our mission. * We offer hope and continue to look at each person as a unique and joyful experience that will teach us, and take us on a journey where we have never been. Steps in the Planning Process VISION: We see a world/state/community where.... MISSION: Our purpose and role in this world/state/community is to.... GOALS/OBJECTIVES: We must achieve the following in order to fulfill our mission and realize our vision.... ACTION STEPS: This year, we will do the following things to achieve our goals.... Vision Mission Goals/Objectives Action Steps STEP 1: GET ORGANIZED • Decide whether to develop a strategic plan • Get commitment • Determine if outside help is needed • Outline a planning process that fits • Form a planning team STEP 2: TAKE STOCK (SITUATION ANALYSIS) • History and present situation • Mission • Opportunities and threats • Strengths and weaknesses • Critical issues for the future STEP 3: DEVELOP A STRATEGY • Select a planning approach -Scenario approach -Critical issues approach -Goal approach • Identify and evaluate alternatives • Develop strategy STEP 4: DRAFT AND REFINE THE PLAN • Agree on format • Develop a first draft • Refine the plan • Adopt the plan STEP 5: IMPLEMENT THE PLAN • Implement the plan • Monitor performance • Take corrective action • Update the plan Grant Writing Resources TYPES OF GRANTS I. Questions for ANY type of grant -- Federal, state, or local A. Solicited versus unsolicited proposals? B. Requests for proposals (RFPs), or requests for applications (RFAs) or bids versus single source contracts? C. Length of narrative expected? Can run from 2 to 100 pages D. Type of approach expected and language used? Check and double-check with funding source on approach E. Is research and/or evaluation expected? Such components are often emphasized F. Is there dissemination and/or replication value in your idea? These features are often sought (i.e., "model" approaches) G. Does your proposal incorporate both the instructions and whatever evaluation criteria will be used? Using an outline helps. Make sure you have covered everything and in detail! II. Private grants A. Foundations 1. Independent -- funding usually comes from an endowment established by a family, individual or group of individuals. 2. Company-sponsored -- independent grant-making organization with close ties to the corporation providing the funds, funding may be from an endowment or contributions from the profit-making company. 3. Operating -- an organization which uses its resources to conduct research or provide a direct service, funding usually comes from an endowment provided by a single source. 4. Community -- publicly supported organization which makes grants for a specific community or region, funding usually comes from contributions of many donors. B. Corporations 1. Trusts -- fund established for specific giving purposes, can be similar to a company sponsored foundation. 2. Corporate giving -- may come through United Way contributions, through other payroll deduction plans of the company or through a decision of the for-profit board of directors. A CHECK LIST FOR SIMPLE GRANT WRITING _____ 1. Develop your program concept. a. Does it fit your mission? b. Does it fit your strategic plan? _____ 2. Seek approval from the board of directors for the program concept and development of a grant. _____ 3. Investigate possible funding sources: a. References: 1) Foundation Directory and Source Book Profiles 2) Annual Register Grants Book 3) Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 4) Federal Register 5) NIH Guide 6) Local libraries, universities, donor forums b. Find out: 1) The foundation's or agency's purpose, mission and funding priorities; 2) Amounts of money available and for what length of time; 3) Types of proposals previously funded; 4) Deadline date(s) for applications or letters; and 5) What is required for an application. _____ 4. Refine your concept in order to prepare requests for funds from different kinds of sources. Using an outline format can be helpful for shorter and then expanded grant applications. ___ a. Identify the needs your program will meet: What will your program do? How will funding make a difference? ___ b. List the goals and objectives of your program: are your objectives quantifiable and/or measurable? How do you determine "quality" of results? ___ c. Describe the procedures necessary to meet your objectives -- list action steps for each objective: How will you meet your goals and objectives? ___ d. Begin collaboration with other agencies or groups to solicit support for your ideas and to coordinate activities: Don't duplicate what others are doing! Do your consumers want this? How do you know? ___ e. Assess the amount of money you need to accomplish your objectives (i.e., staff, benefits, equipment, occupancy charges, travel, etc.?). Develop your budget and be realistic! _____ 5. Make preliminary contact with possible funding sources to identify their requirements and procedures for applications. a. Talk to funding sources at length before getting too deeply involved in writing your proposal. You want to ensure that you are developing a program that has the potential for funding. Ask to meet a representative in person if you can; if not, use the telephone. b. Have questions ready based upon research you have done, people you have talked with and your basic program concept. c. Be honest yet inquisitive. Don't chit-chat unless the funding source contact seems to want to do this. _____ 6. Write your application for funding after you feel reasonably confident that you are approaching the right sources. Each funding source you choose will have its own specific criteria, but all applications should include the following information: ___ a. Name, address, tax exemption number, contact person, that person's title and telephone number of your organization. ___ b. Purpose and activities of the organization (history). ___ c. Brief description of the proposed program, including the need for the program, any services to be offered, information to be gathered, information to be disseminated, types of persons to be served, and geographical area to be covered. This may be extrapolated as an "abstract." ___ d. Amount of money requested (budget) with justification for each major budget category. ___ e. Organizational chart of proposed program, job descriptions, resumes of key existing staff, and a list of governing board members. ___ f. Program plan (objectives with scheduled deadlines). Use a PERT or Gantt chart -- easy to read, helpful to reviewers. ___ g. Approach or methodology; in other words, how you will achieve the program's objectives (action steps with scheduled deadlines). ___ h. Expected results or benefits or how will the program make a difference in the work of your organization or the people you serve (use data which can be quantified if possible). ___ i. Facilities and resources available for the program, including any inter-agency agreements, matching funds from another source, physical space, equipment and accessibility of current facilities. ___ j. Evaluation plan and plans for permanent financial support (if needed). You do not need to include plans for future financial support if the program for which you are requesting funds is intended to be short-term, for capital improvements or for delivery of a product. ___ k. Any assurances required or letters of support. _____ 7. Other things to think about: Possible funding source questions: > What is the funding source's track record? > Who are the key decision-makers within that funding source? > What connections do you have to those decision-makers? > Is the source generally supportive of your type of program? > Will your program be of benefit to others in the same field? > Would the funding source gain recognition for achievements of your program? > Will the funding source want proof of your results? > What kind of communication will the funding source expect after it has granted you funds? > What kinds of "strings" may be attached to granted funds? Other questions you might ask: Writing style: * Writing style should be clear, direct and concise. * Some sources only desire a 2 or 3 page proposal; others expect 15 to 100 pages. * Write in the present tense whenever possible (such as, "The We Perform Miracles CIL provides peer support to persons with disabilities in the greater Wonderland metropolitan area. This project expands service delivery to the surrounding six counties.") * Future tense is acceptable when it describes what the funding could do. Objectives and action steps should always be in the present tense, as in the form of a command, and should always be measurable. * Avoid the use of personal pronouns such as "we" "our" "I" and "they." * Use a resource like The Elements of Style by Strunk and White. Other hints on writing style: Final check on the out-going application: * Computer-printed or typed final copy should be neat, easy-to-read, error-free and paginated. * One inch columns on either side and at the top and bottom of each page are desirable unless the funding source provides a template with set margins as is the case with the PHS-398 application package used with many NIH grants. * Format your proposal with plenty of breaks in narrative text by using headlines and sub-headlines, underlining, "bullets," etc. There should be ample "white space" on each page. * If the proposal is long, include a table of contents with pages for each division or section of the proposal. * Do not type or print on both sides of a page. * Double check your budget to make sure that your figures are reasonable and that all columns add up to the correct total. Also, be sure that your budget does not exceed any specified budget limits. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS), in which both the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) are housed, now rejects without review any proposal that includes a budget that exceeds the amount indicated as the limit for announced programs (e.g., $150,000 total costs, including direct and indirect costs, for field initiated research projects). * Make sure that you have sufficient copies of the application. * Ensure your method of delivery gets the documents to the proper person by the proper time and at the proper address. Other final check items: _____ 8. Items needed for easy retrieval: ___ History of the organization, mission statement, current annual plan ___ Organizational charts (board and staff) ___ Board of directors roster ___ Existing staff job descriptions ___ Resumes of existing staff (up-to-date) ___ Current annual budget ___ Recent statements of revenue and expense (balance sheets) ___ Audit report (annual) ___ 501(c)(3) letter from the IRS ___ Certificate of good standing or record of incorporation from the state where your organization is doing business ___ Record of achievements or annual report (brochure or other promotional materials) ___ Track record of other successful grants Other easy retrieval items: FUNDING SOURCES FOR RELATED SUPPORT ACTIVITIES Basic Tips in Considering Funding Options CILs and SILCs may initially be at somewhat of a disadvantage in competing for grants. Many independent living organizations have relatively limited resources (e.g., staff, equipment, research capacity) with which to pursue funding options. Because federal grant funding is generally highly competitive and requires fairly well developed project development and grant writing skills, initial efforts to obtain funding support might be best committed to securing small grants from local foundations and businesses. Once some experience in project development has been gained and a track record in project administration has been established, more ambitious project development and grant writing efforts can be undertaken. Following is some information on various private foundation and corporate grant sources that might be considered. Immediately following the information on private grant sources, information on federal and other public grant sources is summarized. PRIVATE FUNDING SOURCES--National Foundations There are a number of foundations that provide funding for projects on a national basis. Unfortunately, small non-profit consumer groups are typically at a disadvantage in applying for funding from national foundations. Such groups are disadvantaged because most of the these foundations are interested in funding projects that are very innovative, national in scope, and/or are models that have a high likelihood for replication elsewhere. Although your project may be innovative in your community, it may be difficult to convince foundation staff that the approach that you are taking has not been tried before, or that there is a reasonable likelihood that the approach can be replicated in other settings. As such, careful consideration should be given to whether it is wise to invest the time in pursuing funding from national foundations. A few national foundations that bear mentioning. These include: 1. The J.M. Foundation Chris K. Olander, Executive Director 60 East 42nd Street, Suite 1651 New York, NY 10165 Telephone: (212) 687-7735 Founded by Jeremiah Milbank, the J.M. Foundation has always viewed disability-related projects as a high priority. Like the Dole Foundation, J.M. is concerned about employment opportunities for people with disabilities. However, J.M. also funds other projects that benefit people with disabilities. Although the amounts of awards are typically not very large ($10,000 - $30,000 range), J.M. may be more approachable with regard to projects with local impact than are most national foundations. 2. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Steven Schroeder, M.D., President Route 1 and College Road East Post Office Box 2316 Princeton, NJ 08543-2316 Telephone: (609) 452-8701 The Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Foundation has traditionally funded projects that deal directly with health care delivery and model approaches for improving health care services. Within the past few years, they have modified their approach to health care services to include delivery of non-medical services. Although they continue to be committed to health care priorities, they are more willing to consider non-traditional approaches to service delivery than they were a few years ago. If you have a project that is linked closely to health care improvements, particularly if it is one that may be replicated in other settings, then it might be worth contacting RWJ. 3. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation William C. Richardson, President and CEO One Michigan Avenue East Battle Creek, MI 49017-4058 Telephone: (616) 968-1611 The W.K. Kellogg Foundation is interested in projects around education and community-based health care services, as well as broadening the leadership capacity of individuals. They particularly like to fund pilot projects that can be sustained by the grantee beyond the period of initial funding. They are willing to provide substantial funding for projects that they deem worthy. State and Local Foundations As implied from the previous discussion, the best source of foundation funds to support local initiatives is from state and local foundations that have vested interests in the well-being of the states and communities in which they are located. There are literally thousands of state and local private foundations that provide grants ranging from the hundreds of dollars to the millions of dollars. The best source of information on state and local foundations is The Foundation Directory, published by the Foundation Center in New York. Most public libraries keep a copy in the reference section, and virtually all university libraries have copies in the reference section. The Foundation Directory and its two companion publications-The Foundation Directory Part 2 and The Foundation Directory Supplement provide the names of all private foundations--excluding corporate foundations--in each state, along with summary information on the types of projects funded, ranges of dollar support for projects, contact information, and approach preferred by the foundation. However, the full set is rather expensive at $465. You can also subscribe to Foundation Directory Online for a fee ranging from $19.95 monthly to $59.95 monthly. The Foundation Center can be contacted at, and information on online products and services available from The Foundation Center can be found at http://fdncenter.org. The Foundation Center 8th Floor 79 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10003 Telephone: (212) 620-4230 Other published reference works on grant opportunities that you may wish to consider include: Directory of Grants for Organizations Serving People with Disabilities: A Reference Directory Identifying Grants Available to Nonprofit Organizations (11 edition, September 2000) By Richard M. Eckstein This publication, available from http://www.amazon.com, includes summary information on federal programs that fund disability-related projects. The 2000 edition at $59.95 may a good investment if you have some extra dollars to throw around. However, the information is available through other sources. Directory of Operating Grants (5th edition, February 2000) By Richard M. Eckstein This publication is also available from http://www.amazon.com for $59.95. If you are having difficulty finding sources of funding just to keep things going, this may be a good investment. Many foundations specifically exclude funding for program operations, so having this resource might reduce the time that you spend looking for operating support. In addition to these two sources, there are print and online funding newsletters available. Some services are free, while others are available at costs ranging up to several hundred dollars per year. One of the biggest players in the print and online newsletter business is Aspen publications. They operate a World Wide Website called Grantscape. At the Grantscape Website, http://www.grantscape.com, a variety of products and services are offered, including general tips and ideas on grant writing and fundraising and customized searches for grant-related resources. While many of the tips and ideas featured on the Website are offered free of charge, the cost for the Grantscape: Electronic Fundraising Database, Online Version 3.0 is $715. More information on Aspen's print and online products and services can be obtained at the Website indicated above, from Aspen's Alexandria, VA office. Aspen Publications 1101 King Street, Suite 444 Alexandria, VA 22314 Telephone: (703) 683-4100 Approaching Private Foundations and Funding Sources • Make sure you know what the funding priorities of the foundation are and any restrictions that they place on use of funds (e.g., cannot be used for operating expenses, no funding for construction). • Determine the proper process for applying. Do you need to send a letter prior to submitting an application? Does the foundation only review invited applications? • Find out if there are specific application dates or deadlines set by the foundation. Many foundations accept applications all year long, but some have specific deadlines, usually tied to foundation board meetings when funding decisions are made. • Determine what types of documentation will be required with your application. Most private foundations require a copy of your 501(c)(3) determination from the IRS and a listing of the board members for your organization and their business affiliations. Some foundations may request a copy of your bylaws and of your last annual financial audit. Be prepared for these requests. All of these documents should be easily retrievable. • Determine if there are application restrictions with which you must comply (e.g., no more than a two-page narrative, no funding for salaries--believe it or not, some foundations do not provide funding for salaries). • Find out if you have any contacts with anyone serving on the foundation's board or in a key staff position. If so, you need to use that contact effectively. • Cultivate relationships with board members and key staff of foundations that you would like to approach for funding. In the sales business there is an old saw about the three most important factors in making sales--the answer is location, location, location. In the private grant business, the three most important factors in securing funding are relationships, relationships, relationships. It takes time to develop relationships with foundation personnel--two years is generally cited as the lead time before any funding is obtained--but the pay-offs can be well worth the investment. FEDERAL SOURCES Finding Information on Federal Grant Opportunities * Where do you find information about Federal funding opportunities that may be right for your organization? All organizations that provide services to persons with disabilities should monitor, on a regular basis, the funding opportunities available through Federal agencies. There are a number of Federal departments of agencies that may provide funding for disability-related services, and Websites for some of these entities are listed below. However, the most likely source of funding for service related activities operated out of consumer-based organizations, like CILs and SILCs, is the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS). OSERS is the home to the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), through which Federal money for CILs and SILCs is administered, and to the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, which funds a wide range of disability related projects and services, including rehabilitation research and training centers (RRTCs), rehabilitation engineering research centers (RERCs), and field-initiated research (FIR) projects. The easiest way to keep up to new funding initiatives from the Department of Education is by visiting their "Announcements" Website at: http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/index.html Weekly visits to the site will keep you and your organization apprised of new initiatives through the Department of Education, including those of RSA and NIDRR. Once you identify an initiative of interest to you, you can go to another Department of Education Website to retrieve the application package for the initiative: http://www.ed.gov/GrantApps/ In addition to retrieving the entire application package, at this Website you can download the cover page, budget, assurances, and other forms needed to complete and submit the application. This is a wonderful resource for grant writers, and you should be familiar with it. Other Disability-Related Federal Grant Programs In addition to the Department of Education, many other Federal agencies provide grant funding for programs and services relating to disability. To get a sense of what is available from various Federal agencies, it is a good idea to visit periodically the NonProfit Gateway Website. It can be accessed at: http://www.nonprofit.gov/ The NonProfit Gateway allows the user to retrieve information on a wide range of funding opportunities available through different Federal agencies. Some of the agencies that are involved in funding disability-related activities include the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which focuses on disability issues through a number of its organizational components. Perhaps the DHHS component most involved in disability-related activities is the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research (NCMRR), which is a center within the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD-the acronym doesn't match the name, but that is what they use). NCMRR's primary focus is clearly medically oriented, with funding for basic science and clinical research projects. However, there may be opportunities for collaboration with medical research organizations in conduct of research. One current-that is 2001-NCMRR initiative focuses on development of "Cooperative Multicenter Traumatic Brain Injury Clinical Trials Networks." The request for proposals can be retrieved from: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-01-007.html If your organization has a relationship with a medical facility involved in brain injury clinical research, you may want to explore the potential of collaborating with the organization in its research activities. Some medical organizations may see the advantage of partnering with a consumer-based organization for purposes of subject recruitment and related activities. However, you should be cautious about "getting into bed" with clinical research organizations. Some non-profits have been "used" by slick research organizations, including university-based research programs, to create a veneer of consumer sensitivity in an organization that does not truly adhere to the principles-consumer control, disability rights-that are cornerstones of the independent living movement. Approach potential relationships with research organizations cautiously; a gain of a few thousand dollars in grant support could cost you the far more in terms of your organization's reputation and credibility with consumers and others in the community who respect the IL principles and philosophy. To remain current on requests for applications (RFAs) and program announcements (PAs) from NCMRR or from other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), you can check the NIH Guide online. It is published weekly, and the new version is usually available through the NIH Guide Website by late afternoon on Monday or early Tuesday morning. Simply click the current year on the Website indicated below and it will bring up the weekly listings of the announcements starting with the most recent weekly publication and going back over the full year's announcements. You can check for new announcements weekly at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html Other DHHS components that should be looked at from time to time to see if there are potential funding opportunities include the: * Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) http://www.hcfa.gov/ord/ordhp1.htm * Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) http://www.ahrq.gov/fund/ * Administration on Aging http://www.aoa.dhhs.gov/research.html * Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) http://www.cdc.gov/funding.htm Other Federal agencies that may have funding related to disability include the: * Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) http://www.hrsa.gov/default.htm * Social Security Administration (SSA) http://www.ssa.gov/ * Department of Agriculture (USDA) http://www.usda.gov/nonprofi.htm * Department of Labor (DoL) http://www.dol.gov/dol/public/nonprofit/grant.htm * FIRSTGOV for Seniors http://www.seniors.gov/ With regard to the USDA, you might consider establishing a working relationship with one of the nation's 105 land grant colleges that receive UDSA funding for a wide range of projects. If you want to know where the land grant colleges are located, go to this Website for a complete listing of land grants institutions: http://www.nasulgc.org/publications/Land_Grant/Schools.htm Land grant institutions are involved in many projects that may relate to disability issues. One example of the types of projects funded through the Department of Agriculture and involving the land grant colleges can be seen in the Children, Youth, and Families Education and Research Network (CYFERnet). CYFERnet activities focus on community-based programs. You can learn more about CYFERnet by visiting their Website at: http://www.cyfernet.org/ It is also strongly recommended that all organizations involved in disability services become familiar with funding sources targeting older Americans. The explosion in the size of the elderly population that will occur between 2010 and 2030 as baby boomers begin to enter the ranks of the elderly will have a profound impact on the population as a whole and on the population of people with disabilities, in particular. The likelihood of acquiring a disabling condition increases dramatically with aging, and meeting the needs of the mushrooming older population of Americans with disabilities will become a real "growth industry" over the next several years. Monitoring funding opportunities by looking at the FIRSTGOV for Seniors Website, (http://www.seniors.gov/) may help you maintain awareness of opportunities coming down the pike to develop or expand programs or services for seniors with disabilities. The Federal Register Another source of information on Federal grant opportunities is the Federal Register. The Federal Register is published every working day of the Federal calendar year. It contains information on many funding programs, rulemaking organizations, and other components of the Federal government. You can access the Federal Register free and search it by date and/or key word at this Website: http://www.access.gpo.gov/su_docs/aces/aces140.html You should be familiar with what's in the Federal Register and how to use the search functions at this Website. In addition to grant information, it can provide you with information on new ADA regulations and other important disability-related information. STATE FUNDING SOURCES In addition to the potential federal funding sources identified above, there are many state agencies that should be considered as possible sources for disability-related projects. Although the names of public agencies vary from state to state, all states have agencies with responsibility for projects related to health and human services. In order to become familiar with these agencies and project funding available through them, you are urged to subscribe to your state's Register. Just as the federal government publishes notices of funding in the Federal Register, states are required to publish notices of project funding in a state register. In Texas it is called the Texas Register, and is published daily. It is in your best interest to subscribe to your state's Register and to review it daily for funding opportunities for which your organization might apply. COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL FUNDING SOURCES These may be some of the best sources of funding available to disability-related organizations. Some cities particularly are very liberal in the use of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds obtained from the federal government, and it is worthwhile to determine what city agency has responsibility for CDBG funds in your city. County governments also typically contract for many services needed by county residents. You should determine who is responsible for grants and contracts at your municipal and county governments and make sure that you are on their mailing lists. Getting Started! What Do You Do Before You Start Writing? 1. Private Foundation Grants Before beginning a private foundation grant, make sure that you have all of the instructions available regarding the application process and materials required. It is also recommended that you speak with the project officer identified at the foundation prior to beginning. Generally speaking, the project officer can tell you if your idea is one that fits with the purposes and objectives of the foundation and any specific priority that may have been announced. Otherwise, the suggestions outlined below for public grant applications should generally be followed in applying for foundation grants. 2. Federal and Other Public Applications • Read the application materials at least twice. • Make sure that your organization is eligible to apply. It is usually worth a call to the project officer to ask a few questions about the types of projects they are looking for and whether there are any restrictions on the types of agencies eligible to apply or the types of projects that they intend to fund. • Determine exactly when the application is due. Is the due date a postmark date or a receipt date? If this is unclear in the application materials, call the funding agency for clarification. • Determine what the funding range for projects is and what the average award amount is expected to be. Keep in mind that unless you believe that you can develop an outstanding project, you are unlikely to obtain funding above the average level. You may determine that you simply do not have the resources to carry out a project at the funding level indicated. In such cases, you can save yourself a lot of aggravation by making such determinations early. • Decide if you need collaborating organizations or consultants. Often it is clear from the application instructions that involvement of persons with certain types of expertise is essential for an application to be competitive. You may need to involve someone from your state Client Assistance Program (CAP) or someone with special education experience. An early decision as to whether the likelihood of getting support from needed collaborators is feasible will help you decide whether you should proceed. • Find out if applications are going to be "peer reviewed," and if so, who the reviewers are likely to be. Not all applications are peer reviewed. Particularly for applications for smaller amounts of funding (e.g., under $50,000), decisions on funding may be made by program staff of the funding agency. If this is the case, make sure that you talk to program staff at the agency to determine if they have any recommendations on how to proceed. They may tell you that they can only provide whatever information is in the application, but it is worth asking. If the applications are going to be peer reviewed, ask them what types (e.g., medical professionals, special educators, vocational rehab counselors) of persons will be invited as peer reviewers. This will give you an indication of the types of folks with whom you may want to collaborate. For example, if the reviewers are mostly special educators, it is in your best interest to collaborate with one or more special educators during preparation of the proposal, as well as afterwards. This increases the likelihood that you will address the issues that reviewers are likely to be concerned about. • Determine if there are page length restrictions and other restrictions on format and presentation that may be mandated by the funding agency. Some agencies, such as the Administration on Aging, have firm limits on page length of the narrative and accompanying materials. They also have firm restrictions on margin sizes, number of characters per inch of typing, and position of page numbers. If any of these restrictions are violated, your application is returned without being read. Make sure that you are aware of any format or structure restrictions before beginning to write. Reorganization takes time. • Determine whether there are certifications (e.g., drug-free workplace requirements, anti-lobbying statements) that need to be signed and sent with the package. This may require some policy action by your organization's board, so do not wait until you start writing your application to take care of this. • Make sure you know who within your organization needs to sign off on an application, and that they will be available when the application is ready for signing. This will depend on internal policies and procedures of your organization. If you have an executive director who can sign off on applications, make sure he or she is ready to do so on a timely basis. If the board president needs to sign off, get him or her ready to do so. Don't wait until you are in the thick of proposal writing to do this--it might not get done! • Decide what you are going to do about indirect costs. If you have a federal negotiated indirect cost rate, this is no problem. However, most consumer groups do not have a negotiated indirect cost rate. In making this decision read the application carefully, it may indicate that indirect costs are restricted to some pre-determined level. If there is no fixed indirect cost rate stated in the application instructions, and you do not have a negotiated rate with any federal agency, it is probably in your best interests not to request indirect costs. However, if you do not request any indirect costs, it is critical that you recover all of the direct costs of the project. • Make your best estimate of the amount of time that will be required to produce the application. Be Realistic! We all have tendency to underestimate the amount of time it takes to prepare an application. If you believe that it will take ten days of time, add 20% to that and budget your staff time accordingly. Spending ten days on an application that is not ready for mailing on time is not only frustrating, but also demoralizing to people who have been "under the gun" while you've been working on a deadline. If the time is not available, do not try to squeeze it out unless you believe that the likelihood of getting the funding is at least 90%. • Make sure that the proposed project "fits" your organization, and that it is not going to divert resources from other crucial activities. We have all seen the impact of organizations becoming engaged in chasing dollars and getting away from their missions of providing support to their members. If you want to be something other than a survivor and family support group, that is your board's choice. However, this choice should be made consciously as a result of a rational strategic planning process and should not occur as a by-product of the chase for dollars. Writing the Application 1. Private Foundation Grants Most of what applies to federal and other public grants also applies to private foundation and corporate grants. However, the types of applications submitted to private foundations and corporate funding sources are usually much more spare than are applications to public funding agencies. This requires an economy of language and conciseness that takes practice to achieve. A few tips for preparing private foundation and corporate funding source applications are provided. However, it should be cautioned that there is enormous variation in requirements of private funding organizations, and it is in your best interests to develop a relationship with someone at the foundation or corporation who can help you to "decode" published information that may be available on the application process. • Follow their stated application procedure to the letter. If the process requires an initial letter of intent, make sure that you provide such a letter before submitting an application. Some foundation staff view their roles as "gatekeepers," whose primary mission is to reduce the number of applications with which the foundation must deal. These folks will use the application process as a means of eliminating as many applications as early in the application process as possible. Not following the stated procedure provides them an easy means of eliminating your application without spending any time on it. • If the initial approach is by letter, state the reason why funding is requested and the amount of funding you believe to be necessary for your project right in the opening sentence. Do not be vague about what you are requesting or keep the reader wondering what it is that you want. In general, directness, clarity, and brevity are valued by foundation staff people who have to consider numerous requests for support. • Avoid jargon and excessive use of abbreviations at all costs. Even more than with federal grants, jargon and "alphabet soup" are anathema to foundation staff. If they have to stop and look up terms or get outside help in understanding what your application is about, they are not likely to respond to it favorably. Plain and understandable English is the best approach in requesting funding from private funding sources. • Do not confuse an application for project funding with a public relations campaign for your group or organization. Although you may want to establish the credibility of your organization by indicating how many people it serves, singing your own praises can be offensive to the reader. If you are trying to obtain funding for a project, talk about the project and the organization's capabilities to conduct it--not about how wonderful your organization is. If the foundation staff want to find out about the reputation of your organization in your community, they probably will not rely on you for such information. • Make sure that you provide all of the accompanying materials requested. Do not send partial applications. Foundation staff may not be inclined to follow-up if something is missing, particularly with unsolicited applications. 2. Federal and Other Public Funding Applications • The instructions stupid! This may sound crass, but many times as a reviewer you wonder if the people who prepared the application read the application instructions. Make sure that you organize your proposal as indicated in the application package. If a specific order of items is indicated try to follow it religiously. • Be faithful to the review criteria. You make the reviewers' jobs easier if you can follow the format of the review criteria that are provided in application package. Sometimes this is difficult because the review criteria and the organizational outline provided for the application do not match well. In such cases, you need to decide how to clearly indicate to the reviewer that you have addressed each criterion specified. This may be done by using techniques such as a "roadmap" of the criteria, indicating which sections of the proposal address each criterion. This is often tricky to accomplish, but the more you help the reviewer, the more favorable reception of your application is likely to be. • Avoid jargon. Even in cases where the reviewers are likely to recognize terms that are specific to a professional discipline or field, it is a good idea to avoid excessive use of jargon. You should write your proposal so that any person with a college education can read it and understand it, even if they are not familiar with the field. Although it may be necessary to use terms that are not in general usage, this should be kept to a minimum, and the narrative should be easily readable to anyone. • Avoid "alphabet soup." The overuse of abbreviations is one of the most annoying habits of people who write federal applications. Only abbreviations that are readily recognizable to likely reviewers or abbreviations that are used for key concepts repeated frequently in the proposal should be used--and these only sparingly. Introducing numerous new abbreviations for organizational components or strategies will drive the reviewer crazy as he or she constantly tries to sort them out or is forced to look back to see what the "IBQ" is. • Write clearly and concisely. Make your points and get on with the application. Do not try to "sell" your plan or concept with a lot of excess verbiage. If it is a good idea, it will "sell" itself. You need to provide enough information to be clear about what you are going to do, why you are doing it, how you are doing, what you expect to come out of it, and who will be doing it. Providing more information than that is distracting to reviewers. • Make sure that you document the need for what you are doing with appropriate data. If you are doing a local project, make sure that you have some data on local need for the project. Indicate where your data came from and when it was gathered. If you do not have local data, indicate why it is missing (often this only requires that you indicate that funds have been lacking to collect local data). If you do not have local data, estimate needs by extrapolating from state or national data that can be cited from a good source. Indicating that you have made some effort to quantify the scope of the problem that you are addressing suggests to the reviewer that you have done your homework. • Use language that parallels the language in the application package. If the application instructions use terms like "goals and objectives," give them goals and objectives. Even if you disagree with their use of the term goals and objectives for what they are seeking, do not reduce your chances of getting a favorable review by correcting the terminology in the application package because you think it was misused. If you have strong objections to terminology used, or it simply does not fit the project that you are proposing, tactfully explain your use of the term and how such use might vary somewhat from standard usage. • Address every requirement indicated in any outline provided in the application package and every item in the review criteria. This may be tricky, but it will increase your chances of a favorable review. If a reviewer feels that you failed to address an issue that was identified in the application materials, you will almost certainly lose points in the review process. • Even if the page limit is only "suggested," make an extra effort to stay within it. Do not assume that because the page limit requirement is not mandatory, the reviewers will ignore it and simply read on through a document that substantially exceeds suggested limits. Some reviewers will simply stop reading when they reach the suggested limit and base their review on what they read to that point. Others will be so annoyed at your disregard for suggested limits, that their judgment of the application will be affected negatively. • Use appendices wisely. If you have material that you think will really enhance a reviewer's understanding of your proposed project, but it simply is too lengthy to be included in the narrative, put it in an appendix and refer to it in the narrative text. Careful consideration should be given to what is placed in the narrative and what goes into appendices, since all reviewers may not be provided appendix materials. • Proofread the document carefully and use spell check. Almost all applications have a couple of grammatical "glitches" or misspelled words. A few of these problems are generally overlooked by reviewers. However, an application with misspelled words on every page and grammatical errors throughout the document suggests that the writers did not take much care with their efforts. Get someone to proofread your application who understands the issues, but who was not involved in preparing the application. This person can tell you if it made sense and if it is readable and understandable. • Include a table of contents. If possible, this should allow reviewers to locate outlined sections of the application and pages where specific review criteria are addressed. Not having a table of contents makes it very difficult for reviewers to go back and see if specific points were addressed in the application. Writing Measurable Project Objectives One of the challenges faced by organizations trying to develop proposals in response to Federal announcements and requests relates to the problem of developing measurable objectives for the project. It's worth taking a quick look at the difference between goals, objectives, and activities. Resource Note: In discussing developing measurable objectives, we will refer to a 1999 publication produced by the Department of Education for its 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. This publication, A Guide to Continuous Improvement Management (CIM), by Natalia Pane, Ivor Mulligan, Alan Ginsburg, and Andrew Lauland, can be downloaded from the Department of Education Website as an Acrobat file in pdf format.1 It can be found at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/PES/21cent/cim226.pdf For those of you who need the document in an alternate format, the Adobe Acrobat Website provides a plug-in for Acrobat version 4.0 that allows you to export pdf files to text formats. You can obtain the 4.0 plug-in at the Adobe site by going to: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/5efe.htm If you download the Acrobat 5.0 reader from the Adobe site, it will have the access features built into it. Version 5.0 of the Acrobat reader is at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html It is recommended that all disability-related service organizations obtain an accessible version of the Acrobat reader software so that you can provide accessible versions of documents published in pdf formats to your staff, consumers and others. Grant writers are also encouraged to retrieve the document A Guide to Continuous Improvement Management (CIM), and refer to it when preparing an application for the U.S. Department of Education. It offers excellent suggestions. A Guide to Continuous Improvement Management (CIM) differentiates goals and objectives as follows: * Goals reflect the program's broad intent by defining what is to be obtained through sustained effort over the long term. * Objectives specify what is to be achieved in a scheduled period of time in order to progress to each goal. For a project focusing on student achievement, you might state one or two broad goals, with clarifying points as part of each broad goal. The goal examples provided below were adapted from examples provided in A Guide to Continuous Improvement Management (CIM). Goal 1: To increase student academic performance and interest: a. By increasing performance in reading and mathematics. b. By increasing student motivation and interest in school. c. By increasing student development and applied academic experiences. d. By increasing student aspirations. Goal 2: To improve the learning environment: a. By providing a safe and nurturing environment. b. By providing a drug-free environment. c. By offering enrichment and learning opportunities outside of regular school curriculum. d. By reducing juvenile crime in the community. As these goal statements suggest, the goals should be broad enough to tell the reviewer where the project is going, while having enough specificity to provide a functional focus for the project. In these two goal statements one gets the clear sense that the project will target student performance and interest, while also addressing the environment in which learning will take place. Furthermore, from the points covered under the broad goal statements, it is easy to see that focus will be on reading and mathematics, student motivation and interest, applied academic experience, and student aspirations as regards the first broad goal. Also, the points made under the second broad goal make it clear that the project developers recognize the importance of the learning environment in fostering academic achievement, including providing a safe, drug-free environment that promotes learning beyond the classroom, while concurrently reducing juvenile crime in the community. These goal statements tell the reviewer a great deal about the factors that the project developers view as important in addressing issues of student achievement in a particular community setting. Where the goal statements are broad and point toward important issues to be addressed over the long term, objectives should be stated in measurable terms, specifying what is to be achieved in a scheduled period of time in order to progress toward goals.1 Objectives should:2 * Be definitive and specific; * Describe the accomplishments or results, not * activities or behaviors; * Be measurable (quantifiable); * Delineate a time frame or deadline; * Be challenging yet achievable; * Define your customers; and * Designate the partners and their responsibilities. Using the project on student achievement referred to under the goals and objectives above, let's take a look at some examples of good, better, and best stated objectives. These are excerpted from the A Guide to Continuous Improvement Management (CIM).1 They include a brief discussion of the gains realized in going from a good objective to a better stated objective, and on to further improvement in the "best" stated objective. Example 1 Good: Better: Best: Gains: Our primary objective is to maximize the number of children in the community who attend our program. Our program will provide at least 600 children in the community with educational, recreational, and enrichment activities over the next three years. Our program will provide at least one activity (educational, recreational, or enrichment) over the next three years to at least 600 different economically disadvantaged children in the community, and each child will participate in that activity for at least half the possible attendance days. What is the "maximum number of children" referred to in the first objective? The second objective provides a specific number that can be measured when assessing your program. In addition, the second example offers a timeline for when the objective is to be achieved. The third objective specifies who the 600 children will be and what counts as having participated in an activity (attending half the time). Example 2 Good: Better: Best: Gains: At the end of year three, our program will result in a decrease in crime in the community. After the third year of program operation, there will be a 15 percent reduction in the number of acts of vandalism in the community. After the third year of program operation, there will be a 15 percent reduction in the number of acts of vandalism on school grounds within the community compared to other schools in a neighboring and similar community. The second objective provides specifics about what kinds of crime: acts of vandalism. The third objective goes a step further in stating that the acts will be measured on school grounds, since these data are more likely to be accessible and more closely tied to students in the program. The third objective states that the rates will be compared to those of schools that do not have similar programs. If crime decreases in your town, but not in the other town, then the comparison provides a stronger argument that your program had something to do with the change. Conversely, if crime rates increase in your town, it may be because the whole state or area has experienced increasing crime. By comparing your community with another, you may be able to support a conclusion that your efforts had a favorable impact on crime rates because rates did not increase as much as those in similar communities. Example 3 Good: Better: Best: Gains: Student motivation will be improved and attendance at school will increase by 45 percent after the second year of the program. Motivation will be improved and attendance will improve by 10 percent after the first year and 20 percent by the second year of the program. Student and parent motivation will be improved (e.g., scores on a self-report survey will increase significantly) and student attendance at school and parent attendance at teacher conferences will improve by 10 percent after the first year of the program and 20 percent by the second year of the program. The first objective is definitely challenging, but may not be attainable after one year. The second objective sets a more attainable figure and sets two short-term targets instead of one longer-term target. The third objective specifies who is to be measured and for what activities. The Challenge of Writing Sound IL-Related Objectives The examples provided above work well within educational systems. However, it should be noted that: a) most educational systems have very easily quantified outcome measures; and b) well established data collection systems to draw upon for evaluation purposes. Among the problems faced by CILs and SILCs in trying to develop project-related objectives around independent living activities are: * A lack of research-based, quantifiable outcome measures for assessing the results of service delivery both on an individual and an organizational basis; * A dearth of data collection instruments and tools both for establishing baseline performance measures and for gathering the data needed to assess progress against the baseline; and * Few options for management information systems that allow IL personnel to generate needed outcomes information in an effective and efficient manner. This situation suggests that people working in IL need to be creative in developing measurable project objectives that target outcomes important to potential funding sources which have accountability requirements. During this workshop, we will explore ways of doing this, as well as resources that might be tapped in constructing measurable objectives for specific types of projects. Preparing a Realistic Budget 1. Private Foundation and Corporate Funding The budgeting processes used by private foundations and corporate funding agencies vary as extensively as the foundations themselves. Many use budgeting processes similar to the U.S. Department of Education, while some use simpler budgeting formats, and some--like The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation--use more complicated budgeting formats. The best advice in preparing budgets for private foundations is to follow any directions that they provide precisely. Do not be careless in adhering to the budget directives of foundations, or they may assume that you are careless about other aspects of your project. Some private foundations require even more detailed justification of budgets than do federal funding agencies. Be sure and provide adequate justification for all budget items when requested. Often, private foundations will not require detailed budgets until after they have reviewed a preliminary application with a budget outline. It is a good idea, however, to prepare your budget justification when you prepare your initial budget outline so that you will be prepared to respond quickly if the foundation requests additional details. Make sure that you are aware of any restrictions placed on funding from private foundations before you prepare your budget. For example, many private foundations will not fund conferences or seminars. If you have a request for such funding in your proposal, you can count on it being excluded if your project gets funded. If you are requesting funding for a project that includes a seminar or conference and your best funding prospect does not provide funding for such purposes, make sure that you indicate that the foundation or corporation being approached is not being asked to pay for that portion of the project. In addition to allowing you to pursue the funding through the prospective foundation, this approach also allows you to show how project costs will be shared between funding sources, a notion that many foundations find attractive. 2. Federal and Other Public Agency Applications • Personnel. Determine how many and what type of staff you will need to get the job done. This is not always a straightforward process. If you are proposing projects that are consistent with your organization's mission, they are likely to have some things in common with projects or programs that you already have underway. This provides the opportunity to take advantage of existing resources (including materials already developed, staff or volunteers working on activities similar to those proposed, and dissemination vehicles that are already in place). In any event, you should try and gauge as realistically as possible the amount of staff time--including direct service staff time, supervisory staff time, and support staff time--that will be required in order to complete all of the activities planned for the project. Although it is to your advantage to draw upon resources that may be available through related projects or programs, care should be taken to avoid understaffing a project. Understaffing can be disastrous if the project gets funded and you have to pull people from other projects or programs in order to get the job done on the new project. Do not cut corners in estimated your staffing needs. • Fringe Benefits. Try to be precise in estimating fringe benefit costs. These include social security (FICA) taxes, unemployment insurance, and workers compensation. If you have paid staff, you will need to decide how large a benefit package to offer. Fringe benefit costs continue to soar as health insurance costs rise at phenomenal rates and other costs increase with inflation. Be prepared to document your current "real" fringe benefit costs and to justify and projected increases based on previous increases or actual new cost data available to you. For small organizations, fringe benefit accounting requirements may be so time consuming that you decide to operate your project relying primarily on volunteer support, with only minimal professional help secured on a consultative basis. Determinations as to how much time and money you want to devote to establishing and offering an employee benefit program need to be made early in the budgeting process. • Travel. Base your estimates for out-of-town staff travel on reasonable costs for discounted airfare. Although you may find that you have under-budgeted travel costs somewhat, planning to obtain discounted fares by doing advanced purchases and, when possible, staying over Saturday nights indicates that you are concerned about costs. Most federal agencies are particularly stingy about travel funds, in part because federal employees can take advantage of steep discounts for federal travel. You should generally plan for no more than one out-of-town trip by a project staff member to do a presentation or other activity in association with a project. One thing that you should do in preparing your travel budget is determine if the project staff person likely to be doing the travel will require a personal assistant. If so, this cost can be easily justified and federal program personnel have a difficult time not approving this cost without appearing discriminatory. Costs for PAS travel are usually equal to those of the staff with whom the assistant is traveling, minus the cost of nightly lodging, assuming that a sleeping room is shared. • Local travel costs should be considered carefully. If the project involves a good deal of community outreach by staff or volunteers who should be reimbursed for their out-of-pocket costs, then a fair estimate of such costs should be included in the budget. This might be done by estimating the number of roundtrips that are likely to be made in a month (e.g., 10) and multiplying that number times the average length of a roundtrip (e.g., 30 miles), resulting in a projection of 300 miles per month of local travel. Based on a rate of $0.25 per mile, the travel budget would include a request for $75 per month in staff travel. Travel for consumers, consultants, and other non-staff persons is usually included under the "Other" budget category in federal grant applications. • Equipment. Equipment needs to be well justified in all budgets. As with travel, federal funding agencies are stingy with equipment money. When asking for equipment, be sure that your figures reflect the low end of current pricing ranges for any equipment requested. Federal agency staff do not like to give the impression that they are providing money to buy Cadillacs if a Ford will do. Indicate why the equipment is needed, and if similar equipment to that being requested is currently available, explain why currently owned or available equipment will not be used for the proposed project. Always indicate if the equipment requested is needed for reasonable accommodation of employees with disabilities, and specify any special features of the equipment that make it suitable for employees with disabilities. For example, if a staff member with visual impairment requires a computer with an oversize monitor to accommodate large sized print, make sure to explain that. • Supplies. Requests for consumable supplies should be reasonable and typically do not require extensive justification. Often, simply a statement saying that these costs are projected based on previous experience in conducting projects of similar scope. An acceptable consumable supply budget for most federally-funded projects is in the $100 to $200 per month range. Some examples of the kinds of supplies mentioned for this category include computer diskettes, printer toner cartridges, and stationery. If the project requires use of a particular item, such as computer diskettes for some reason outside of routine use, that item should be detailed in the budget. For example, if plans for a project require sending out computer diskettes to 10 collaborators on a weekly basis, a budget item for four of five boxes (10 to a box) of diskettes weekly should be detailed. This might increase your monthly budget by $25 to $40 per month, not an insignificant amount. • Construction. If there are construction costs associated with your project, they need to be justified in detail. For many federal projects, construction costs are not allowed. However, it is altogether feasible that survivor and family organizations could propose projects requiring construction for the purpose of reasonable accommodation of staff or consumers with disabilities. Such expenses should be fully explained and accompanied by cost estimates from construction professionals for the type of construction required (e.g., remodeling of space, building of new facilities). • Contractual. All work to be done by an organization or individual with which/whom you plan to enter into a contractual relationship should be itemized on separate budget sheets and justified in the same manner as the main budget. It is advisable that these budget sheets and a separate face sheet be processed through the business office or other administrative entity of the contracting agency. However, if time does not allow for contracts to be approved through the formal administrative structure of the contracting organization, most federal agencies will accept a letter from an authorized representative of the contracting agency indicating approval for participation in the proposed project and stating the contracting agency's intent to enter into a formal contractual arrangement if funding is received. In planning your project budget, it is important to consider both direct and indirect costs that will be paid to any organizations that will be performing work through contractual arrangements. • Other. Other costs can cover a multitude of sins. Since the "Other" category is considered "collapsible" by most federal funding agencies (i.e., money within the "Other" category can be shifted around from one item to another within the category at your discretion), it is a good place to include cost items that are difficult to estimate. Some items that are almost always included in the "Other" category include: --postage, typically projected on a monthly basis, often at $50 to $100 per month, with special mailings (such as those done with surveys) broken out as separate items in this category; --long-distance telephone, also typically projected on a monthly basis, often at $50 to $100 per month for projects budgeted in the range of $100,000 annually, but with higher costs if heavy telephone use is expected; --local telephone if the center will have to expand its telephone capabilities in order to conduct the project, then costs for installation of any new lines and any monthly line charges should be included in the budget, along with a clear explanation of why the expanded service was needed; --routine duplicating should be estimated for the project, usually with a projection of number of copies to be made per month (such as 3,000) at the per copy cost (such as $0.03 per copy); --printing jobs in excess of routine duplicating, such as those needed for survey instruments or curricular materials, should be included, based on a per page cost for smaller printing jobs or a per unit cost (e.g., an instructional manual at $20 per copy for 30 consumers) for larger printing jobs; --consultant costs should be calculated on the basis of the number of days of consultation to be purchased at an agreed-upon cost per day, for example, 10 days of instructional time from an instructional development specialist at $350 per day = $3,500; --consultant travel, whether for out-of-town travel or local travel should be included, along with a clear explanation of how the estimate was arrived at (e.g., $500 for roundtrip airfare, for two trips of five days each, with ten nights lodging at $90 per night, 11 days meals at $30 per day, and $50 each trip for ground transportation = $1,000 + $900 + $330 + $100 = $2,330 in total consultant travel; --office space rental should be charged against grant sources, if you plan to rent space, with the estimate based upon the number of full time equivalent (FTE) staff who are charged against the grant, times the number of square feet per FTE (including common space, ILRU generally calculates this at 200 per FTE, allowing for extra space needed for staff who use wheelchairs), times your annual rental rate per square foot of space (for example, 2.5 FTE x 200 square feet x $14 per square foot = $7,000); --facility maintenance charges if these are not included in your rental cost, as is usually the case, charges for cleaning and routine repairs of facilities should be charged to grant sources; --equipment maintenance charges, if you have maintenance contracts on copiers, computer equipment, or other office equipment, a proportional amount of these costs can be charged to grant sources; --insurance costs, such as general liability insurance, professional errors and omissions insurance, and other insurance not included under fringe benefits can be charged against grant sources, with an explanation as to how the percentage of such costs to be charged against the grant source was calculated; and --reasonable accommodation costs, including charges for sign language interpreters needed for the project, other personal assistance services, special transportation required for staff, consultants, or consumers, and other special arrangements made to allow access by persons with disabilities to the project. All projects developed by disability service organizations should include funding for reasonable accommodation; and it should be made clear to funding agencies that, in most cases, it is difficult if not impossible to predict in advance the precise nature of reasonable accommodation that might be required, since such accommodation is tailored to the needs of participants in the project. Unless you are sure in advance of the project participants and their needs for accommodation, estimates of reasonable accommodation costs are best estimates only. Indirect Costs As indicated previously, indirect costs should only be requested if the funding agency indicates that it will pay a fixed indirect cost rate (as is the case with the eight percent that the Department of Education allows for training projects) or if your organization has a negotiated indirect cost rate with a federal agency. If neither of these situations applies, you will do better to try to recover as much as possible in direct costs and forego indirect costs. Otherwise, you may find yourself engaged in a complicated and time-consuming process of trying to justify the indirect costs that you have requested. Organizations that have very good financial records should probably invest the time in exploring the feasibility of establishing a negotiated indirect cost rate with a federal agency, such as the Department of Education. Centers with mediocre or poor financial record-keeping systems should stay out of this. You can easily become mired in this swamp if you are not well prepared. 3. Matching or Cost Sharing Requirements A number of federal agencies and or specific projects funded by federal agencies, as well as many private foundations and corporate funders, require grantees to put up some portion of project funding as a "match" or as cost sharing. The percentages required for the match vary substantially. In some cases, a dollar for dollar match is required. In other cases, the match my be one dollar of grantee support for every three dollars of federal or private foundation support. In the case of RSA's long-term training grant program, the amount of the match is not specified, but it is clearly stated that a match is required. Determining how and whether your organization can make the match can be quite tricky. In the case of many federal grant requirements, the only caveat regarding matching funds is that they not be federal funds. In other words, if you have one federally-funded project, you cannot count staff time from that project, or other resources funded from that project as part of the match for another project, even if the two projects are closely related and mutually reinforcing. Generally the best match is from "hard" dollars that your organization can commit in support of the project. These dollars may come from fees for services, the proceeds of fund-raising events, or private donations. Such matching requirements are one reason why it is in the best interest of non-profit organizations to do fund raising in addition to grant writing. Non-grant fund raising provides for funds that can be used at your discretion in making the match required for grant-funded projects that you may choose to pursue. However, you need to be creative when determining if you can match grant sources. In some cases, funding provided by private foundations to carry out activities can be used as the match required for federally funded projects. For example, if you have private foundation funding to provide family support services, and you submit a federal grant for a project that involves provision of family support services, it may be possible to count at least a portion of the service time provided by staff paid from private foundation funds in making the match needed to secure the federal funds. However, if you are going to do this, it is advisable that you notify the foundation from which you have funding about your plans. You can present it in terms of using foundation funds to leverage other support for similar services. Many foundations are very pleased to have their funds used for leverage purposes, and you may find that you strengthen your position with private funding sources when you notify them that you want to use their dollars to leverage support from other public or private sources. Also, keep in mind the value of board time spent on projects and other volunteer time committed to projects for which you may be requesting federal funding. Come up with a reasonable estimate of the time and value of board and volunteer time that will be committed to proposed projects and include such contributions in your match. Similarly, if your administrative costs are fully covered from other sources and you can afford to contribute administrative time to the project, then such a contribution can be counted toward the match. This approach should be used cautiously, however. All too often organizations find themselves contributing significant staff time to projects that are simply under-funded. This can produce significant problems for the organization if administrative support is inadequate. In essence, you could end up subsidizing some projects with funding provided for other projects, and the whole organization suffers as a consequence. Be very careful about not recovering actual costs required to conduct projects, and make conscious decisions about subsidizing projects. A project should only be subsidized for a limited period of time if there is some clear benefit to the organization in terms of being able to address better the immediate needs of consumers or getting prepared to obtain more substantial support for planned or current activities. In such cases, the funds obtained for the project that is being subsidized from other sources should be viewed only as short-term seed money. Also, funding sources should be alerted to the fact that the funds they are providing are being used for seed money so that they do not come to expect the organization to continue the service or program indefinitely with inadequate funding. Finally, in making a match, make sure that you count hardware, software and other equipment and maintenance costs that you will bear in conducting the project. This may be difficult to estimate, but it will also be difficult from the funding agency to disprove. This estimate can always be scaled back. Appendix Sample Successfully Funded Federal Grant Reprinted with permission of Resource Center for Independent Living Utica, New York SHELTERED WORKSHOP ALTERNATIVES TEAM ABSTRACT Policy changes on the state and national level have resulted in the establishment of a new paradigm for providing services to people with disabilities. This paradigm emphasizes consumer control, self-direction and community integration. There are now more integrated, competitive work opportunities available to this population. As a result, many people previously referred to and placed in long-term sheltered employment are now benefiting from non-workshop services. Programs must be developed that demonstrate how people with severe disabilities can successfully participate in integrated, competitive employment. The Resource Center for Independent Living (RCIL); the New York State Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID), the designated state vocational rehabilitation agency; and E.A.R.T.H. Industries, a sheltered workshop operated by the Rome Developmental Disabilities Service Office (DDSO), a part of the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD), will develop a model Sheltered Workshop Alternatives Team (S.W.A.T.) to demonstrate that the provision of intensive supported employment services can be a successful alternative to long term sheltered employment. The goal is to design and implement a community-based program to stimulate the development of innovative approaches for improving and expanding the provision of supported employment services to individuals with disabilities, and to enhance local capacity for providing supported employment services, thus reducing the number of individuals placed in long term sheltered employment. S.W.A.T. will target the following consumers groups: 1. Individuals who have been targeted for placement in long term sheltered employment 2. Individuals recommended for supported employment and temporarily placed in sheltered employment while awaiting a service opening 3. Individuals who are in long term sheltered employment but recommended for supported employment services 4. Individuals who have returned to long term sheltered employment following an unsuccessful supported employment placement Individuals with disabilities who meet the above criteria will be given the option to participate in the S.W.A.T. project. The project will be based upon existing models and incorporate the latest research and trends which have resulted in changes in public policy, bringing about a shift from long term sheltered employment to supported employment in integrated worksites at competitive wages. Research currently indicates that both program participants and employers are more resourceful than was previously thought. An "ecological assessment" approach will be used. The project will build upon the success of new and emerging techniques in the field, provide for an objective and quantifiable evaluation plan, provide information that shows the potential for findings to be effectively utilized within the state vocational rehabilitation system, and make available project information to enable replication in other locations. S W A T: SHELTERED WORKSHOP ALTERNATIVES TEAM Integrated employment is generally seen as the means people use to validate their usefulness, competence and belonging. (Perls, 1972) Employment is the cornerstone upon which our lives and society are based. It helps form the core of our identity and influences how and where we live. It is not only personal, but societal, in that it is our primary connection to the community in which we live. Denied employment, we lose a part of ourselves and our community. This loss of self and community is occurring with thousands of people with disabilities in New York State who continue to have limited or no access to integrated employment opportunities. They have been routinely served by long term sheltered employment and too often, continue to be so, despite the past 100 years of experience that demonstrates that such congregate care approaches limit full realization of valued aspects of their lives. Where traditional policies were defined by paternalism, segregation and dependence, the guiding influences of today, embodied by the independent living movement, emphasize consumerism, individuality, independence, integration and productivity. Establishment institutions are undergoing fundamental change and now actively promote the benefits of integration over segregation for all individuals, even those with the most severe disabilities. This basic human right of contributing to and participating in society as a self-determining individual must extend to all citizens. This is clearly demonstrated by the purpose of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1992: Title III Part B; Title VI Part C; Title VII Purpose, and the New York State Integrated Employment Implementation Plan as required by Chapter 515, the Laws of 1992. The legislative intent of the Federal law was to "expand employment opportunities in integrated settings for persons with severe disabilities....to have in place a coordinated, flexible service delivery system capable of meeting the needs of, and expanding the options for persons with severe disabilities...." While some progress toward integrated employment has been made, the pace has been slow compared to the number of people who can benefit. Placement in a sheltered workshop continues to be the rehabilitation outcome for far too many people with disabilities. In 1984, two thirds of the individuals exiting training programs entered sheltered employment. (Kiernan & Ciborowski, 1986) In 1992, at the Utica District Office of the NYS Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID), the state vocational rehabilitation agency, 145 of 572 consumers had their cases closed with a status 26 closure, in long term sheltered employment. This is fully 25% of all such closures and is comparable to the percentage of people closed (26) statewide in New York State to sheltered workshops. Once there, placement is usually for life. Evidence demonstrates that achieving integrated competitive employment from the sheltered workshop setting, while possible is not probable. As far back as 1977, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that persons provided employment in sheltered workshops have only a one-in-ten chance of moving into the competitive labor market, while in NY, the figure has been 3%. Clearly, one way to improve this outcome is to increase integrated/supported employment capacity and divert people from sheltered employment in the first place. Such diversion is the purpose of RCIL's proposal. NEED: RCIL identified the need for the innovative approach of this project. The NYS Integrated Employment Integration Plan provides evidence of the need for integrated, supported employment services. The unemployment rate for individuals with disabilities is three times that of the non-disabled population. Fully two-thirds of individuals with disabilities of working age are not in the work force, even though two thirds of this group express a desire to work. This is a personal and economic loss not only for these individuals, but for the community as well. Supported, integrated employment at competitive wages, in community based settings provides these personal and economic benefits and facilitates the inclusion of individuals with disabilities into society. An analysis by the New York State Depart-ments of Education, Social Services, Mental Health and Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities has specifically identified 20,000 individuals who could immediately benefit from such opportunities, with an additional 50,000 identified individuals who could benefit from the provision of more comprehensive community supports and services. Approximately 15,000 special education students in New York State are between 16-21 years of age. The Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD) has determined that 1,300 of these students annually leaving the school system have severe disabilities requiring coordinated services and assistance to obtain and maintain employment. Through its individual needs assessment process, OMRDD has identified approximately 2,800 individuals currently not receiving a day services program and an additional 1,700 individuals receiving day services in a non-community setting and who are recommended for or requesting integrated employment services. Surveys conducted through VESID's Quality Assurance Unit have clearly identified that at a minimum, 40% of individuals in long-term sheltered employment would choose community based employment and could maintain such employment if the appropriate services and supports were available. This is equivalent to 7,500 of the 18,670 individuals reported as actively working in LTSE who would initially benefit from integrated employment. In New York State, only 600 individuals annually exit long term sheltered employment for competitive employment positions. This is only 3% of sheltered workshop employment and represent primarily those individuals who it is felt can be successful. This illustrates the difficulty of leaving sheltered employment once an individual has become established in a sheltered workshop situation and highlights the group of individuals with the most severe disabilities who remain in sheltered employment by default. The SWAT program is designed to divert people from the initial sheltered workshop placement and goes a step beyond, to reach the next group of people who have the most severe disabilities and require coordinated, comprehensive services to obtain and maintain employment. The need seen above on the state level is reflected in the geographic area to be served by SWAT. In addition to the VESID statistics noted above, local need was also identified by the personal testimonies of consumers who expressed a desire but have been placed on waiting lists for integrated/supported services. A survey of provider agencies taken for this project, verified that there are more than 167 individuals awaiting supported employment services in Oneida County. With the exception of RCIL, the agencies providing services are tied to sheltered workshops. In SWAT planning meetings VESID counselors, E.A.R.T.H. Industries, a sheltered workshop operated by OMRDD, and RCIL staff discussed how they are hampered in their efforts to place individuals in integrated employment by the limitations of current resources. The numbers indicate a clear need for innovative programming designed to divert individuals from long term sheltered employment and increase local integrated, supported employment opportunities. Such opportunities are not fully available to all of the people who could benefit from such services in the geographic area to be served by SWAT. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate that individuals who have been targeted for long term sheltered employment can, with the provision of comprehensive services and the cooperation of three organizations, be successfully employed in competitive, integrated employment, RCIL in cooperation with VESID, and E.A.R.T.H. Industries, will provide the Sheltered Workshop Alternative Team (SWAT) program. This is a comprehensive, coordinated, consumer-directed, community-based program of intensive services resulting in successful transition to competitive employment in integrated community settings. SWAT will demonstrate that such a program, designed to meet the specific needs of this population, can be a successful replacement for long term sheltered employment. The following objectives have been established to meet identified needs and thus, accomplish this goal: 1.To demonstrate that a program designed to meet the specific needs of individuals with severe disabilities can routinely be a successful alternative to long term sheltered employment. 2. To provide expert staff 3. To provide supported employment services to people with severe disabilities through utilization of a comprehensive continuum of pre-vocational and vocational rehabilitation services including: •Consumer Assessment/Consultation •Vocational Preparation •Job Search Assistance •Job Development Including Work-Site Modification and Skills •Training Using Advanced Learning Technology •Job Placement •On-Site Training •Development of natural supports in the workplace •Transportation Services •Provision of Intensive Job Coaching •Development of Cooperative Agreements for Provision of Extended Services 4. To utilize the resources of the SWAT agencies: RCIL, E.A.R.T.H. Industries and the Utica District VESID office. 5. To provide a consumer-directed program in direct services and policy advisement. 6. To actively coordinate services with community resources including, but not limited to, VESID, OMRDD, the New York State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped (CBVH); the New York State Dept. of Labor, Job Service Office; and the Oneida County Employment and Training Office. 7. To make services available in a holistic manner. 8. To maximize grant funds by utilizing vocational rehabilitation fees for services available through the state vocational rehabilitation agency and Medicaid funds available through the Home and Community Based Services Waiver. 9. To serve 25 individuals on an annual basis. 10. To enhance local capacity for providing supported employment services and supported employment opportunities. 11.To identify the causes of unsuccessful supported employment experiences and implement procedures to eliminate or compensate for the causative factors. 12.To increase the knowledge and skills of area professionals who have a role or potential role in moving the community toward a fully integrated work model. 13. To evaluate the effectiveness of the program. 14. To widely disseminate all project information PLAN OF OPERATION Objective 1. To demonstrate that individuals who have been targeted for long term sheltered employment can be successfully employed in competitive, integrated employment with the provision of comprehensive services and the cooperation of three organizations, SWAT proposes an innovative approach to giving individuals with the most severe disabilities alternatives to long term sheltered employment resulting in opportunities for new careers and career advancement. SWAT was created to enhance the local capacity for providing intensive supported employment services to divert individuals from long term sheltered employment. This will have a significant impact in facilitating the planned conversion of E.A.R.T.H. Industries. The model developed here can be replicated at other sheltered workshops. This fulfills Title III, Part B Special Demonstration Projects (2) which states that funds are authorized for "applying new types or patterns of services .... for individuals with disabilities .... with opportunities for new careers and career advancement." SWAT is a collaborative program of the Resource Center for Independent Living (RCIL), the NYS Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID), the state vocational rehabilitation agency; and E.A.R.T.H. Industries, a sheltered workshop operated by the Rome Developmental Disabilities Service Office (DDSO) of the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities (OMRDD). The SWAT program will provide intensive, comprehensive, supported employment services to individuals with severe disabilities who are targeted for sheltered employment or currently working in sheltered workshops, to allow them to enter integrated, competitive employment. This meets the purpose of Title VI Part C which authorized allotments to assist "in developing collaborative programs to provide supported employment services for individuals with the most severe disabilities who require supported employment services to enter or retain competitive employment." RCIL will be the lead agency for the SWAT program. By operating under a consumer directed paradigm of services, SWAT will provide a comprehensive collaborative program of intensive, supported employment services that meets the purpose of Title VII to "promote a philosophy of independent living, including a philosophy of consumer control, peer support, self-help, self-determination, equal access, and individual and system advocacy, in order to maximize the leadership empowerment, independence, and productivity of individuals with disabilities and the integration and full inclusion of individuals with disabilities into the mainstream of American society..." SWAT will be housed within the Community Access Network of RCIL. The Project Coordinator will be supervised by the department manager. The project will be directed by the SWAT team composed of representatives of each of the three cooperating agencies. (See Quality of Personnel below) SWAT representatives will meet twice a month. It has been the experience of staff that frequent meetings are necessary to insure the quick response to consumers that is critical to successful integrated employment. At these meetings all aspects of the program will be discussed. VESID and E.A.R.T.H. Industries staff will present comprehensive case histories of consumers who wish to participate in the program. The team will thoroughly review these case histories, discuss options, and develop an individualized plan of services tailored to each consumer. The progress of consumers will be reviewed at team meetings thus providing a monitoring mechanism. Revisions will be made whenever necessary based upon the consumer's needs. Flexibility and quick response to consumer need will be the keys. The team meetings will provide a forum for project staff to discuss challenges and brainstorm creative, innovative solutions. Community job opportunities will be discussed and leads followed up. Suggestions will be made as to possible consumer placement. The exchange of information made possible by team meetings will enable staff to be kept up to date on employment options and provide for project management. Quarterly reports will be made to the Advisory Board by SWAT staff. The SWAT Advisory Board will assist in the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the program, and dissemination of program information. The Advisory Board will review and provide advice on assessment and training strategies, outreach strategies, recruitment techniques and plans for project replication. As the Advisory Board will exhibit ethnic diversity, it will be particularly helpful in accessing minority communities. The Advisory Board will meet quarterly. A regular schedule of status reports will be established. Other communication will occur as needed. Materials will be adapted to meet the language and accessibility needs of all Board members (i.e. translations, interpreters, audiotapes, Braille). Objective 2. To provide expert staff QUALITY OF PERSONNEL RCIL has a strong affirmative action policy and complies with all state and federal laws related to such. As an Independent Living Center, RCIL complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the 1992 Amendments, and the specifications of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1991. RCIL routinely advocates and conducts training in these areas. Strategies for ensuring that recruitment, hiring and consumer services take place without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, age, or handicapping conditions are described in RCIL's Equal Employment Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Policy and Compliance with 1992 Amendments that are appended. A team approach will be used in SWAT. Burt Danovitz, Ph.D., RCIL Executive Director will have ultimate responsibility for insuring that SWAT Project goals and objectives are met. Dr. Danovitz's educational background and experience in both direct service and administration, make him uniquely qualified to lead the SWAT project. The program will be administered within the Community Access Network, headed by Ms. Darrell Jones who will devote .10FTE to SWAT. Ms. Jones has a B.A. in Sociology and a M.A. in Guidance and Counseling from Eastern Michigan University. She is a nationally recognized figure in the field of independent living. Ms. Jones operated her own disability consulting business for a number of years. Her clients included Cornell University, the Rehabilitation Services Administration, the Association of Independent Living Centers in New York State and the NYS Office of Advocate for the Disabled. She has experience as both a direct provider of services and as an administrator. At Monroe Community Hospital, in Rochester, NY, she created and directed a program for severely disabled residents toward the goal of movement out of a chronic care institution into the community. She also established and served as the Executive Director of The Rochester Center for Independent Living, Inc. Her experience and expertise will be invaluable to the success of this project. JoAnn Marshall, Coordinator of Employment Services, will serve as the Project Coordinator and have overall responsibility for overseeing implementation of contract specifications. Forty percent of her time will be devoted to SWAT. Ms. Marshall has been providing Employment Services to people aged 18-65 with all types of disabilities for more than seven years. She has received comprehensive training in the field of supported employment and holds several certifications from Cornell University. Ms. Marshall has worked extensively with people with the most severe disabilities including people with developmental disabilities, cognitive disabilities including traumatic brain injury, and people with multiple disabilities. She is an active member of the Mohawk Valley Supported Employment Council. Her experience and knowledge of the problems faced by the population served will be invaluable in meeting the goals and objectives of this project. The Project Coordinator will have overall responsibility for the completion of the project. Specific tasks to be carried out include: 1.