Peek's Perspective on
Grants and Grant Writing

Last updated 02/23/2009

Four Basic Steps to Winning School Grants
Winning grant money for your school is not nearly as difficult as many educators think. It requires work -- as does anything else worthwhile -- but if you follow four basic steps consistently and persistently, you will win grant money for your school.

Meet Don Peek
Don Peek is a former educator and past president of the training division of Renaissance Learning. He now runs The School Funding Center, a company that provides grant information and grant-writing services to schools. The School Funding Center Grant Database attempts to list every grant available to schools across the United States. It is updated daily and currently contains more than 110,000 grant opportunities worth more than $6.5 billion. To learn more, or to subscribe to the School Fnding Center Grant Database, go to schoolfundingcenter.com.

Summer Vacation: Time to Write Those Grants
As a former educator, I have a true appreciation for the value of summer vacation. But summer vacation is also an excellent time to apply for grants; less competition means a greater chance of getting a grant request funded.

The Case for Writing Classroom Grants
I am a firm believer in encouraging teachers to write grants, no matter how small the sum. If used properly, grants of $500 to $2,000 can change a classroom as much or more than $500,000 can change a district.

Grant Money: The Reward for Good Assessment
Spring is a critical time for assessing programs you already have in place. The springtime assessment of your efforts to date is important information that will drive your next round of grant writing.

'Spring' Into Action: April Is the Perfect Time to Write a Grant
Spring is a critical time for schools and grant writing. Unfortunately, just when educators should have their keyboards smoking from turning out grant applications, many of you are shutting down your grant-writing activities as summer approaches.

Does Your District or Campus Need a Grant Committee?
Since most districts do not have one or more full-time grant writers, both districts and individual campuses can often benefit from having grant committees. Committees can do needs-assessments, gather supportive data, and even prepare quality grant applications.

Is Grant Money Still Available?
Several people have contacted me in recent days wondering if grant money is drying up because of the recession. Without hesitation, I can respond that it is not. My grant database currently lists more grants than at any time since its inception in 2001.

Another Way to Strengthen Your Grant Proposal
Another way to strengthen your grant proposal is to use a successful pilot program in your own school as a model for a larger program funded by grant money. To do this you obviously have to do two things first.

Delivering a Quality Grant Proposal
The grant proposals with the greatest chance of being funded are the ones that grant readers believe have the best chance of being successfully implemented. If you convince the evaluators you will be successful, you stand a better chance of getting the money.

Delivering a Quality Grant Proposal
Once you determine that you qualify for a grant, the next important step is delivering a quality proposal. Your proposal will be in competition with others, so the better the application you submit, the greater your chances of being awarded the money.

Does Your School Qualify for Grants?
It is no secret that some schools qualify for many more grants than other schools do. But what if you don't have a lot of disadvantaged students? Do you still qualify for grants? Yes, you do. Billions of dollars of grant money go to schools like yours.

Make Grants a Part of Your New Year's Resolution
Happy New Year! Why not start 2009 with some positive New Year's resolutions? And let's make sure at least one of those resolutions centers on winning grants for your school. I see three ways in which you might focus one of your New Year's resolutions on grants.

What Progress Have You Made?
Good statistical information is always important when you're applying for grants or evaluating an existing grant program. While some schools only gather statistics at the end of the school year, this information is far too important to wait so long to gather.

A Good Time for Foundation Grants
This time of year is one of the best times to apply for a foundation grant. In December, many foundations are still distributing money based on their 2008 budgets. Many of them have to give away a certain percentage of their money in order to remain tax exempt…

Writing Grants With a Partner
The complexity of grant applications can be daunting to anyone -- especially if you've never applied for a grant before. Have you considered getting yourself a grant-writing partner? Even if you are both novices, the support may make up for your lack of experience.

Are You Filling Out Your Grant Applications Properly?
You may think that since you have a college degree -- or two, or three -- that you should be able to fill out a grant application properly. For the most part, I agree. But it's not really the application itself that trips most people up. It's their approach to the application.

Can I Really Get Grant Money for My School?
Billions and billions of dollars worth of grant money are available to schools in the United States. Some school districts in the U.S. get millions of dollars in grant money. Some districts get no grant money at all. What is the difference?

Setting Clear, Measurable Goals
It is imperative that you understand the problems you wish to address with grant money and that you clearly your goals and how you intend to measure their achievement. Clearly stated goals and procedures demonstrate that you plan to use grant money effectively.

Using Data to Define Your Problems
Unfortunately, it is not enough just to know that you need grant money. In fact, it is not enough just to identify the problems or needs that you have. To actually get grant money, you have to go one step farther and identify the underlying causes of your problems.

Getting Ready to Write Fall Grants
More grant money is available to schools during the fall semester than at any other time of the year. It doesn't matter if you are an experienced grant writer or an educator who has never written a grant, fall is the best time to write those grant proposals for your school.