You have identified K'NEX as the instructional material that will provide new and exciting opportunities for your students. What now? How do you prepare a grant proposal that will encourage a business, corporation, or foundation to provide you with the funds to bring K'NEX to your students? The following information will be helpful as you prepare and organize your needs and ideas to share with a possible funding source.
Have a plan
All to often, people try to write a grant proposal to fit within the constraints of the grant guidelines. You will find more success if you have a comprehensive plan in place, and then search for grants to fund the project.
Get Permission
It always wise to obtain permission from your principal, superintendent or school board before applying for any grants. Other than being a good source of support and information, often their permission is required by the organizations funding the grants to assure that the program you are looking to fund will be put into place when and if the funds are received.
Read all proposal directions carefully.
Many great ideas are never funded because the directions for proposal submission were not followed to the letter.
Establish a time line for the submission of your grant proposal.
Start with the submission date and work backwards to determine a completion date that will allow time for your work to be proof-read and mailed. Select dates for the completion of each portion of the grant proposal.
Enlist help as you write the grant.
An English teacher can help with grammar, split infinitives, and parallel structure. Your business manager, accounting teacher, or principal may be willing to help you set up and present a budget. Make sure they are all aware of the time-line and able to provide the assistance you need when needed.
Investigate whether neighboring districts were awarded a grant from the source to which you will be making a proposal.
These districts may be willing to help with your proposal by providing helpful hints that won them the grants.
Call the agency or foundation that is offering funding to determine if there is a grant contact person whom you can call for assistance.
Such individuals are knowledgeable about the specific grant and the details of proposal directions, as well as the decision making process and when funds are made available. Develop a relationship with this person, as they can be a valuable resource.
Contact the regional educational agency that serves your school district.
Such agencies are the recipients of a great deal of funding and their staffs have experience writing grants. They may be able to assist you with your grant proposal.
Refer to the NCTM Standards, Project 2061, the National Science Education Standards and the Standards for Technological Literacy, as well as the NAEYC Developmentally Appropriate Practices, as they apply, when preparing your proposal.
A proposal that correlates with the standards or benchmarks outlined by these organizations will have greater impact, and demonstrate a commitment to meeting critical benchmarks in science, math, technology and early childhood education.
Unfortunately, not all grant proposals are funded, and if yours is rejected, don't give up! Contact the organization and ask for feedback. Resubmit the same proposal to other funding sources, incorporating this feedback. It is unrealistic to think that you will receive the funding for all the grants you apply for, but as you fine tune your proposals and gain insight into what the funding organizations are looking for, you will become more successful and others will be coming to you for advice and guidance.
Funding Sources
There are a variety of sources that may be able to provide you with the monies you need to integrate K'NEX education sets into your curriculum.
The school budget
District or school grants
The Home and School Association (PTA)
Fund Raising
Local businesses
Foundation or corporation grants
Government grants
Check out the links below for other grant opportunities, but this is by no means a complete listing of all possible grants. Do your own research. Check online, in educational publications as well as your own district for additional sources.
