IN THE TRENCHES

Resources to Help Create Better Grant Proposals

The easiest thing about grant-proposal writing is finding a place to learn how to do it. A wealth of

ALSO SEE: Grant Makers Reveal the Most Common Reasons Grant Proposals Get Rejected

information is available, from books, videos, workshops, and the Internet.

The Foundation Center, with offices in New York and Washington, offers workshops on grant seeking in cities around the country for $195 as well as a free short course online and other free classes at its offices. It also publishes The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing, by Jane C. Geever (2001, $34.95). A Spanish-language version of the book is due out at the end of this month. More information about the Foundation Center's workshops, books, and other resources is available on its Web site or by calling (212) 620-4230.

The Grantsmanship Center, in Los Angeles, offers five-day workshops at locations around the country. The workshop fee of $775 includes training and a year's membership in the organization. Members are entitled to use the group's searchable databases about foundations, corporate grant makers, and state- and federal-government grants. The center publishes and sells a booklet called "Program Planning and Proposal Writing" for $4 plus shipping and handling. More information is available at its Web site or by calling (213) 482-9860 in California or (800) 421-9512 outside of the state.

Compass Point Nonprofit Services, with offices in San Francisco and San Jose, Calif., holds two-day workshops in both cities on grant seeking as well as offers an online workshop called "Budgeting for Programs and Proposals." The nonprofit-management consultant charges on a sliding scale for its workshops. For more information, call training director Marla Cornelius at (415) 541-9000.

Other workshops can be found through nonprofit management-consulting organizations, regional umbrella groups of charities, adult-education classes, and at some local United Ways and universities. Workshops can also be located through The Chronicle's Datebook.

Useful books on the subject include:

Demystifying Grant Seeking: What You Really Need to Do to Get Grants, by Larissa Gold Brown and Martin John Brown (John Wiley & Sons, 2001, $26.95), offers step-by-step instructions, a sample grant proposal, and forms used to track and follow up on proposals.

Grant Writing for Dummies, by Beverly A. Browning (Hungry Minds, 2001, $21.99), explains the process from beginning to end, and uses tips, checklists, and examples.

Storytelling for Grantseekers: The Guide to Creative Nonprofit Fundraising, by Cheryl A. Clarke (Jossey-Bass, 2001, $26), tells how to use storytelling techniques to write compelling proposals.