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Summary of responses about grant, proposal writing
Subject:Summary of responses about grant, proposal writing From:Kathleen MacDowell <kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 18 Aug 2005 09:30:10 -0500
Fellow writers,
I recently queried the STC Lone Writers SIG and TECHWR-L asking for
information about the pros and cons of grant-writing workshops. Below,
I've summarized the gist of the comments from colleagues on both
lists. Contributors were Bonnie Granat, Deborah Kluge, Kathleen Lowe,
Mitchell Maltenfort, Dick Margulis, Elisa Sawyer, and Carol Anne Wall;
many thanks to you all for sharing your experience and knowledge. I'm
responsible for any errors in interpretation, etc.
Specific questions I had included: if there are any differences
between writing for non-profit and for-profit organizations; are there
standardized procedures; whether (how much of) the proposal process is
organization specific; and the utility of having a grant-writing
workshop on one's resume.
I. Differences in writing proposals for non-profit vs for-profit
organizations? Organizational specificity to proposals?
**** Yes to both questions. There are some standardized procedures,
but more differences than similarities (estimates varied within and
between sector and industry, ~60-90%).
II. Utility of grant-writing workshop for resume and/or learning to
write proposals?
**** Grant-writing workshops are good if you're interested in working
for non-profits; otherwise look for proposal-writing workshops. Both
can be helpful, but note distinction between grant-writing vs
proposal-writing AND quality/reputation of organization providing the
workshop. There are inexpensive sources of workshops for non- and
for-profit, as listed below.
III. Professional organizations that have information about grants;
some provide workshops, often low cost, in different geographical
areas (e.g., local community colleges)
**** National Council of University Research Administrators: www.ncura.edu
**** SRA International: www.srainternational.org
**** The Foundation Center Library: http://fdncenter.org/
**** The Grantsmanship Center: http://www.tgci.com/
**** Small Business Administration's Small Business Development
Centers (SBDCs): http://www.sba.gov/sbdc/sbdcnear.html
**** Department of Defense Procurement Technical Assistance Centers
(PTACs): http://www.dla.mil/db/procurem.htm
VII. Other sources of information on proposal writing
**** stclwrsig-l archives: Check archives for discussions on proposal
standards, rules, and advice
**** Check with teachers you know; they often write grant proposals
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