GETTING FUNDED: The Complete Guide To Writing Grant Proposals
Full citation: Howlett, Susan and Renee Bourque. 2011.
GETTING FUNDED: The Complete Guide To Writing Grant Proposals. Seattle: Word & Raby.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Contributed by Michael Wells
The new Fifth Edition of Getting Funded is out and is still the best “how to” book in the grantwriting field. The book’s changes reflect the many changes in the grant funding world as grantmakers and grantees become more sophisticated, funding gets more competitive and application processes get more complex. For example, it breaks the need statement into five components: The problem, its causes, its costs, strategies to address the problem and barriers to addressing it. This kind of strategic thinking helps the grant writer think more deeply about how to build a case for funding. Likewise, the budget is broken into four steps: Project cost, potential revenue, organizing the budget and translating it to the funder’s format. It also addresses one of my pet priorities “The budget and budget narrative… need to tell the story of the project so clearly that the reviewers will understand the project even if they do not read the rest of the proposal. The budget line items…need to relate to and support the project’s goals, objectives, and activities.” Every chapter introduces this kind of depth to the planning and proposal development process.
I’ve used Getting Funded as the primary text for teaching graduate students for three editions now. The Third Edition (the First and Second Editions were before I got started) by original author Mary Hall came out in 1988 and reflected her academic background and was “about” grantwriting, which wasn’t generally seen as a separate field from (or within) fundraising. The Fourth Edition in 2003 introduced co-author Susan Howlett and became more of a tactical approach to grants and the most complete “how to” guide in the field. The Fifth Edition with Howlett and Renee Bourque covers both of the above, but is more strategic and goes deeper into the thinking needed for successful grantwriting today.
The completeness of Getting Funded is one of the main reasons I use it as a text. If I forget or rush through some important part of the grantwriting process, I know that the book covers it well. I recommend it to grant professionals for the same reason. Grantwriting is both a formula and an art. Part of learning the art is studying different models, and reading Getting Funded is like a separate class by itself for master professionals.
Highly recommended. I’ll be using it next term and will read it carefully for my own consulting.
Where to order this book online: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0876780710/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=cvfundraising-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0876780710
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