Planning
for Your Grant Application
The
application period for 2003 is March 3, 2003 to April 4, 2003.
You should be well into the planning stage of your grant
request already. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE APPLICATION MONTH TO
BEGIN PLANNING.
Take
a tip from the Boy Scouts and be prepared. Gather all the
information concerning your project. Get a committee
together to discuss the needs that the grant will fund. Never
go it alone. The
more heads you get thinking about the project the better off
the project is.
Get as many people interested and working on the
project as you can.
Keep everyone informed.
Determine
Your Needs
Grants
solve problems.
What is your problem? There is a big
difference between a need and a want. Everyone wants a
million-dollar pumper.
However, very few actually need one. Match your needs
with the appropriate category. Your last ISO rating
is an excellent tool to use to help you determine your
department’s needs. It is also an excellent tool to include in
your application to prove to the reviewers you have a need
instead of a want.
Discuss the
Need Statement and the Population Served. This is where you
explain the problem and how the grant project will solve
it. Agree
on the specific items needed to accomplish the project. Do you need training,
equipment for the trucks, SCBA, boots, and gloves? What exactly are
you going to need?
For example: ISO wants you to have a written library in
addition to a visual training library. Detail these
items. Make sure
you meet the program intent. Asking for more (read
everything you need to solve your problem) will ENHANCE, not
hurt your chances for an
award.
Have A
Budget
Get
prices for everything on your list and put together a
budget. Do not go
overboard. Your
evaluators will have a good understanding of what things cost.
Use your quoted price plus 10%.
Make
sure you know what things are going to cost. The worst thing that
can happen to you is to find out that the item you needed cost
double what you thought.
Don’t think, know! You cannot go back and
ask for more money. | 
.