Dates
Four Weekly Sessions via Zoom
Tuesdays & Thursdays - November 7, 9, 14, and 16
9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (PT)
Event Description
Title
Government Grants: 4-Part Virtual Readiness Series
Facilitator
Hannah Cortez, Senior Grant Specialist and Outreach & Education Director, The Dotted i
Join us for this 4-part grant writing series that will increase your understanding of government grants and help you prepare to secure funding! In this series, we will offer hands-on learning activities, peer networking, and expert knowledge on preparing to seek local, state, and federal grant funding. In addition to in-class instruction, participants will have weekly homework to deepen their learning and have direct access to course trainers for feedback and support. Through this training, we hope to demystify the government grant process and give participants a better understanding of how this type of funding can be leveraged.
NAO Grant Opportunity
By successful completion of the grant readiness series, your organization may be eligible for NAO's Government Grant Writing Technical Assistance Program. With an emphasis on rural and/or BIPOC-serving organizations, this program aids nonprofits in securing federal, state, and local government grant funding. Participants in the program receive funding to hire an experienced grant writer who assists in researching, writing, and submitting a government grant proposal.
Organizations that meet the grant criteria below, have completed the series, and meet the post-series grant readiness assessment will be invited to apply for the grant opportunity of up to $10,000 for the grant writing services.
- Small to mid-sized 501(c)(3) or fiscally sponsored nonprofit in Oregon (aimed at organizations with budgets between $50,000 to $500,000)
- A focus on serving rural communities and/or Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities throughout Oregon
- Demonstrate a need for support and face barriers in preparing government grant applications
- At least one board or staff member recently completed an NAO grant writing training series
NAO is committed to creating inclusive learning environments and providing reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Automatic closed captioning via Zoom is turned on by default for all NAO virtual sessions. For other accommodation requests, please contact us at [email protected]. Advanced notice of at least 10 days is appreciated.
Outline
Session 1: Tuesday, November 7
Grant Readiness
In this session, we’ll discuss what it takes to be considered “ready” to seek government funding. We’ll go over a list of commonly requested documents, how to navigate grants.gov, and discuss how to assess your organizational and program readiness. During class time, we'll develop a Logic Model for one of your organization's top-priority projects or programs.
Objectives:
- Organizational Readiness: Do you have the capacity to meet the demands of most government grant requirements (reporting, tracking, financial management, evaluation, implementation)?
- Program Readiness: Does your program have the scope/scale for government funding? How do you assess this and prepare?
- How it Works: Learn about commonly requested documents and how to prepare to submit grants through grants.gov (i.e. personal and organization registration, workspace, JustGrants, SAM#, UEI, etc.)
Session 2: Thursday, November 9
Grant Research
Most people feel lost when it comes to researching grant opportunities on grants.gov because they “don’t know where to start” and the interface can feel clunky. We'll help you understand how to search on grants.gov by discussing the importance of keywords, highlighting the best practices on using the database, and identifying and walking through a NOFA ("Notice of Funding Availability") and how to read and understand it.
Objectives:
- How to prospect grants that are a good fit
- How to read a NOFA and know both whether this is a good fit (do you meet the requirements?) but also what is it asking of you (what are the limitations and compliance concerns to watch out for?)
- Use a Research List document to organize your grant opportunities
- Gain confidence in your ability to find government grant opportunities that are the right fit for your organization
Session 3: Tuesday, November 14
Grant Writing
This is where we like to dig in and help prepare our participants for successful proposal writing! In this session, we will walk through how to build a narrative outline using the NOFA and teach writing and editing techniques that can help you cut down on your character count and write a concise narrative.
Objectives:
- Understand how to create a concise and compelling grant proposal
- Learn what funders *really* want to know in your answers
- How to take a NOFA and build your narrative outline around it
- Gain confidence in your writing and editing skills for government grant writing
Session 4: Thursday, November 16
Grant Management/Building Relationships
In this session, we will wrap up our series by discussing how to adequately track outcomes for government grants and understanding best practices for compliance.
Objectives:
- Understand how to track outcomes and show your program was successful
- Dive into what you need to know about compliance and the "after the award" work BEFORE you ever apply for funding.
- Learn how to approach and work with local, state, and federal grant program officers
About the Facilitator
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Hannah Cortez, Senior Grant Specialist and Outreach & Education Director, The Dotted i Hannah Cortez has a background in human development, education, and community health which gives her a well-rounded approach to grant-seeking for nonprofits and building relationships with funders. She joined The Dotted i team in 2017 and supports nonprofits through thoughtful project development and successful grant writing. As the daughter of a journalist, her investigative spirit lends itself to thorough research and identifying the details that will really sell your organization’s story! Her passion shines when she’s educating others which is why you’ll often find her presenting at nonprofit conferences or leading trainings. |
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Thank You Sponsors
This workshop series is made possible with support from The Ford Family Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, and The Roundhouse Foundation.
Cost
$125 for NAO Members
$200 for Nonmembers
The NAO member discount will be applied after you select "Register Now" below. You must be logged in to your member account to receive the discount.
A link to access this workshop series will be provided in the registration confirmation e-mail and e-mail reminder prior to the event date.
If you have questions or trouble registering contact [email protected].
Location
Online
| Price | $200.00 |