Due 12/29/2018  9 p.m ESTBE ON TIME AND ORIGINAL WORK!5 pages not including title and ref page APAWill send your public health initiative to youUSE MUST USE THE PROGRAM I SEND YOUEconomic Analysis F

Grant-Funding Process and Funding Sources

Instructions for Students in economics and financing in public health systems:

Professional grant writers acknowledge the writing of a grant proposal takes time, effort, research, and thoughtful consideration (Rattihalli & Field, 2011; Bordage & Dawson, 2003; Madden & Wiles, 2003; and Thompson, 1997). Although the process seems daunting to the novice grant proposal writer, the information presented here summarizes principles to use when seeking and applying for public health funding sources.

Principles of Grant Proposal Writing

Accessing Funds

Accessing funds can be challenging and time consuming. How do you know which funding source to select, and how do you approach potential funding sources? It takes effort to develop these skills, and the information below may help provide some tips on accessing funds for your community public health initiative.

• Plan ahead and know your specific needs

  • Clearly define resources you need to accomplish your initiative.

  • Identify what resources you already have access to within your community.

  • This is an important step for sustainability and is a crucial part for what funding sources look for.
    

• Clearly understand funding goals and guidelines

  • Research funding sources/resources that align with your project or goal (see page 4).

  • Customize your proposal with the funders’ goals and objectives.

  • Follow all technical guidelines as requested by the specific funding agency.
    

• Have a clear picture of success

  • What are the funding agencies purchasing with their money?

  • How will you deliver your product?

  • How will you measure your progress toward reaching your goals?
    

• Have measurable outcomes

  • Who is the individual/population that will benefit and how?

  • How will your initiative be evaluated?
    

• Plan for sustainability

  • Funding agencies want projects that will continue once the grant period is over.

  • How will you sustain the program?

Direct Costs for Grants

For many grant proposal writers, the budget component can be very intimidating. Understanding basic principles of writing grants (e.g., how costs are presented) may lessen the stress of writing a grant proposal.

Direct costs for your grant proposal are perhaps the most important component in your grant’s budget. They represent the funds you are seeking from the funding source. The costs described below are considered direct costs.

• Personnel:

  • If your program requires that you cover staff costs, you will include that salary under the category “personnel.” If you are hiring new staff, determining the actual salary can be tricky. One place to start is by checking with similar organizations to find out what they are paying program employees. State whether wages are based on annual salary or hourly wage If hourly, show the breakdown of hours and weeks (i.e., $10.00 per hour X 40 hours per week X 52 weeks = $20,800).
    

• Fringe Benefits:

  • Fringe benefits are those taxes and benefits that the employer must pay for an employee. They are primarily based upon gross salary and average about 21 percent to 27 percent. Fringe benefits that are required by law include FICA (Social Security and Medicare), FUTA (Federal Unemployment Taxes/Insurance), SUTA or SUI (State Unemployment Taxes/Insurance), and Worker’s Compensation (on-the-job accident insurance). Other benefits include medical insurance and paid sick leave. When listing fringe benefits in your budget, be sure to note “Standard Government Fringe Benefits Package as Required by Law,” in case a reviewer does not know what fringe benefits include.
    

• Travel:

  • Many times, travel can be included in the proposal’s budget. While travel expenses are a heavily scrutinized item, there are ways to get them approved. Make sure to provide clear formulas and documentation for why travel is necessary. Include the cost for a plane ticket, the cost of a hotel per night, the number of nights you will be staying, and a food allowance.

  • Be sure and use realistic but conservative figures, and avoid using round numbers (i.e., use $1,280 instead of $1,000).
    

• Equipment:

  • Funding sources often scrutinize the purchase of equipment. To help them understand equipment costs, provide them with documentation of the program need for the equipment. Equipment costs should be well defined and include specifications. For example, you might include a high speed copier system to be used to reproduce reports and other documents for committees, staff members, and volunteers. You should explain how the copier will help you in administering the program.
    

• Supplies:

  • Funding sources qualify or define supplies differently. Always check with the funding source before proceeding with this section. It is also important to explain how the supplies will assist in running the program. It is also helpful to break down supplies into categories such as general office supplies, educational and training supplies, and computer supplies.

Writing a Grant Proposal

Whether you are writing a grant proposal for a fellowship or as a project grant, it still requires a number of issues that need to be considered. As Madden and Wiles (2005) assert, “it is important to be aware that preparing a competitive proposal is a time-intensive process which requires considerable resources …. [and] the preparation of the proposal itself will involve considerable research” (page 518). To simplify the grant writing process Rattihalli and Field (2011, page 60) and Bordage and Dawson (2003, page 377) developed key learning points with questions to consider when developing a grant proposal.

Example of a Research Study Timeline:

From “Basics of Research (Part 10): The Grant Application Process,” by C. B. Thompson, October–December 1997, Air Medical Journal, 16, p. 121.

Types of Funding Sources/Resources

According to Rattihalli and Field (2011), there are broadly two types of grant funding available:

1) Fellowships: Designed to support you, the individual, to have the time for your own research program (i.e., dissertation, graduate work, training, professional development, etc.).

2) Project grants: Designed to fund a specific piece of work. If successful, the funds will go to the main applicant with the majority to the institution for which he or she works. The emphasis here is the importance of the topic, the feasibility of the project, costs, and the likelihood of successful delivery by the individuals, or project, involved.

• Federal and State Governments:

  • Federal or state governmental agencies often put out calls for proposals on specific topic areas. They usually have a timeframe during which they will accept proposals and make funding decisions. It is important that you make yourself aware of the timing for different grant opportunities. Where possible, you may want to sign up for e-mail alerts to receive notices about new calls for proposals.

• Foundations:

  • Foundations can be a great source for funding projects, and finding the right foundation for your project is a critical first step in the application process. There are several types of foundations including community, family, and public foundations. Some are small and serve a specific community, while others may give millions of dollars to fund projects all over the country. There are several websites which might aid in your search for a foundation that matches your initiative. Your local Chamber of Commerce, United Way, and county Council of Governments are also great resources when looking for foundations that fund projects in your community.

• Corporations:

  • Many corporations offer grants through a foundation or philanthropic division— take a look at their website to see what types of programs and initiatives they typically fund. Companies tend to invest back into the communities where they are located so investigating what corporations have headquarters or other corporate facilities in or near your community is a good place to start. Check out your local Chamber of Commerce or United Way for a list.

• Service Organizations:

  • Civic and service clubs, like Kiwanis, the Lions Club, the Junior League, and the Rotary, may also have monetary or in-kind resources available. Members of service organizations represent many sectors (e.g., business, education, government, human services, or health) in your community, so engaging with their members can create great synergy with these sectors.

There are a number of good internet resources for staying abreast of upcoming funding opportunities.

• The Grantsmanship Center
  (http://www.tgci.com/funding.shtml)

  • This site provides information about the top grant foundations by state, community foundations by state, corporate giving programs by state, and the state government homepage.
    

• The Foundation Center
  (http://foundationcenter.org)

  • The Foundation Center is a leading source on philanthropy worldwide and is supported by over 550 foundations. They have five regional library/learning centers (New York, Washington DC, Atlanta, Cleveland and San Francisco) and also maintain an online database of the more than 100,000 foundations, corporate donors, and grant public charities. However, searching the directory requires a subscription.
    

• The United Way
  (http://liveunited.org)

  • The United Way is another great resource to assist in your search for funding opportunities. In 2008, the United Way initiated a 10-year plan with goals to improve education, help people achieve financial stability, and promote healthy lives. These goals (http://liveunited.org/pages/mission-and-goals/) align with the socioeconomic factors and health behavior factors that are a significant part of the County Health Rankings model. Your local United Way can help connect you to other agencies and/or initiatives going on in your community to address these issues.
    

• Grants.gov
  (http://grants.gov)

  • This site includes grant opportunities from 26 federal grant agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Agriculture, the Department of Transportation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

  • Search Grant Opportunities Guide (http://www07.grants.gov/section3/SearchingGrantOpportunities.pdf)
    This site provides tips for navigating the various search options. Grants.gov offers grants related to health, food and nutrition, education, environment, community development, among others. You can also sign up to receive e-mail alerts here (http://grants.gov/applicants/email_subscription.jsp).
    

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) (http://samhsa.gov/grants/)

  • SAMHSA also provides grants. They put out announcements for Requests for Application (RFAs) for specific topics and have set timelines, so it is advised that you read the RFA carefully to be sure your project fits into the scope. You can also sign up to receive e-mail updates on the latest news and information from SAMHSA.
    

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)
  (http://www.rwjf.org)

  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which funds the Mobilizing Action Toward Community Health project, awards grants in several program areas including childhood obesity, health care coverage, human capital, public health, quality/equity, and vulnerable populations. RWJF awards most of its grants through calls for proposals. There are two RWJF opportunities that are especially applicable to community health initiatives.
    

  • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships (LFP) (http://www.lifp.org/)
    The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Local Funding Partnerships is a matching grants program that connects the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation with local grant makers to fund new, community-based projects to improve health and health care for vulnerable populations. Local Funding Partnerships offers two matching grants programs: LFP Annual Grant-making is open to nominations from any local funder, and the LFP Special Solicitation is open to projects nominated by diversity focused funders. The Community Grants program is a new initiative of RWJF created in response to the County Health Rankings. The Call for Proposals is available at www.rwjf.org and seeks applications from communities who have existing coalitions in place and are interested in focusing their action around policy change efforts the social and economic factors that influence health.
    

• State Government and Universities

  • Your state government or universities may be another possible source for grants. States may offer competitive grants to work on specific issue areas. Researchers at universities may be willing to work with you to apply for research funds to implement and evaluate your new initiative or you may be able to tap into an existing research project in your area of interest.
    

• Local Libraries

  • Check in your local library reference area for The Grants Register, The Foundation Directory, and The Annual Register of Grant Support. These three directories provide annual information regarding financial statements and who (individuals and agencies) were funded in the prior year.

Summary:

Preparing a grant proposal is not as linear as the steps provided here may imply. However, the process can be exhilarating, exciting, and stimulating. Seeking and securing funding to pursue your own ideas offers new opportunities as well as develop new directions within public health. The more thinking, discussion, and collaboration you put into the initial stages of designing your grant proposal plan, the greater chance you have for successful funding. Remember the following key points for a successful grant proposal (Rattihalli & Field, 2011; Madden & Wiles, 2005; Bordage & Dawson, 2003):

• The research question and how you plan your study are the two most important pieces.

• Get help early on. The process of funding is highly competitive and complex, seek advice throughout all aspects of the grant writing process.

• Statistical consultation may be a wise investment.

• For an experimental study; too few subjects can lead to erroneous conclusions while too many subjects can lead to trivial conclusions or wasting resources.

• Funding agencies look for studies that are important and relevant to their mission, scientifically sound, conducted by capable researchers, reasonable costs AND, when appropriate, are able to be sustained after the funding ends.

• Well written and easy to follow proposals will impress reviewers.

• Grant writing requires time and much iteration. Plan ahead.

References

Bordage, G., & Dawson, B. (2003). Experimental study design and grant writing in eight steps and 28 questions. Medical Education, 37, 376–385.

Madden, S., & Wiles, R. (2003). Developing a successful application for research funding. Physiotherapy, 89(9), 518522. doi: 10.1016/S0031-9406(05)60177-0

Rattihalli, R. R., & Field, D. J. (2011). How to write a good research grant proposal. Paediatrics and Child Health, 22(2), 5760.

Thompson, C. B. (1997, OctoberDecember). Basics of research (Part 10): The grant application process. Air Medical Journal, 16(4), 117124.