Grants - Gilchrist

The readings provided some new grant sources that I was not aware of.  It is always beneficial to learn about new places to get money.  Within the last 10 years there have been significent decreases in the number of organizations that are making grants and the quantity and value of the grants they continue to give.

I have written several successful grants, although never anything over $5,000.  I have written one Major Grant for the WV Humanities which was for $15,000, but was unsuccessful in receiving that funding.  There is a grant that would be beneficial to members of this class that is easy to write and almost always granted.  It is the WV Humanities Travel Assistant Program.  This grant is up to $500 to be used towards travel related expenses for professional development.  The grant requires certain types of professional development, mainly that it must be related to the humanities field.  Therefore, virtually anything related to education will qualify. 

I wanted to talk a little bit about the WV Humanities Grants.  There are several components there that are applicable to the needs of students in this course.  I will be working with my mentor, Dr. Judy P. Byers at the Folklife Center as we develop a Major Grant through Humanities.  You can review the grants available through the Humanities here.  This grant will be used to support my technology initiative through the development of interactive resources for the teaching guide of the Great Room of Culture.  As my practicum I will be developing a virtual resource for one panel of the exhibit.  The funding that would come from this grant would enable us to develop additional educational materials for the remaining nine panels. 

I just completed a grant application this week.  This grant is as non-technology as one can get.  The application is for $1,500 to present a 3 day event on traditional weaving at the Mountain State Art & Craft Fair.  This mini-grant is through the WV Humanities.  Deadline for the grant is April 1, grant has been submitted and now the waiting begins.

When discussing grants with novice writers I always remind them that it is crucial to read and reread the requirements of the grant and the applications.  Grants are very competitive and grant makers are quick to remove applications for infractions of simple rules and requirements.  1) Deadlines!  They are NOT guidelines.  They will not give you the benefit of the doubt.  Be sure you understand if a grant submission date is "in their hands" or "postmarked by."  2)  Details!  Some grants will specify to submit and require a signature for delivery and others specifically say not to.  Various other details come into play.  If in doubt - call the grant maker and ASK. 

An additional resource to look at is the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  This organization is not individual friendly EXCEPT for the Conservation Assessment and Museum Assessment Programs.  These are wonderful vehicles for small historical society, museums, etc.  What is important about IMLS they are easy to work with IF your organization qualifies.  They do have grants for school media centers.  School media centers have technology.  If you are looking at acquiring grants for technology collaborate with your school librarian!  Successful grants are are challenging, increase the possibility of success by utilizing all the resources available to you.