Journal 1

I found the different categories of support for grants interesting. I had not realized that there were so many ways that grants could be used for businesses or organizations. I mostly thought that grants were given out basically as loans to expand the business or get them out of debt, but there seem to be so many different uses. I did not know that research was funded through grants, it never crossed my mind that the money for these research projects comes from grants or outside donors, for some reason I thought the college or university just paid for it. Another thing that surprised me is the amount of work and time that goes into grant writing. As the book says there are 12 steps that it goes through but the timeframe for the entirety of a project can take three to six months or even longer in some cases. I guess not really ever thinking about this side of work that goes on and that I am not at all business oriented that I would have never known about any of these things that go on in the business world.

Journal 2

I am looking forward to learning about all of the different ways that grants are used in the business world, for all types of organizations from for profit to nonprofit organizations. I would like to become competent and understand the process that goes into grant writing as it could probably be a useful skill to have if I were to ever need it. Although I am not going into a field that I think I will need, Education and English, I might find out that at some point that it is a useful skill to have and it may benefit me in the future. I think a way that it may help is if I were to ever want to get into lacrosse coaching or something like that. For instance if I wanted to start a club team for kids then it may be useful to get funding for gear, jerseys, coaches, fields and other necessary things. I don’t know if that is a situation where grants can be used but if they could then that would be amazing. 

Journal 3

During class on monday I was a part of the group that was interested in animal shelters and also land and water conservation for the health of animals. I liked the group that I was in and would definitely have it as one of my top choices. I love animals and think that the way that some are treated by families as well as more strays are treated is awful and that there should be some sort of change to try and help these animals have better lives, as we are the ones that kinda changed their evolutionary lines for our own needs. Another area that I would like to explore is more towards helping children get more into reading, whether that is through some sort of after school programs, or something through a public library. I believe that kids need to get more excited about reading all of the fantastic stories that are available to them and need to step away from the screens of social media as their main forms of entertainment. I think being able to run a program that could help kids become more interested in reading and enjoy it would be beneficial to their own growth as students and people. I think another place I would enjoy being a part of is something oriented towards improving the living situations of homeless people of all ages as well as something around getting enough food for these people. Whether it be through homeless shelter or some other sort of avenue this is something I think that I would be interested in. If I had to list my choices from what I most want to least, it would be the reading program, animal shelter and then homeless shelter. I am open to pretty much anything however and wouldn’t be opposed to much.

Journal 4

I found this video helpful due to the fact that it broke down the grant seeking process pretty simply and made it much easier to understand. I was still a little confused so having this as a clear up to what I was struggling with was extremely helpful. Some of the more interesting parts of the video was the reiteration of how most grants are gifted from individuals more so than other companies or foundations. The proportions of how much more individuals give than foundations is pretty crazy to think about, and is weird in a way because of all the grants I looked at on the Maine grant website I didn’t see any that were through individuals unless they don’t list that due to privacy reasons.  I also found the introduction to the Foundation Directory Online incredibly helpful and something that I will probably try to use in the grant seeking process that we will go through. The ability to find the exact match to what your group is looking for is so amazing and having it filter through for you and not having to go through countless pages to find which group will fit your group’s mission. One thing that I found a little strange but probably necessary was the suggestion of having a base proposal ready before contacting the grant seekers to see if you are eligible. I may have been a little confused but it seems like if you wrote a proposal and were denied then it would’ve been all for nothing in a way.

Journal 5

I found the 2nd chapter of the workbook interesting and that it had a lot of useful information. What I really took away from this section is that you should always be prepared for any type of meeting and interaction with grant seekers. It’s best to know as much as possible about the organization and also be quick and to the point because these people talk to so many others that they may not have enough time to talk to just you for more than a couple minutes. I also found the letter of interest interesting because it’s like a precursor to your proposal and allows the grantseekers to know enough about your organization in a quick read and still be able to have a conversation about your needs and what you will do with the money.

Journal 6

When the group chose the nonprofit that we wanted to be part of it was a whole decision. There weren’t really any arguments about what groups, Kim brought the Island Readers and Writers in Mount Desert Maine as a suggestion and it seemed to align very well with what we were interested in. We all agreed that we would take this nonprofit as our host and see where we could go from there. Island Readers and Writers goals are to inspire a passion for reading and writing to Maine’s children living in the coastal islands, which is exactly what our group was aiming towards. Helping children find a passion for reading in the modern age of technology was the goal of our group and the Island Readers and Writers group matched perfectly with what we wanted. I think Island Readers and Writers is the right organization for our group due to the nature of the organization’s goals and missions. Their aim is to provide educational resources to children in rural areas of Maine, particularly the island communities, and give them the opportunity to find a passion in reading and writing.

Journal 7

In the Step 3 section of the workbook I found the fact that nonprofits can team up together, and collaborate on bigger projects was very interesting. I had not thought about this being a possibility, I thought it would be kinda competitive between similar organizations. However, if a nonprofit truly wants to do good for the community they are serving it would make sense to team up on bigger projects in order to get more money, more volunteers, and an overall better service out to the community. I also found a problem statement is a lot longer than I thought it would be, I was thinking of it kinda like in a science lab report and how a problem statement is like 3-5 sentences, but in the grant writing it is 1-2 pages. It makes sense after reading the chapter but I wouldn’t have realized that, I didn’t think about the specificity that goes into it as well as the research into how it would affect the community and why the funders should want to fund your group.

Journal 8

I have been in groups before that I have had problems with other members of the group due to their lack of work and having to pick up the slack. There were times where they would do just enough or barely anything to get an okay grade, and I wanted to do better so I did more than I was supposed to do. I am very non-confrontational so I never blatantly said what the issue was, I would just do the work that I needed to do and more to make up for the lack of work that my other group members didn’t do. 

In a different scenario I would want to be able to say something instead of just putting my head down and doing the work. It should be split evenly and the group should work together to make the best project possible. I think to better negotiate conflict I would speak up instead of keeping quiet, no one likes to do all the work alone so why should someone do more work than they need to. I hope I don’t need to be in a confrontational setting but if I do I will speak up for myself and make sure everything is evenly split between the group.

Journal 9 

The hardest obstacle that Team 451 might be facing will be deciding how big of an outreach we are looking for. If we decide to go with the bookdrive we have to decide where we want to place the bins, how long, how often, and how far from the rural areas we operate in. Having to drive across Maine for many hours, a multitude of times can lead to expensive gas prices. Also not being in close proximity to our donation bins can potentially lead to violation and defamation of the bins, which could potentially decrease donations and if they are not checked regularly then it could be worse. All of these concerns can be fixed fairly easily with further communication and an improved scope of focus on which our group wants to accomplish.

Journal 10 

In the Step 4 section of the writing grants workbook I found all of the nitty gritty details very interesting. The distinct difference between goals and objectives was useful, I, like the book commented on, thought that they were basically the same thing and there was little difference between the two things. This section really took on all of the little details that could go over someone’s head and made it more understandable and less confusing for someone who hasn’t done this sort of thing before. The differences between commonly used words like activities, objectives, outcomes, goals, outputs, and measure of success, as well as the differences between public and private funders and how to approach what both might want in a proposal. It didn’t go into too much detail about the funders and what they exactly want but the hint of it was useful to understand.

Journal 11

The projects that Team 451, in collaboration with Island Readers and Writers, wishes to implement are the following: a book blind date, creative writing workshops, and in school reading hours. Each of the above programs would need a cumulative fund of $81,600 to be implemented at three high schools in Washington County. The programs are all in hopes that students will find a new love for reading and writing, that will in turn create better learners and a better Maine. Each of these projects are fun events that will inspire reading and writing in students. High school students tend to age out of programs that are usually offered to elementary and middle school students. Creating a program oriented towards older students would reintegrate them back into a passion of reading and writing. These programs would hopefully increase the literacy rates, graduation rates, and overall a more well-rounded community in Washington County. With hopes of eventually helping Maine reach a high school graduation rate of over 90%, the economic upside has tremendous potential. With millions of dollars possibly being generated due to a more knowledgeable community. When more students seek out higher education, more jobs are brought back into the state, more money comes in, which in turn helps to fund educational programs and other necessities in Maine. Although this is a farther off goal, the potential is still there for great things to happen to the state of Maine as a whole. Many other non-profit groups have similar missions, so in conjunction with these groups it is not a far off reality as to what the potential of Maine’s students can reach.

Journal 12

In Step 6 of the Nonprofit Workbook I found a lot of useful information and things that I had not realized were a part of the process. I didn’t know that the evaluation process was directly part of the application process and just thought it was something that the group did on their own. It makes sense that a funder would want this sort of information to let them know that the money that they are giving out is going to good use. I was also surprised by the amount of money that can go into the evaluation process, 5-10% can be a large portion of the budget that a nonprofit has to set aside for evaluation. A nonprofit with a fund of $250,000 could have to spend $25,000 on an evaluation of their projects, which seems wild to me especially when they want to put this money into some effort to help the communities. Another thing that piqued my curiosity was that there are such things as outside evaluators, it makes sense that there would be people who do this. I do wonder though if it is a job that people have or it is something that anyone can do. The evaluation process for a nonprofit makes complete sense but it was not something I have thought of or probably would have ever thought of.

Journal 13

In Step 5 of the Nonprofit Workbook I found an interesting and useful piece of information that revolves around the application process for nonprofits. I found that having everything listed out, from the detailed descriptions of the activities to the way it will be played out and why they were chosen. I feel like I haven’t thought too much about this so it was interesting to see it all laid out and that it is actually a part of the application process. This section overall seems to be a more detailed section of the project overview. I also found the methods of implementing the program and how it will go through the process and what materials are necessary for it to work well. Everything should be laid out well enough for yourself but also the funder so that they can know what they are getting into and where their money is going. I also found that the goals and objectives being at the end of the strategies was useful to staying on topic and having you stay oriented to the overall end goal. This whole section was very helpful but I have questions on where it would fit within the application process. Would this be its own distinct section or would it go into its own independent section?

Journal 14

In the workbook sample evaluation component it has a much more detailed account of what needs to be in this section. The examples used in the workbook on pages 62-63 have very specific numbers, including the number of people involved in the program and organization as well as the timeline of it all and how these two aspects intertwine with each other.The specificity of it allows for the funders to know the direct goal and amount of people that this will end up affecting in the long run, which is something that the funder can also hold the organization accountable for. I also really like how the workbook includes the benchmarks that the organization lays out for the funder and is definitely something that is useful to have, especially for the funder. The funder needs to know everything about your organization and the programs that you are running so it only seems right to have it similar to how the workbook lays it out. In the online sample evaluation section for a proposal it focus more on how the organization can provide critical feedback for themselves in order to make the organization and its programs better overall. The online sample says that this will allow the funder to see that you are doing what they want to see and that you can cater to the funder’s wants and needs. In my own opinion I think that both sides of the story are essential for having a complete and well-balanced evaluation of your organization. 

Journal 15

In Step 9 of the Workbook on the Organization Background there were informative parts that have built on what we have done but are still very different from everything we have done before. I think that it is very interesting that when an organization writes their background information that they can change it to fit what a funder might want to see. It seems a little bit like a cop out, to just make yourself align somehow with a funder so that they would like you a little more, or to keep out information that they might not want to see. I know that you can’t just make up some facts about your organization or just lie to the funders but it seems like the workbook is saying that you can leave out some things and add some more information to a degree. A part that I did like and find interesting is that to support your organization you can connect your past programs and projects to show how you have been able to implement programs that align with your own organization and how it might align with the motives of the funders. I was also interested to see that when you write a background you can include your staff, and if you have the chance you can add staff bios and what not. It seemed bizarre to me that a funder would want to know everything about the staff of the organization. The funder might be closely intertwined with the organization but I figured they wouldn’t want to know about every single person in the organization. Just something I didn’t think that foundations would want from their applicants and the organizations they fund.

Journal 16 

The revisions that Team 451 needs to make for the our project so far includes:

– Using the same program names across all parts of the application, and making them sound more interesting

– Updating all descriptions of the programs to match each other

– Rewriting the goals and objectives to better fit what we want to do and making it sound better/smoother

– Having more data to support our claims, using it to show why we matter

– Smoothing out the writing we have to make it more readable and understandable

Journal 17

1. The purpose of the organization’s evaluation process is to see how well a program ran and whether or not it should be put through again. It also shows how the organization can improve what they are doing and if the funder would want to keep funding this organization.
2. The findings will be used to see how well programs run for the organization and how well received the proposals are taken. Any type of feedback is good feedback because it will allow the organization to improve.
3. The organization will be able to get an outsider’s perspective on how they are running their programs, what’s going right, what’s going wrong, what can be done better. Having the outsider looking in allows the organization to learn more about themselves and what they can do next.
4. The organization will be able to see what programs need more or less funding, and what parts of the organization that need more help in completing their goals. Some programs may be better off than others, and allocating the help correctly is something that could be learned.
5. The lives of the people in the community will be served better because the organization will be able to do what’s best for them. Already having their best interest in mind, and then finding how to do this more efficient and better would allow the community to prosper.
6. The funder’s money will be evenly distributed amongst the programs that are run to allow them to be run the most efficiently they can be. Using what we know about the programs before the evaluation we have split funds somewhat evenly. Hopefully after an evaluation the organization will be able to see what programs need more or less money and help running.
7. It is hard to determine as of right now if the budget was accurate but through the research we have done the fund seems to be what we will need. Whether the organization will need more or less in the future for these programs is unknown until it is officially run and evaluated. 

Journal 18 

Team C:

-Attainable goals, laid out openly for the reader to see. I like the specifics with it, like getting there within 10 minutes, and having 100% with pending conditions. Good use of numbers

-I understand wanting to have a 100% response rate and it’s great to have but maybe making it realistic in a way with having a lower number, not much but a little to account for mishaps. Something like 95% response rate could account for unforeseen events.

-Why limit your organization to speaking to 10 fishermen, there must be a lot so why not try to make it a number larger than the whales you hope to rescue so that you can decrease the number of whales you need to save. 

-How will the surveys be sent out to people that do not attend programs, locals versus tourists?

Team D:

-I like the specifics with households and total pamphlets that will be freely given out, maybe add an expected percentage of people that would subscribe and what that pricing would be for the subscription

-I like the idea of coupons over giving out tools, but how will this increase accessibility, is it a 50% off coupon, get one free type. How much of a difference does the coupon make in the money spent?

-What is the incentive for community members to attend the plant expos? How can you gain traction and support from the community to attend this? 

-I really like that you have the input from community partners, volunteers, local businesses, and the community for the surveys. It gets everyone involved into what you do, not just the residents.

-I like how you keep a constant theme of being very involved with the community and making decisions with their input and feedback 

Journal 19 

In Step 8 of the workbook there were many interesting things about budgets that I had not thought of before. The first thing that just made sense was having two separate budgets for General Supporting cost and then the program cost. Up until now we have only been thinking about the program budget and haven’t gotten into the general spending at all, something I haven’t thought about much. I am a bit confused on the in-kind support that is in the tables with the volunteers, I assumed you don’t pay volunteers but it has them having a monthly wage of $500. I tried looking this up but just got more confused on what it meant. A lot of what surprised me was the indirect cost with having a legal team, administration support, and renting. The first two I feel like are more useful for startup organizations, as experienced ones will have the knowledge and members to do that themselves. What really surprised me was how much money is needed to run an organization, and in the case of Allyson Eats how half of the budget accounts for in-kind donations/volunteers which I still don’t fully understand.