Writing Winning Grant Proposals: Nuts, Bolts & Assembly

Dr. Frank Burtnett

August 4-5, 2008

University of Maine - Hutchinson Center, Belfast, Maine

Many nonprofit organizations, faith-based organizations and public institutions (e.g., schools, libraries and hospitals) find themselves eligible for foundation, government or private sector grants, but inexperienced in the process of constructing projects, writing proposals and winning these awards. This workshop offers a “hands on” approach to future project development and will take participants step-by-step through the grant proposal generation process.

Participants will learn about tapping sources of financial support in the various grant-making sectors, as well as the detailed elements of an effective grant proposal. Each participant will spend a significant portion of his or her workshop time engaged in the construction of an actual proposal---one her or she might eventually submit to a funding agent for support. In addition to the classroom component, participants will receive individual and personalized one-on-one attention during the grant-writing phase of the program.

Who Should Attend?

Individuals who are engaged in public and community service programs that are eligible for foundation, corporate giving and government agency support are encouraged to participate. Past workshop participants have come from community health centers, libraries, museums, teen centers, membership
organizations, schools, churches and other organizations.

Dates, Times and Facility

Scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, August 4-5, 2008, each daily session will run from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm. The workshop will take place at the University of Maine - Hutchinson Center, a modern, state-of-the-art training facility in Belfast, Maine. Participants will utilize the information technology capabilities of the center in drafting their grant proposals. Space is limited due to the number of computer work stations and participants will be accepted on a first-registered-first served basis.

About the Trainer/Facilitator

Dr. Frank Burtnett, veteran educator and nonprofit organization executive, will once again teach the grant writing workshop at the Hutchinson Center. He has more than twenty-five years of direct service in various nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and community agencies, including seven years as Executive Director of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), an 8,000 member professional organization.

Frank is President of Education Now, an independent consulting firm headquartered in Northern Virginia, but he is very familiar with the state of Maine, having maintained a summer residence in Rockport and the midcoast area since the mid 1980s. He also serves on the graduate school faculty of the School of Education and Human Services at Marymount University (VA).

Frank has taught multiple subjects in the University of Maine – Hutchinson Center nonprofit certificate program since its inception in 2003 and assisted in the direction of that program. He is the author of numerous successful grant proposals and has assisted dozens of organizations learn how grant-making is done and how to prepare grant proposals. He has also been a proposal reviewer and evaluator for agencies, organizations and related grant makers.

Comments of Previous Workshop Participants               

“For someone new to the non-profit community, the class was very valuable. I appreciated the mixture of lecture and writing time.”

Frank’s personality made the experience a good one---mix of teaching, anecdotes, humor and his varied experiences in non-profit/grant making world added immeasurably to the experience.”

“This workshop was very helpful. It answered questions and created new ones. I guess that’s what learning is all about.”

“Thank you so much. I’ve taken grant writing workshops before…but I got the most by far from this one.”