Readers' Survey 2007: Best Site for Grant Information

by Edutopia Staff

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No, really? You're too kind! We do make an effort to stay tuned in to the most promising grant resources out there, and we offer them through both our site's grant information page and our weekly e-newsletters. Many other sites also turned up in the mix, however, starting with TechLearning, Grant Wrangler, and the National Education Association's Web site. Another frequent response? Our dear, oh-so-reliable friend Google.

Our Take

Confessions of a Grantee (It's Not So Bad Out There)

"Nine times out of ten, if you get it done, you'll get the money," says Shannon Bowen, development coordinator at the Berkeley, California, nonprofit organization Kids for the Bay. "So much of grant writing is keeping your ear to the ground -- and then turning the grant in on time." Bowen, former teen coordinator at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Napa Valley, won $18,000 from the Community Foundation of the Napa Valley based on five grant proposals for educational after-school programs (such as dance and cooking classes) she helped local teens put together. They won, in large part, she says, "because we did the work!"

Other tips? "Be specific. The more specific you are, the better your chances," particularly if you pay attention to the precise information the grant giver is seeking. Finally, she adds, "if you're working with older kids, have them do it. It's a learning experience for them."

2007 Readers' Survey Index

This article was also published in the April 2007 issue of Edutopia magazine .