An upcoming grant writing course is structured to help students complete a grant, ready to submit by the time the course is done.

Hosted by Muskogee Nonprofit Resource Center, Foundations of Grant Development is a grant recipient so that local people who sign up will pay far less than full cost.

Kristin Hamm, director of membership services, said the course allows plenty of time for each step.

“One of the unique things about the way this course is structured is that it is a four-part series of four hours each,” she said. “Between each is a two-week period where they can do homework, come back and discuss how that went with their peers and the instructor.”

One important aspect will be choosing the best grant in the first place.

“Additionally, there will be information finding an appropriate grant so that you have a greater chance of success from the outset,” Hamm said. “Even for seasoned grant writers, things have changed. Many grant sources are looking for outcome measurement, including private, corporate and federal.”

Hamm said grant writing is valuable to a wide variety of organizations.

“There isn’t anybody it shouldn’t be important to,” she said. “Education, city government and nonprofit organizations, all of those things are potential recipients if somebody out there is pursuing it. They can either acquire grant writing skills or brush up.”

Hamm said grant writing was used to offer the course at less than half price.

“Being a 501(c)(3), we were able to go out and get grant funding to underwrite this cost down to $150 for members and $240 for non-members,” she said. “When this was last offered in Oklahoma City, it cost $700 per person. This course is not an overview; it is very comprehensive and has a very solid foundation.”

The series was developed by Krista Schumacher, a grants professional with a decade of federal, state and foundation grant development experience. She has secured funding for higher education, K-12 programs and nonprofit organizations. Schumacher and the Muskogee Nonprofit staff will guide and support students through the process.

Participants are asked to bring an idea for a project needing funding. All hands-on activities will be focused on developing a grant outline for these projects. The goal of this series is for all participants to identify and complete a grant request appropriate to their funding needs. At completion of the series, all participants should have a finished grant proposal ready for submission.

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