Key Topics

 
 

Key Topics 

This page aims to provide information on key grant writing topics that may be of interest to grant writers working in 亚色影库. Resources include: 

  • Sample Proposals
  • Data Tools
  • Resources for 亚色影库 Native Grant Seekers
  • Suggestions for Incorporating Equity and Inclusion into Proposals 
  • Disaster Resilience Resources
  • Challenges Facing Grant Writers in 亚色影库  

If you'd like to provide feedback on any of these resources or share additional information that should be included on this page, please contact site administrator Andrew Harnish at ajharnish@alaska.edu.

Sample Proposals

One of the great challenges in grant writing is finding successful examples of the type of proposal you're trying to compose. The websites in this list provide sample proposals. 

-- a list of sample nonprofit grant writing documents, including full proposals, budgets, cover letters, and letters of inquiry (LOIs). 

page -- a list of award winning grant proposals. The most recent proposals are open access. 

-- a searchable repository of submitted grant proposals, including federal, state, nonprofit, and international proposals. 

page -- a list of links to sample federal research proposals.

Data Tools

Most government and foundation funders ask grant seekers to document the problem or need a given project aims to address.  Some federal awards are only available to those from federally designated disadvantaged communities. The sites below provide data that can help grant seekers provide evidence about their communities, Tribes, and municipalities. 

Please note that due to a shift in priorties under the Trump administration, some federal data resources are no longer available. These include the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, the Department of Energy Energy Justice tool, and the Department of Transportation Equitable Transportation Community tool. 

  •  
    • This tool allows users to select an 亚色影库n borough or census area and evaluate it according to a number of criteria, including census track number, census rural designation, population, ,, and .
    • "The new platform to access data and digital content from the U.S. Census Bureau. The vision for data dissemination through data.census.gov is to improve the customer experience by making data available from one centralized place so that data users spend less time searching for data content and more time using it.  For guidance on using data.census.gov, please see our ."
    • The site aims to "'unlock' [Division of Community and Regional Affairs] data and provide an engaging open data portal where citizens can explore authoritative content and create new geospatial solutions and insights."

Resources for 亚色影库 Native Grant Seekers

The process of colonization in 亚色影库 was violent and devastated 亚色影库 Native communities and people. As Evon Peter explains, 鈥渢he goal of the colonizer was to claim ownership of the land and exploit the resources and Indigenous peoples wherever they went. In 亚色影库, the resource the colonizers were initially after was fur, later it would become wood, salmon, gold, and oil. The goal would not change but the method to exploit would adapt to be appropriate with the times.鈥 Through the colonial depredations of Russian, French, and American settlers, 亚色影库 Native communities were enslaved, displaced, and subject to coercive forms of assimilation. This violence imposed lasting harms, which resound to the present day.

Yet 亚色影库 Native communities are resilient. 亚色影库 is the only place in the United States where the reservation system was not widely imposed. Instead, the, an agreement between the 亚色影库 Federation of Natives and the U.S. Congress, 鈥渄ivided the state into twelve distinct regions and mandated the creation of twelve private, for-profit 亚色影库 Native regional corporations and over 200 private, for-profit 亚色影库 Native village corporations,鈥 with their proceeds benefiting 鈥渆nrolled 亚色影库 Native shareholders.鈥 Because of the colonial harms endured by 亚色影库 Native communities, and Indigenous communities across the U.S., 亚色影库 Natives have access to a number of federal opportunities.

One important resource is the Bureau of Indian Affairs鈥 . Per NOAA, the Clearinghouse 鈥渋s a website that provides a searchable database of all federal funding opportunities, including grants and loans, available to Tribal Nations and Native businesses.鈥 It is the result of 鈥渁 multi-agency strategy to improve awareness of, access to, and utilization of federal funding resources for Tribal governments, Tribal enterprises, Native entrepreneurs, and Native Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).鈥 available to 亚色影库 Native individuals and communities. The 鈥溠巧翱 Tribal Funder鈥 section of the AK Grant Writing Network, available under Explore Funders, provides links to many of the tribal funders within the state. These funders often focus their awards on the needs of tribal members.

  • "Communities in rural 亚色影库 are faced with many unique and complex environmental issues. ANTHC鈥檚 Tribal Capacity and Training program provides technical assistance and training to Tribal governments to build capacity and enhance local environmental program management."

  • "The Tribal Leaders Directory provides contact information for each federally recognized Tribe. The electronic, map-based, interactive directory also provides information about each BIA region and agency that provides services to a specific Tribe. Additionally, the directory provides contact information for Indian Affairs leadership."

  • "The Indian Environmental General Assistance Program Act was passed by Congress in 1992. This act authorizes the EPA to provide General Assistance Program (GAP) grants to federally recognized tribes and intertribal consortia for the planning, development, and establishment of environmental protection programs, as well as the development and implementation of solid and hazardous waste programs on Tribal lands." 
  • Here is information on IGAP programs from several Tribes across 亚色影库:

 

Suggestions for Incorporating Inclusion and Equity into Proposals 

Traditionally, grant seekers have been taught to identify objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound (). Increasingly, applicants need to incorporate inclusion and equity into their proposals. This is true of applications for federal funds and of applications to many, but not all, foundations 鈥 and, indeed, some foundations are explicitly opposed to these criteria. Here are some resources to help you address inclusion and equity in your proposals.

An essential "rhetorical move" where inclusion and equity are concerned is to explain which disadvantaged or historically marginalized communities will benefit from your project, and how they will benefit, in detail. The Data Tools section on this page includes a number of resources that help users document the needs of a given community. When an area falls within one or more of these equity categories, it gives you evidence to cite in your narrative (e.g., "this area is designated as an area of persistent poverty per the U.S. Census Bureau") and can allow a project to qualify for special funding status or set asides.

Foundation funders are often quite focused on inclusion and equity. notes that 80% percent of foundations are focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, up from 50% in 2019. This article from FLUXX, a prominent grants management software, entitled , outlines strategies grantmakers should employ when evaluating proposals. Their suggestions offer a helpful overview for applicants. provides additional information on how funders should promote inclusion and equity: suggestions include: re-defining risk, emphasizing trust, and reflecting the communities they serve in their staff. Despite these efforts, many worthy nonprofits struggle to obtain funding, in part because they lack funding for the dedicated staff to help them pursue grant awards 鈥 a perennial 鈥渃hicken/egg鈥 problem in this space. 

 

Disaster Resilience Resources

亚色影库 is vulnerable to a number of natural disasters, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the many effects of climate change, which include melting permafrost, loss of sea ice, and coastal flooding. 

Here is a list of resources to assist 亚色影库 communities respond to disasters: 

Writing Resources:

  • FEMA Fact Sheet:

亚色影库-Specific Grant Opportunities

  • 亚色影库 Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
  • Municipality of Anchorage Office of Emergency Management
    • This list is dated, but many of these opportunities have been renewed.

Federal Disaster Grant Opportunities:

  • Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)
  • Department of Education (ED)
    • The Disaster Recovery Unit includes several opportunities for responding to disasters affecting schools. 
  • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
    • and
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA)
  • US Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
  • US Small Business Administration (SBA)
    • SBA provides low-interest disaster loans to help businesses and homeowners recover from declared disasters.

Challenges Facing Grant Writers in 亚色影库

  • Reporting and Compliance. Despite federal and state efforts to improve accessibility and reduce application burdens for small organizations and communities, many federal awards include demanding reporting and compliance requirements. Sometimes, these requirements are so onerous that small organizations decide not to apply for awards because they lack the capacity to properly administer the award. True, indirect costs can cover some administrative expenses, but at small organizations, administrators are often already overworked and it is not feasible to claim, say, fifteen percent of their time for a new project.
    • How can small organizations and communities address reporting and compliance challenges in a cost effective way?
  • When planning a project that seeks federal funding, can be difficult to comply with. Many small 亚色影库 communities lack multiple contractors, making it difficult to obtain multiple bids for proposed work. 
    • How can small 亚色影库 communities work together to address this challenge? Are there exceptions to these rules for small communities?
  • The most successful applicants for federal funding are often large, integrated grant writing / project management shops. These consultancies include grant writers, engineers, and data scientists who are skilled at all phases of the proposal development process. Many small organizations and communities lack the resources to pay for such services.
    • How can small organizations and communities, working together or separately, build the capacity needed to obtain federal awards? Or, how can they obtain the resources needed to contract effective grant writing professionals? 

If you have ideas for how to address these problems, share them on the Feel free to post additional challenges or questions there.

Bibliography

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Griffith,  J.D., Hart, C.L., & Goodling, M.M. (2006). International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 18(3), 222-229. 

Lawrence, H.L., Lussos, R.G., & Clark J.A. (2019) . Journal of Technical Writing And Communication, 49(1), 33鈥50.

Roundtree, A.K. (2017) . Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication, 1鈥7

Stuckey, Z, & Grant, C. (2022). . Open  Words,  14(1), 7鈥31. 

Walsh, B. A., Bonner, D., Springer, V., Lalasz, C. B., Ives, B. (2013). College Teaching, 61(2). 74鈥81.