Project Summary 51 4 Quad-County Fire and Rescue Association The purpose of the Quad-County Fire and Rescue Project is to reduce the incidence of fires and injuries due to fires by increasing community outreach and improving training, recruitment, and purchasing. Community outreach is to be improved through 47 neighborhood fire prevention programs and grade-appropriate junior fire marshal programs in 22 schools. Training, recruitment, and purchasing is to be improved by centralizing the activities of 47 volunteer departments through a consortium of fire and rescue departments. The consortium creates, in effect, a fire and rescue department equivalent in size to a second-tier city such as Denver or Indianapolis. EXAMPLE 4.3 Fire and Rescue Project — Project Summary (100-word limit) 52 Project Summary 4 INNER CITY ALCOHOL AND DRUG PREVENTION COMMISSION The purpose of the Community ATOD Prevention Project is to reduce ATOD abuse among school students, provide enhanced intervention services, and effectively take the ATOD prevention message to the community. Substance abuse by children will be addressed through an educational outreach into the community’s schools. The ATOD Commission and the school district have partnered for a vigorous and ongoing in-school effort. Intervention services will be enhanced with a 24-hour hotline and 24-7 crisis teams. Trained hotline operators and crisis team members will apply experience-proven intervention techniques to solve problems. Performance art will be used to dramatically and effectively publicize the substance abuse prevention message to the community. A troupe of performance artists will perform publicly throughout the community to dramatize the message against substance abuse. EXAMPLE 4.4 Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program — Project Summary (125-word limit) 53 Chapter Problem Statement 5 A problem is something you have hopes of changing. Anything else is a fact of life. C. R. Smith 1 At a Glance What Else Is It Called? • Needs statement • Statement of need • Needs assessment • The problem When Is It Used? Always —your project must be a solution to a problem. The absence of something is not a problem. “We do not have a swimming pool so we need a swimming pool” is not a problem statement. Why Is It Used? Your connection to the funder is that you both want to solve the same problem. If you do not match the funder’s desire to solve a specific prob- lem, you do not have a chance for funding. The problem is the foun- dation on which your project is built. If your project does not clearly provide a potential solution to the problem in which both you and the funder are interested, then funding is not likely. 1 Publishers Weekly, September 8, 1969. Key Concepts • A problem is the reason for a project. • Well thought-out and backed by statistics. • Logical and specific. • Provide comparative data. • Short pithy sentences—do not ramble. Formatting Issues Use normal margins, clear headings and subheadings and 12-point type to divide and highlight statistical data. Use tables, charts, or graphs to display large amounts of numerical data. Many numbers contained in text can be difficult to understand, resulting in the reader missing key relationships. Describe the Problem Any project must start with a problem statement. It is the basis for your project. Your connection with the funder is that you both want to solve the same problem. The lack of something is not in and of itself a problem. Let’s expand these thoughts. They are very important to the success of your proposal. The Problem Is the Basis for Your Project Why go to the trouble of doing a project at all? The answer is to solve a problem. Even the most esoteric project has a problem at its core. Why establish a museum? It solves the problem of preserving history for future generations. Why implement a senior information center? Because seniors need complex information and there are so many resources that can be confusing. Why paint your house? It prevents deterioration and rot. Why make a ham and cheese sandwich? It solves the problem of a growling stomach. Projects are based on solving a problem. You might not think of the problem right away, but if you think through your life—your projects are all based on solving a problem in one way or another. As grants consultants we get questions every day; we invite them through our Web site and answer them for free. Fully nine-tenths of the questions begin, “we need . . .” When we get a “we need” question, we work with the person to deter- mine what problem they are trying to solve. Do you need a swimming pool 54 Problem Statement 5 Problem Statement for your community? Why? Is it because you want to promote a healthy, exercise-oriented life for your young people? Is it because you want to provide a safe place for youth to gather so they will not get in trouble? Do you want to initiate a water-aerobic exercise program for your numerous senior citizens? What is the reason you want a community swimming pool? Only if you identify a legitimate problem, can you match a funder and acquire a grant. See the next section for expansion of this concept. The Problem Is Your Connection with the Funder Why do people and organizations give away money? Foundations and corporate giving programs have to submit a set of bylaws that clearly and specifically state why they are in business to give away money. This is part of the official papers they send in to receive their nonprofit status. In the case of an individual who establishes a foundation, normally there is a life event or a personal philosophy that drives the problem the individual wants solved and upon which the foundation is based. Sometimes this is a person who has become ill with a disease so the foundation focuses on curing mental illness, researching cancer cures, or taking care of crippled children. Sometimes this is a particular philosophy such as improving the quality of life for people in Africa, improving the quality of education, or influencing world leaders to end nuclear armament. In the case of government programs, an issue that gets the public’s attention is normally a driving force because government programs are highly political. When you read in more than one popular media site that there is a huge teen pregnancy problem, you can bet there will be a funding program to solve that problem. If you read that alcohol consumption is killing college students, then you can bet there will be a funding program to combat that problem. Government programs are designed to solve prob- lems that are certainly real but also that have captured the attention of the public or of a group with a significant or a distinctive presence within a society. Let us reiterate —this is not to say the problems are not real— they certainly are—but they have to gain a certain public profile usually before funding follows. Funders have an agenda—to award funds based on their own inter- ests and on the purposes for which they were established. They will only fund solutions to problems they have identified as being important. Many people confuse fundraising, where one letter requesting money for a good cause is mailed to many organizations or individuals, with grant seeking. Grant makers are not swayed by good causes other than those in which they already have an interest. Some allow unsolicited proposals. Others have set grant projects where they formally solicit proposals for a particular 55 5 effort. Still others do both. It is therefore critical that a potential grant seeker thoroughly research a potential funder to determine exactly what the funder is interested in before deciding to send a proposal. Your problem—the problem for which your project is a potential solution—must match a critical interest for the funder in order for your proposal to be considered. Research on funders is discussed in our best- seller, Grantseeker’s Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Finding Funding. 2 Lack of Something Is Not a Problem The lack of something is not equivalent to the problem. You cannot tell a funder that you lack playground equipment, money for the technology to do research, a symphony orchestra, or a swimming pool; therefore, please give money to correct this lack. This is circular reasoning. You have to lay the groundwork to match the funder’s interests. Let’s see how this could be done with a few examples. Playground equipment—The real problem is that children in your com- munity play in the streets because there is no other place to play. The income level of families in the area where the playground is to be located is extremely low. Land was donated between housing developments to serve as the play- ground. Local volunteers cleaned up the property. Children of poverty need a safe, supervised place to play. Now you have a problem that will match an interest of a potential funder. Technology to do research —Technology is not the issue. Your research is the issue. Technology is just a tool. You are studying Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS) to determine if oxidative stress is a potential cause of the death of motor neurons. You now have a problem that will match funders who are interested in cutting edge medical research or in motor neuron diseases or specifically in Lou Gehrig’s Dis- ease. Technology appears as a tool in the budget. A symphony orchestra—You want to introduce young people in your com- munity to classical music and masters such as Bach, Beethoven, Handel and others. In your rural community there is no resource for hearing such music firsthand. You want to tour schools and community centers and teach children about the classics. You need funds to get the program started. Afterward public concerts in surrounding townships and funds from schools will sustain the operation. Funders interested in music education, the arts, or providing a quality education are potential sources for funding. A swimming pool —Your community has a high crime rate among teenagers. There is nothing for them to do in the community—no gathering place and 56 Problem Statement 5 2 Cheryl Carter New and James Aaron Quick, Grantseeker’s Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide to Finding Funding (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 1998). Problem Statement no fruitful activity. Since you are in a tropical environment, you believe that a community swimming pool with adequate supervision and special programs to attract teenagers will help eliminate the crime problem by providing a place to go after school rather than wandering the streets in gangs. You have opened a lot of territory to match funders who are interested in youth, in crime reduc- tion, and in health and exercise programs. Include These Elements in the Problem Statement Logical Narrative Description of the Problem Hone in on your problem. Define it and clarify it before you start to write. Do not include extraneous problems. Suppose you have a high teen pregnancy rate in your community. Suppose it is growing and you want to initiate an education and counseling project to work with young women and young men in the community to help them understand the impact of their decisions. Stick to that subject. Do not include that perhaps this is why the crime rate is higher in your community or perhaps this is the reason there are so many acci- dental deaths in children in the community. Do not include that there are an increasing number of people unemployed in your community. These are all related problems but cloud the issue as far as your project is con- cerned. You are not directly attacking the crime problem with your project. You are not counseling the young parents on preventing accidents with their children. You are not directly providing job counseling. Do not con- fuse your proposal readers. What you are doing is providing an education and counseling program to young people in the community to make them aware of the impact of their decisions. Lay the groundwork carefully for the project you intend to do, not for a variety of projects that could be done on related problems. Here is an example of part of a problem statement that would lay a good foundation for the teenage pregnancy counseling and education project example above. The United States has the highest teenage pregnancy rate of all developed countries. About 1 million teenagers become pregnant each year; 95% of those pregnancies are unintended, and almost one third end in abortions. Public costs from teenage childbearing totaled $120 billion from 1985–1990; $48 billion could have been saved if each birth had been postponed until the mother was at least 20 years old. Though birth rates for teenagers declined for all races and ethnic groups in the United States in past years, the rates are growing in our community (see following table). They are growing in all social groups and in all ethnic groups. 57 5 Teen Pregnancy Rates Our Our State United Our (Pregnancies Per 1,000 Girls) State Rank States Community 15 to 19 year olds –11% 29 –13% +23% Girls age 14 or younger –23% 10 –11% +13% 15 to 17 year olds –10% 33 –13% +25% 18 to 19 year olds –11% 28 –11% +30% • Rank of 1 ϭ lowest rate In a survey of all youths age 14 to 19, there was an appalling lack of under- standing of how decisions made today affect one’s life in the future. More- over, there was a general feeling that someone else would deal with the consequences of their decisions. Following is a chart of the questions and per- centages of young people answering each option as well as a chart of the most common comments by those questioned. As you can see, the problem statement directly points to the solution we are offering to the problem. Statistical Backups and Comparisons In any problem statement, one data point will not do. What if I said, alcohol abuse increased by 100% in our community this year? Does this shocking bit of data mean anything? Perhaps not. What if you had one case of alcohol abuse in your community of 200,000 last year and one more this year for a total of two? Does this constitute a severe problem? Of course not. Data is only pertinent and has an impact if it is comparative so that the reader can relate the statistic to something. It is only important if the reader can clearly see its relevance in light of known data about the problem. You need to place your data within the range of data known about the problem in general. It is good to compare your community’s problem to the problem in the state and the nation. The Internet is an extremely valu- able tool to get state and national statistics. Use a good search engine like Google (www.google.com), enter keywords or a brief phrase of the informa- tion you want, and you will surely find it if any agency or organization collects that data. Grant makers, unless they are local, are not that interested in providing a solution to a problem in your community. What they are interested in is providing a potential solution to a problem that can be replicated in com- munities like yours in other parts of the country. If your problem is unique to your community only a local group is likely to fund you. Part of your task is to depict your community as similar to many other communities across the nation. Remember, most proposal readers will not be familiar with your community. Even if your community is New York City, how 58 Problem Statement 5 Problem Statement many false ideas are there of life in New York? Many. Even if you think your community is well-known it is important for you to place your com- munity’s problem firmly in the minds of the potential funder. Wrong —Our community has a shocking level of B.A.D. bacteria in the groundwater. This obviously affects our community by causing a potential for serious illness. Our local health department reports an increase of both infec- tion and pneumonia that we believe can be traced to our groundwater bac- teria. We are most concerned about our more than 300 children below the age of five and our senior population. Right —Our community has a level of B.A.D. bacteria at more than one part per liter. Our community is heavily industrialized with krypton fabrication plants from which seepage causes B.A.D. bacteria to flow into groundwater used for drinking and bathing. There are numerous communities like ours in every state with the exception of two in the nation. The lessons we learn in our project can easily be transferred to other communities like ours. According to the most recent EPA study (Groundwater Danger, October 2000), one in five communities with krypton fabrication plants have the potential to have B.A.D. bacteria in groundwater. At the level of bacteria in our system, infec- tion and pneumonia are serious health concerns. In fact, in the past year the health department reports an increase in bacterial infection of 45% and in pneumonia of 32%. In the second case, the reader knows that this is a serious problem, and also that it affects many communities other than the one seeking funding. Statistical data is provided that is professional and credible. The funder can clearly see that if the project works in this community, it will benefit many others. Results of Local Needs Assessments If you have a survey or local report that backs up your case, by all means, include it in your problem statement. This shows local investment in solving the problem you are addressing, especially if the study was done by another organization in the community. All grant makers are concerned with your own and your community’s investment in the project. Why? Because, with more groups involved in your project, there is more chance for success and for continuation after grant money runs out, as it surely will. What constitutes a local needs assessment? • A study by a local group. • A survey by your organization. 59 5 • Results of a related project in the community that provided a part of the information necessary to the success of your project. • Results of a previous project by your organization. • A regular report by a credible agency or group in your community. Historical Data—How Did This Occur? If there is a pertinent progression that has caused the problem, then a description of this will provide background to contribute to the proposal reader’s knowledge. Almost any information that clarifies the problem, and thus the project, is valuable for the person reading the proposal. For example, what if your problem is that younger and younger chil- dren are involved in committing crimes in your community? Now let’s look at an example of the history that may have contributed to this sit- uation. As you can see from statistical data, younger and younger children in our community are stealing, vandalizing and becoming addicted to drugs. The only thing that has changed in our community during the last few years is the advent of an industrial park providing jobs for very nearly every member of the community. Before the small industries moved in, most households had at least one member at home when children came home from school. Now there is no one home. Before children were supervised after school. Now they tend to gather with older children and young adults in the street. As we have seen, this is a recipe for disaster. Younger children are becoming gang mascots and participating in gang activity. They are exposed to the drug habits of the older young adults. Our after school program and third shift program will provide supervision and counseling for these youngest of criminals so they are steered away from trouble before it starts. Let’s take another example. What if your local river has become pol- luted in recent years whereas it was not in the past? What is the history behind this event? In the last three years our local river has become polluted. Once there was a state park along the river with a nice campground, nature trails, and a nature education program for local school children. In a state funding cutback, the programs and campground were abandoned. With no policing and no organ- ized activities, people have become careless and are dumping camp sewage and trash all along our river. Our project to reestablish and expand the pro- grams of the past will reestablish the river environment and protect it. Readers can identify in some way with your situation if you take the time to explain it logically and professionally. 60 Problem Statement 5 [...]... wildlife agency head in the Kodiak Archipelago and the bear expert at the University of Alaska Who? How many or how much? Project Habitat for a coordinator family of four and animal bears management department head Result/outcome The flora, geology, water resources, and temperature are known for the native habitat The objective statement can be written as follows Objective 1: The project coordinator and animal... declining ATOD abuse figures caused substance abuse organizations to grow lax about getting the word out, about spreading the message Programs against substance abuse in the schools have grown old and stale They have not kept up, and an alarming number of today’s children are ignoring the message ( John J Master, “Why Now: What’s Causing our Kids to Light Up, Chug Down, and Get High?” Health Care Digest, April,... 73 6 Mission, Goals, and Objectives The other information in your boxes will help you with the project description, evaluation plan, and other sections of your proposal The following is another example Goal 4 What? Create a natural habitat for Kodiak bears What approach? Study the native habitat and include all natural elements and hidden viewing locations How many or how much? When? Project month 3. .. with what result Writing goals and objectives is a way to organize your project Writing goals is very similar to making an outline Rarely do grantors define exactly what they mean by goal and objective (or the other words they may use instead) Whatever grantors’ own definitions, they assume you use the same ones, or at least that you understand theirs The way to insure that you are communicating with... following is an objective for the second goal we wrote Goal 4: Research and create a natural habitat with hidden viewing locations during the project month for a family of four bears with the result that the habitat is as close to the home territory of the bears as possible Objective 1 What? Research the habitat of the Kodiak bears What approach? Access National Geographic experts on bears, consult... 2002) Additionally, a decade of shrinking numbers caused the intervention and response capacity of many anti-abuse organizations to weaken As demand declined, these organizations naturally reallocated resources to other issues In our community, no publicly available ATOD intervention and response resource exists 68 Chapter 6 Mission, Goals, and Objectives Success is a consequence and must not be a goal... (Method/Strategy) In accordance with federal and state mandates for After School Programs Who will do it? For how many or how much? Site directors 240 participants and school per site principals With what result or benefit? Each middle school prepared to host an After School Program Goal 2 — and Objectives to Achieve Goal What will happen? Train program personnel How will it happen? When will it (Method/Strategy)... What will happen? How will it happen? (Method/Strategy) Who will do it? For how many or how much? Complete State and district Project 25 contractors agreements contractual director and with private agreement practices site directors contractors With what result or benefit? Obtain qualified practitioners for various contract areas Objective 6 What will happen? Prepare facilities How will it happen? (Method/Strategy)... objectives a job, and others call that level a task To complete the circle, find task in a thesaurus, and you will find goal as a substitute The bottom line is this: in project development and in proposal writing, it does not matter which words are used, as long as the intended meaning is clearly conveyed to the reader Goals and objectives simply are a way of explaining what you want to do, for whom, and... each site site directors and make-ups for personnel missing primary session All middle school personnel understand After School Program and their relation and responsibilities to it Goal 3 — and Objectives to Achieve Goal What will happen? Provide supplemental academic activities How will it happen? When will it (Method/Strategy) happen? Classroom teachers identify academic needs—staff develop academic . –10% 33 – 13% +25% 18 to 19 year olds –11% 28 –11% +30 % • Rank of 1 ϭ lowest rate In a survey of all youths age 14 to 19, there was an appalling lack of under- standing of how decisions made today. Scores are shown in the following table. Language Arts Mathematics National Average 112.8 108.5 State Average 98.6 104.2 District Average 93. 3 102.1 The dropout rate for our state is among the. In a state funding cutback, the programs and campground were abandoned. With no policing and no organ- ized activities, people have become careless and are dumping camp sewage and trash all along