Show Me the Money!

Add a Comment

14 Comments

Comment by Carolyn Stearns on April 29, 2008 at 9:16pm

Thanks to seeds of inspiration from here I am meeting tommorow with a high school reading coordinator and a train museum liason to plan grants and storytelling with them. I think the train museum will be a fun venue and can picture some program ideas I think they will love. I know this whole process will take awhile but I can see that the ball has begun rolling and thats what counts. Making things happen this week! Carol

Comment by StoryMasters™ • Linda Day & MyLinda Butterworth on April 2, 2008 at 6:57pm

Thanks for the invite. One of my graduate independent study projects is to learn how to write grants for a new project I am working on called Stories Alive which will allow me and other tellers to take storytelling into the rural schools here in Florida. I can use any info that this forum will allow me to glean.

Always a tale to tell,
MyLinda

Comment by Granny Sue on April 2, 2008 at 7:53am

Good stuff, Dianne and Tim. There are plenty of storytellers on this forum with years of experience with grantwriting. I'm a novice but willing to learn more. And the more information shared here, the more we will all benefit.

Comment by Carolyn Stearns on April 1, 2008 at 11:43pm

I'll be" listen in" as you all share grant knowledge and questions.For us newer storytellers this website is such a boost. I have been wanting to learn more about grants to be able to approach venues and present an idea and a way to pay for it! Now I am on the right track to that place and most likely somewhere better! Thanks again everyone. Carolyn Stearns

Comment by Randel McGee on April 1, 2008 at 9:40pm

This is a good idea. Thanks for inviting me. Did you get my book pdf to review?

Comment by Granny Sue on April 1, 2008 at 8:53pm

Welcome, Leeny and Tom and Mary Jo! I think everyone will have something to contribute to this group. I hear about grant opportunities at work--being a librarian, quite often the grants could be applied to storytelling as well. Recently there was one from Hamburger Helper--now who would think? But we applied for funds for the new bookmobile we want to buy. Could a storytelling event or group qualify? Probably. These were meant for community activities--a creative storyteller could come up with a proposal that fit their guidelines.

Comment by Leeny Del Seamonds, Master Story Performer™ on April 1, 2008 at 7:29pm

Thanks for the invite! I've written a few local grants and certainly have been hired as the result of someone else writing one....
But getting paid with MONEY is good and I'm married to GRANT (his name), so it seems fitting that I join this group. Live the Story!Leeny

Comment by Granny Sue on April 1, 2008 at 6:31pm

Thank you, Buck. I hope this will be a good resource for tellers everywhere. There are many regional, state and even city foundations that give out money; even if the grant isn't for my area I might be able to search for something similar.

A couple of weeks ago, for example, a foundation was accepting grants for environmental education grants. I didn't have anything like that in mind, but someone like Kevin Strauss, who does a lot of environmental storytelling, might have been able to use the information. I just didn't have a place at the time to share it with him. Now I do!

Comment by Granny Sue on April 1, 2008 at 6:27pm

Wow, Rachel! You've been doing some research! It would be wonderful if you could share some of your sources with this group.

Comment by Granny Sue on April 1, 2008 at 6:23pm

Writing grants isn't difficult. Most supply a form with a specific format that must be followed. What's not as easy is finding the grant to apply for, determining what you want, and how to convince them to give it to you.

I haven't written a lot of grants--maybe 10?--and they've all been for small amounts of money ($3000 and under). BUT they've all been funded except for one, which was disqualified because I didn't realize someone else within the festival planning committe had already applied for a grant from that group.

A 90% success rate is pretty good, I think. What has worked for me is doing my homework--knowing what I want to accomplish and getting the documentation to back it up.

For instance, our state offers professional development grants for artists. In WV, storytelling is considered an art thanks to the hard work of Karen Vuranch. The state doesn't get many applications from storytellers, so that already gives me a leg up on the competition.

Then I have to be sure to provide good information on my background--performance history, letters of rec, etc. I also need to be able to demonstrate how I will apply what I learn. I have to choose a training opportunity that has a good reputation in my field--NSN Conference or Sharing the Fire, for example.

I have to know my costs and work the budget section correctly. Then I need to be sure to make exactly the right number of copies!

That's just one example, but most grants follow a similar pattern. After applying the next most important thing is being sure, sure, sure to complete the final report, account for all the money, and provide any supporting documentation available--copies of a conference book, handouts, whatever makes it very apparent that I was there and that the training was worthwhile.

For the grant Donna Wilson and I got last year (and just won again for this year) we provided copies of evaluation forms, comments from attendees, and copies of publicity with the final report. It all helped us get the grant again--for twice as much money.

• 1
• 2