A new session of each course opens each month, allowing you to enroll whenever your busy schedule permits!
How does it work? Once a session starts, two lessons will be released each week, for the six-week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends.
Keep in mind that the interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes 2 weeks after each lesson is released, so you’re encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
The Final Exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the Final Exam has been released, you will have 2 weeks plus 10 days to complete the Final and finish any remaining lessons in your course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.
Week One
Lesson 01 - The Fundraising Plan
Wednesday
This first lesson will explore the fundraising plan. You will learn the plan's purpose and how to format a working document, and you will learn how to determine how much grant money you need and by what date. You will also look at possible types of funders from the private sector (corporate and foundation grantmakers) to the public sector (government agency grantmakers). In addition, you will learn a few basics about corporate sponsorships, and you will find out about matching funds and how to identify cash and in-kind matching funds. By the end of this lesson, you will have a good overview of how to identify your grant-funding needs, agencies you might consider targeting for your projects, and how to put in place a proper fundraising plan.
Lesson 02 - Before You Begin Writing
Friday
How do government funding agencies eliminate so many hopeful grant applicants? This lesson will walk you through finding government grant funding opportunities, reading grant application guidelines that are complex and often confusing, and learning how to find and engage the best types of community partners as committed stakeholders in your proposed project.
Week Two
Lesson 03 - Strategic Grant Writing
Wednesday
Did you know that the most strategic grant writing is in the plan of operation? The plan of operation includes goals and objectives, implementation strategies, a logic model, a plan for key personnel or a management plan, an evaluation plan, and a project sustainability plan. Get ready! In this lesson, you will find out how to develop an award-winning plan of operation with all of the required components.
Lesson 04 - Budgeting 101
Friday
Are you always in doubt when you have to develop a project budget for your grant application? What do funders really want to see in your budget summary and narrative? How do you plot key personnel salaries and benefits? Where do general operating expenses go? What are the common mistakes that you should avoid? This budgeting 101 lesson will answer all the above questions and more!
Week Three
Lesson 05 - Arts and Humanities Grants
Wednesday
How do you find grant-funding opportunities for arts and humanities projects? In this lesson, you learn about some opportunities and challenges associated with grant funding in these areas, and you will also learn best practices in approaching community and regional arts organizations for potential partnership opportunities as well as corporate sponsorship opportunities. Finally, you will discover some excellent resources to guide you through the arts and humanities funding tunnel.
Lesson 06 - Education Grants
Friday
How do you find grant-funding opportunities for education projects? Are you familiar with Pre-K-12 and higher education grantmakers? Are you experiencing challenges in writing these types of grant applications? What are the challenges and who are the funders for these types of projects? This lesson will answer these questions and provide you with resources to guide you through the world of education grants.
Week Four
Lesson 07 - Medical, Science, and Agriculture Grants
Wednesday
How do you find grant-funding opportunities for medical, science, and agriculture projects? Are you familiar with the grantmakers in these three grant funding areas? Are you experiencing challenges in writing these types of grant applications? What are the challenges and who are the funders for these types of projects? In this lesson, you will find answers to these questions as well as some resources to guide you through the world of medical, science, and agriculture grants!
Lesson 08 - Human Services Grants
Friday
How do you find grant-funding opportunities for human services projects? Are you familiar with the grantmakers in this area of funding? Are you experiencing challenges in writing these types of grant applications? What are the opportunities and challenges when searching for and writing human services grants? In this lesson, you will explore the answers to these questions and get some resources to guide you through the world of human service grants.
Week Five
Lesson 09 - Corporate Foundation Grants
Wednesday
Do you know the ins and outs of foundation grants? What are the pros and cons of applying to corporate foundations? How can you overcome the challenges of finding potential funders and writing letters of inquiry and grant proposals to corporate foundations? Do you know what these foundations fund? If you don't know the answers to these questions yet, you will soon enough. This lesson will cover everything you need to know about applying for corporate foundation grants.
Lesson 10 - New Grantmaking Trends
Friday
This lesson is all about grantmaking trends. Are you aware of the latest funding trends in government or corporate foundations? Are you monitoring future trends, so you will understand what projects are most likely to be funded by grantmakers? This lesson will look at the fastest-growing industries impacting the world of nonprofits and government agencies and will discuss online applications and why so many funders have changed their processes and moved to online e-grant application systems.
Week Six
Lesson 11 - I Didn't Get That Grant—Now What?
Wednesday
What do you do when you receive notification that you didn't get the grant? It's not the desired outcome, but it's important to be prepared to do a post-assessment and debrief your partners. In this lesson, you will find out how to assess your application and gather crucial information so that you can have a better chance of success the next time, and you will review best practices in debriefing partnering organizations. The lesson will walk you through the road to funding recovery, including practical planning for reapplication and funding down the slate.
Lesson 12 - I Got That Grant—Now What?
Friday
Your hard work paid off! You've received notification of a forthcoming grant award. Are you excited and overwhelmed? Are you stressing about the paperwork, reporting deadlines, and how to set up separate audit trails for incoming grant funds? This lesson will take a close look at contracts, timelines, and accounting requirements. Then, you will learn how to avoid red flags and how to collect data and report to funding agencies. Finally, you will get some tips on communicating with your federal project officer.