Date and Time of Training: September 19, 2011/ 5:30-8:30pm
Training Topic: Grant-Writing: Strategic Development
Location: Black Creek Room, United Way of Greater Toronto
Facilitator(s): Kehinde Bah and Christa Romaldi

Training Overview

There are many excellent (and free!) trainings available on how to write a grant application. With this in mind, AMP set out to develop a training that focused instead on the strategy, planning and design underlying the development of a grant application. With the help of the knowledgeable Kehinde Bah, we developed a training that addressed techniques and practices that lead to successful grant applications.

In our section on strategy, we focused on a few key aspects including how to keep track of needs and ideas in the community, and how to find appropriate funders to help you meet these needs. We also asked important questions like: Do we have the capacity to run this program? Does this program fall within our mandate and our mission? In planning, we addressed the process surrounding writing a grant application. And in design, we tackled how to demonstrate that your program has achievable goals that are in sync with your potential funder’s goals.

Above all else, we focused on the collaborative nature of grant application and program delivery. The best work is done in teams, with input from community, staff and other stakeholders. That being said, the grant application process has to be carefully monitored, ensuring that deadlines and requirements are met.

Overall, the participating organizations were pleased with the interactive training and candid nature of the discussions.

Outcomes/Follow-Up Activities

We planned the training for September in hopes that it would provide guidance for the Autumn grant-writing season. The organizations have since written grants and had the opportunity to implement some of the lessons learned at the grant-writing training.

Feedback

The organizations felt they benefited from Kehinde’s experience and insight into the world of grant applications. They appreciated our honesty concerning our own grant application process, and liked that we shared examples of our own work. The organizations felt that the extensive discussion, and the numerous examples and handouts clarified what was being discussed by the facilitators.

The organizations felt that the training went too long and perhaps should have been split into two sessions.