Preparing Successful Administrative Reviews & Training Grants and Team Nutrition Grants

Leanne Eko, RD Washington State - Child Nutrition

Objectives:

• Review the process of applying for federal grants

• Hear tips for writing successful grants • List the essential items to include in your

grant • Explore examples for the use of grant funds • Outline the importance of Project

Management

Types of Grants Available • Administrative Review & Training Grants (ART)

- Planning grants - Implementation grants

• Team Nutrition (TN) Grant

• Direct Certification Grants - Tier 1:Limited-scope Planning / Implementation Grants - Tier 2:Full-scope Implementation Grants

• Farm to School Grants

• Information on federal grants www.grants.gov www.fns.usda.gov/cnd/grants.htm www.fns.usda.gov/tn/

• Other sources for tips on writing grants www.cfda.gov (under general information)

www.grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.htm

Website Resources - Where to go

Applying for Grants – Grants.gov

• Grants are submitted through Grants.gov • Must complete the Grants.gov registration

process. *The registration process can take between three to five business days or as long as four weeks if all steps are not

completed in a timely manner

Applying for Grants – Grants.gov

• Do NOT wait until the last day to submit Grants.gov does experience technical difficulties.

• Plan well in advance. Expect delays. Start Early – even a full month will go by too fast

• Plan time for someone to proof/edit your proposal

Grants.gov, continued Applying for Grants – Grants.gov

• Grant Announcements • Forms • Summaries of previous grants awarded • A great place for gathering ideas and

looking at funding amounts

USDA Food & Nutrition Service Grants

• Grant announcements

• A wealth of information – Focus of TN Grants – Summaries of previously awarded grants – Webinars: Grant Writing 101, etc.

• State developed materials (Yes, you can borrow them!)

Team Nutrition Grants

Grant Writing Resources

Grant Writing Resources

• Start early. Start early. Start early!

• Read grant application thoroughly before starting. And again. And again.

• Follow grant instructions carefully

• Use verbiage from the grant announcement to frame the purpose of your grant

Tips!

• Make sure your agency leadership is onboard and supportive

• Know your agency’s procedure for applying for grants

• Partner with IT, if applying for technology funds

More Tips!

• Prepare a realistic budget – include the staff you will need

• Consider hiring a Project Manager

• Don’t assume the grant readers will know the subject matter. Explain in detail your needs

• Edit your application for spelling, content, and grammatical errors

More Tips!

• Be sure to double check your work – The budget breakdown matches the narrative

– The amounts requested are the same throughout the grant write up

– You have included all the necessary forms – summary, proposal, budget narrative, etc.

– Additional forms are completed – Certification of lobbying, 424, 424A, and 424B, resumes, job descriptions, etc.

More Tips!

• Replace outdated child nutrition system ‒ Simplify data entry and centralize applications ‒ Increase accuracy of claims using site-based claims ‒ Improve reporting accuracy and enhance reporting

capabilities

• Interface with other OSPI data systems ‒ Connect with OPSI’s Comprehensive Education Data and

Research System & Education Data System for data ‒ Provide reporting capabilities combining child nutrition

program data with other school data

Washington’s ART grant

• Improve program integrity and administrative accuracy ‒ AR data module ‒ Incorporate meal analysis; track and analyze data ‒ Identify SFAs with high level of error ‒ Identify training needs ‒ Track corrective actions ‒ Increased accuracy in filing USDA reports ‒ Ad-Hoc reporting tool

Washington’s ART grant

Team Nutrition Grants

2010 Team Nutrition Grant

• Workshop for Food Service Directors on dietary guidelines and the Healthier US School Challenge (HUSSC)

• HUSSC promotion and

development of HUSSC resources

• Technical assistance to LEA’s

applying for HUSSC

2011 Team Nutrition Grant • Scratch Cooking Workshop and Recipe Booklet

• Wellness Policy Toolkit

Improve the nutritional quality of the meals served in CACFP centers and homes

• Garden and Nutrition Workshop Planting the Seeds for a Healthy Future

• Nutrition and Culinary Workshop Cooking for a Healthy Future

2012 Team Nutrition Grant

2012 Team Nutrition Grant • Update HUSSC resources and provide

technical assistance to LEA’s applying for HUSSC awards

2014 Team Nutrition Grant

• Create Smarter Lunchrooms in select group of schools

• Develop a Washington Smarter Lunchroom Toolkit

Direct Certification Grant

• Purpose: Improve the State direct certification match rate

• Expected Outcome: Improved match rate (automatically qualify more students)

• 2010 Planning Grant • 2011 Implementation Grant

Project Management

What is Project Management? ‒ The discipline of planning, organizing, securing,

managing, leading, and controlling resources to achieve specific goals.

‒ A Project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end, undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value.

‒ The primary concerns of project management are: • Scope • Schedule • Budget

Project Management Project Charter

Project Management Plan

Action Item Management Plan

Issue Management Plan

Risk Management Plan

Communication Management Plan

Requirements Management Plan

Procurement Proposal Evaluation Plan

Procurement Q & A Management Plan

Project Management

QUESTIONS