Consider the focus of the grant writing class. Decide if the grant writing class is a one-day workshop or if there is to be a series of workshops. For example, a one day workshop might be titled "The Nuts and Bolts of Grant Writing." A series might include "Writing a Winning Proposal," "Researching Funding Sources" and "Effective Budget Planning."
Greet students and give out name tags to help students identify each other. Introduce yourself as the facilitator with a brief background of your interests in relation to grant writing. Highlight the successes of grant writing in addition to identifying challenges in the opening introduction.
Detail the elements of grant writing that are covered in the class. For a one-day class, detail the points covered for the one-day session. If there are multiple classes, briefly state the focus of each subsequent class. Pass out handouts which provide an outline of the curricula. Check to see if there are any questions.
Ask each student to briefly share their background information, grant writing interests and level of experience. For example, ask, "Has anyone ever written a grant before?" Ask students to also state specific class goals and what they hope to get out of the class.
Distribute a pair of sample proposals to each student. Use the overhead projector or laptop and PowerPoint to showcase the elements of a winning grant proposal and of a weak grant proposal. Ask if the students can determine which of the pair of proposals won funding and why. Engage the students in a critical discussion of the weaknesses and strengths of both proposals. Encourage the students to use the winning sample proposal as a practice template and to research other proposals in their genre.
Give each student a paper and pen. Ask students to write in one sentence the mission and vision of their grant. Time this exercise for five minutes. Explain that the purpose of this exercise is to be able to clearly and immediately articulate a grant's purpose in one sentence.
Identify the different components of a grant. The mission statement, abstract, narrative, project description and the budget are typical components in a grant. For university students, a grant may include a scholarly narrative, while artists may be required to complete an artist statement.
Ask students to choose one of the following to write: an abstract, which is a one-paragraph overview of the grant; the problem, which illustrates the reason why the grant is needed; or the project description, which details the current project with the timeline of completion and the relevancy of funding. Time the writings for 10 minutes and encourage students to write without self-editing.
Make a list on the white board of all of the students who would like to read their in-class mission statement, project description, problem or abstract. Encourage students to take notes of each student's presentation.
Ask each student to read their statements without comment or explanation. Thank each student after the presentation, but do not give feedback until all students have finished.
Present ground rules for constructive feedback from students. The student who presents does not comment, but may ask one clarifying question. This keeps the feedback fluid and without interruption. Ask for student feedback with each student in the order of the initial presentation until finished.
Conclude with a questions and answers period. Give the students the handouts of the bibliography and other resources.