Sanders' Grant Writing Workshop Draws Over 100 Attendees

State Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-Rochdale, Far Rockaway) hosted a free grant writing workshop Wednesday evening at August Martin High School in Jamaica to educate the community how to obtain funding to start or expand a project or organization. More than 100 people attended the two hour class with some traveling from as far away as Pennsylvania.
 
“Funding is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain,” Senator Sanders said. “Under those conditions, grant writing skills are more important than ever. I am proud to bring this workshop to the community to make it easier for residents to realize their dreams, and in doing so, potentially benefiting the entire district and beyond with innovative and inspirational services.”
 
The workshop was taught by Lynn Lobell, grants and resource director, for Queens Council on the Arts and Molaundo Jones, art service manager, also with Queens Council on the Arts. Founded in 1966, QCA is a non-profit organization that aims to foster and develop arts in Queens through their support of both individual artists and arts organizations.
 
Lobell and Jones covered grant budget basics including how to fill out an application, writing a letter of intent, writing a letter of proposal, creating a budget and providing documentation and support materials.
 
Grants are financial assistance in the form of capital, fellowships, scholarships or products that do not have to be repaid. They can benefit a nonprofit entity, educational institution, business or an individual. Grants can be awarded by the government, private foundations, public corporations and local arts councils.
 
Those applying for grants should include a detailed project description outlining the who, what, where and why of the proposal. The budget components should contain information about the organization’s expenses (operating costs, money for personnel,) income and in-kind contributions.
 
Lobell also explained the common mistakes grant writers make with the top one being missing the application deadline. Others included not conducting enough research to really get to know the grant maker and what they are looking for, not following application instructions, budget errors and not providing support materials.