Grant Success Stories
Dr. Avis Quinn
First try big success for grant writer
Dr. Avis Quinn, Virginia Western’s director/counselor REACH/Student Support Services, wrote her first grant over a year ago, and the return was a whopper.
The effort brought Student Support Services $1.34 million over five years, beginning this fall. The money comes from the federal TRIO program, which is similar to Upward Bound, and will assist first generation college students, students meeting low-income guidelines and students with disabilities.
Quinn came to VWCC four years ago. In addition to her position at the community college, she teaches in the master’s program for Counselor Education at Radford University.
When it came to grant writing, she drew on her value of teamwork for support. When she needed information, she went to the sources that had it, among them David Hanson, Director of Institutional Research and Planning.
Getting appropriate and specific information and presenting it in the vocabulary of the grant was most important, she said. Additionally, Quinn found it helpful to read the college’s previous "well written" TRIO grant, and to attend a grant writing workshop.
"I also had Marilyn Herbert-Aston from the grants office review the grant," Quinn said. She found this to be invaluable as Marilyn brought a fresh eye to the process.
Read directions carefully
Since federal grant programs spell out specifically what is required in a grant, much of being successful is following the rules, Quinn said. Sometimes small things can become really important, too.
"I was limited to 75 pages," she said.
That doesn’t seem like a problem except that in previous years, applicants were allowed 100 pages.
In addition, this year’s grant had to be submitted electronically by section.
So what’s the big deal about that?
Well, when the grant was submitted on paper, writers could start the next section where the last one ended on a page. The partial pages disappeared when the grant had to be submitted electronically.
To overcome some of the loss of space, Quinn used charts and graphics to provide data when possible, which saved space over text explanations of the same material.
Establish priorities
Each section was assigned points to be used by judges who select grant recipients, so Quinn determined which sections carried a higher point value and gave those sections more pages.
Now that the experience has successfully concluded, what would she have done differently?
"I would delegate responsibilities for different sections," she said. "I would have started sooner on everything to avoid a lot of the night and weekend work."
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Anne Kornegay
Application process always valuable
Anne Kornegay, a veteran grant writer whom others often turn to for help, advises anyone seeking a grant to keep the following premise in mind:
"You didn’t have the money before, so if you don’t get it, you haven’t lost anything," Kornegay said.
By the same token, that philosophy can inspire someone to go after a grant that might seem ambitious, she believes.
Kornegay, dean of the Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Health Technology divisions, has received two Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) grants for dental hygiene programming (1997, 1998), a Virginia Community College System grant for curriculum development (2004), and a Virginia Western Foundation grant (2005).
Grant gets a program additional recognition
The VHCF grants of some $60,000 allowed Kornegay to develop distance education delivery of the VWCC dental hygiene program to Danville and Lord Fairfax community colleges. The effort inspired legislative action that funded distance dental hygiene education in the state.
She didn’t get the health care foundation grant the first time she applied, however. The feedback from the effort that wasn’t funded helped make her successful the next time, she said.
"They were right. The application didn’t include information on how to make it all come together," Kornegay said.
The next one did, though, and it was successful.
Think outside the box
Learning from an unsuccessful grant application is one way to improve, she has found. She’s also learned that getting a grant is not a license to sit back and relax. If you want the grant again, "you have to continue to demonstrate the needs."
The nursing faculty jut got a grant for $100,000 that includes a patient simulator and a baby simulator as part of the equipment. The money came when the faculty "said what’s our need and how can we benefit students," Kornegay said.
Thinking outside the box is always beneficial, she learned. "It’s crucial to have a good understanding of your budget and how you’re going to justify expenses. Grantors want to publicize success and tell their supporters how their money was spent."
As a division chair, Kornegay encourages others to seek grants by recognizing those who do, such as Dr. Toni Pepin, who recently got a VCCS grant to develop an Animal Life of Virginia course useful for teacher recertification.
Kornegay also locates and distributes information about grant opportunities to those in her division. She’s also eager to help those in her department.
Kornegay recommends the following to grant writers:
- Make certain the criteria for the program you want funded is a good match with the organization giving the money;
- Know how to go to others and involve them;
- Be able to tell your story well both verbally and in writing;
- Pay attention to the number of pages allowed;
- Put your work aside for a few days after you’re done and then reread it when you’re less involved with it and might spot omissions;
- Use feedback from failed grants to write winning ones.
And, remember, you didn’t have the money before you applied and even if you lose, you’ll have the feedback when you try again.
