Fordham University GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SERVICE SWGS 6416: Program and Proposal Development

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1 Fordham University GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SERVICE SWGS 6416: Program and Proposal Development Semester: Professor: COURSE DESCRIPTION In this course, students will learn to develop and write proposals, design programs, seek foundation funding, and respond to grant requests. Students will be expected to complete a proposal as a course assignment and to identify foundations to which the proposal can be sent. While the focus is placed on foundation grant making, students will also be introduced to governmental grants. Emphasis is given to what makes programs and proposals effective and thus enhance the likelihood of funding. PLACE OF COURSE IN THE CURRICULUM This is an elective course that can be taken students who are matriculated into the MSW Program. This elective meets a required elective for both Leadership Concentration students and Research Concentration students. RELATIONSHIP OF COURSE TO HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL JUSTICE AND WELL BEING This course helps students develop programs and proposals that focus on establishing services to help address human rights, social justice and well being. COURSE OBJECTIVES Upon completion of this course, students are expected to: 1. Understand proposal writing as a technical and political process within the context of organizational mission, the social policy environment, and societal values and trends that impact upon funding priorities and trends. 2. Be able to evaluate a proposal and recognize a good proposal particularly around the linkage among problem definition, goals and objectives, program activities, and organizational capacity, as well as the proposal s responsiveness to funder interests. 3. Identify key issues in program design that must be addressed in proposals. 4. Understand the value of a logic model and be able to use it for program planning and evaluation. Program and Proposal Development - SWGS

2 4. Recognize what makes programs attractive and proposals fundable. 5. Use proposal development to offer opportunities for agencies to grow and expand, and serve underserved, neglected, vulnerable and at-risk populations. 6. Prepare a program proposal written from a sponsoring agency and directed toward a specific funding source. 7. Be familiar with the foundation world and the place of foundations in supporting programs in contrast to governmental grant making. READINGS Texts (Professors will select from these required texts) Coley, S. and Scheinberg, C. (2014). Proposal Writing. (4 th ed.). Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications. Geever, J.C. (2012). The Foundation Center's guide to proposal writing. NY: The Foundation Center. Kettner, P.M., Martin, L. L., & Moroney, R.M. (2013). Designing and Managing Programs: An Effectiveness-Based Approach (4 th ed). New York: SAGE. Recommended Texts Carlson, M. (2002). Winning grants step by step: The complete workbook for planning, developing and writing successful proposals. San Francisco, CA" Jossey-Bass. Collins, S. (Ed.) (2003). The Foundation Center's guide to winning proposals. NY: The Foundation Center. Grayson, H. (2005). Tools for success: Guide to government grants writing. New York: Universe, Inc. Grinnell, R.M., Gabor, P.A., Unrau, Y.A. (2010). Program Evaluation for Social Workers (5 th ed.). Oxford. (Selected chapters) Pawlak, E. J. and Vinter, R. D. (2004). Designing & planning programs for nonprofit & government organizations. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons Program and Proposal Development - SWGS

3 ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE Course content will be covered through lectures, class discussions and exercises, readings, student presentations and written assignments. Students are expected to complete all reading assignments prior to the appropriate class and to use readings as the basis for informed discussion in class. The class will include quizzes and in-class exercises. The students are expected to: attend each class on time; complete all assignments on time; come to class prepared having read all assigned readings; and participate in class discussions. Students are strongly advised to discuss any problems with attendance, meeting deadlines or completion of assignments at the earliest possible time. Students are expected to notify the instructor via if they are going to miss a class. COURSE ASSIGNMENTS 1. Agency interview: Conduct an interview with an agency representative regarding the funding environment of the organization. Discuss distribution of income from various sources, including foundation, corporation and government grants. Identify any specific foundation funded programs. Identify program needs and programs in development. Submit a 2-page summary of the discussion. Due. 2. Summary of Guided Instruction (see below) 3. Program Proposal: Students will prepare and submit a proposal for a program that serves clients and is directed toward a foundation for funding or in response to a request for Proposals (RFP). The proposal must include the major proposal components. The proposal should be approximately 10 double spaced pages). Some professors may also ask students to attach a copy of a profile of one foundation to which they are applying or, if the proposal is solicited, attach a copy of the RFP. Proposals are due. Because the proposal must come from a sponsoring agency that would receive the grant and implement the proposed program, it is important that knowledge about and experience with an agency be reflected in the proposal. It is not necessary nor is it expected that agencies will be involved in this assignment. However, students are encouraged to draw on agency experience in order to make the assignment as meaningful as possible. Professors will determine if students will work in groups or individually. Students are encouraged to draft proposal components for discussion in class on the day the topic is covered, and thereby benefit from ongoing feedback from the class. 4. Presentation: During the last two classes students will present their proposals as if presenting to the Board of Directors of a foundation. Creativity is encouraged. You may choose to utilize technology for your presentation (e.g., PowerPoint) but it is not a requirement. Presentations will include time for questions and comments from the Board. The class is expected to engage in professional, respectful, and constructive discussions with the presenters. Program and Proposal Development - SWGS

4 APA format should be followed with 12 point type and 1 inch margins all around. Page limits must be followed. General guidelines for grading written assignments are based on those established by the Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service and are found as an attachment to the master course syllabus. Plagiarism is not allowed and guidelines are found in the student handbook. Students are responsible to keep a copy of any work submitted. GRADING CRITERIA Agency Interview 10% - due (date) Proposal 40% - due (date) Presentation 10% Class Participation and guided instruction 20% Weekly Quizzes/Exercises 20% Guided Instruction To successfully complete this course, students will be expected to participate in 15 sessions of one hour and fifty minute class and 10 hours of guided instructional time. In addition, students are expected to average approximately 5 hours per week doing the assigned reading and working on the required written assignments for this class. Possible Guided Instructional Activities include the following Activity #1 Due: 1. Go to The Foundation Center website: 2. Click on Get Started Box; Go to end of Welcome section and take the tour of the website 3. Register for PND (Philanthropy News Digest) and: a. Select Art, Education, and/health Watch, according to your interest(s) b. Sign up and select interest areas for: i. PND News Alerts ii. PND RFP Alerts 4. Print your profile page, attach a page listing the interest areas you selected for each of the above Alerts, and submit at the class. 5. Monitor alerts throughout the semester 6. It is also recommended that you subscribe to Social Work Research Network (SWRnet) at which provides regular updates on research and program RFPs, calls for papers, and new reports. Activity #2 Due: 1. View Foundation Center Webinars: Grantseeking Basics and/or Introduction to Finding Funder (both provide guidance using their Foundation Directory Online, the latter in greater depth). 2. Use the Foundation Directory Online (free access through Fordham) to identify 3-4 Foundations and/or Corporations that may be appropriate for the proposal you are developing 3. Prepare a one page summary of your draft Problem Statement, Goals and Objectives of your proposed program. Program and Proposal Development - SWGS

5 4. Print out a basic profile page on each foundation/corporation. Provide 4-5 major reasons (in bullet form) that you think this is potentially a good match for your proposed program (i.e., match in interest area, geography, amount of money awarded, etc.). Regular attendance in class is expected and is included in class participation. A persistent pattern of lateness and/or absence (three or more) will affect a student s grade even further. Cell phones should be turned off. COURSE OUTLINE The following is a description of the course outline. Professors may modify the sequence of the requirements. Classes I and II Overview of course outline and course requirements Why proposals; an overview of proposals and proposal writing; principal types of proposals in the human services field; proposal writing as a technical process and as a political process; major proposal components; differences between proposals for foundations and proposals in response to government Requests for Proposals (RFP's). Understanding the agency and funding environment. How proposals are evaluated; factors that make a proposal "successful". Overview of types of foundations and the scope of their grantmaking; what foundations see as their role; funding strategies of foundations; the foundations grantmaking process; what you should know about foundations before asking for money; using the Foundation Center sources before asking for money; using the Foundation Center sources for locating funding (Foundation Directory, Source Book Profile, COMSEARCH; identifying foundation prospects; foundation inquiries). Strategies for influencing foundations Getting started: idea generation and development; assessing needs; defining problems; importance of innovation, grantsmanship and the agency's overall funding strategy. Coley & Scheinberg: Chapters 1-2. Geever: Chapters 1-2 Program and Proposal Development - SWGS

6 Class III Date: Formulating a problem statement; use of theory; use of data; selecting community and target populations; Need versus problem; linking problems and the sponsoring agency; writing a needs/problem statement. Coley & Scheinberg: Chapter 3-5 Geever: Chapters 4 Classes IV, V, and VI What is a program? Key issues in program development: what program components must be addressed in a proposal: program activities, organizational and administrative structure. Preparing Goals and Objectives. Differentiating between the two. Essential ingredients of objectives. Selecting final goals and realistic, measurable objectives. Relationship of goals to program components will be explored as well as the relationship of objectives to the program evaluation. Coley & Scheinberg: Chapter 6 Geever: Chapters 5 Class VII Date: Researching prospects; Finding the right foundations During this class, students should be prepared to discuss their experience and findings using the Foundation Center directory to identify potential foundations (from Guided Instruction Assignment #2, due at this session). Coley & Scheinberg: Appendix B Geever: Chapter 11 and Chapter 12 Classes VIII and IX The evaluation component of the proposal. What is the difference between monitoring/accountability versus client satisfaction vs. program evaluation? Basic approach to program evaluation and importance of linking evaluation to objectives. Coley & Scheinberg: Chapter 7 Geever: Chapters 6 Grinnell, R.M., Gabor, P.A., Unrau, Y.A. (2010). Program Evaluation for Social Workers.(5 th ed.). Oxford. (Chapters 6-7) Program and Proposal Development - SWGS

7 Classes X and XI Preparing the budget; broad budget categories including direct and indirect costs; using budget worksheet to be distributed. Finalizing the Proposal; title; sponsoring agency; organizational capacity statement; where to place it in the proposal; supporting documents; developing checklists for completing proposals; cover letters, addenda and other attachments. Coley & Scheinberg: Chapter 8, Appendix A Geever: Chapters 7 Class XII Date: Innovative programming - New Ideas to shaping the future in proposal development. Work plan, staffing plan, timetable; using the program flow chart. Coley & Scheinberg: Chapter 9 Geever: Chapters 8-10 Class XIII Date: The governmental grantmaking process: how government funds flow federal, state and local levels); discretionary grants; locating government funds; contracts versus grants; the link between legislation/regulations/appropriations and Request for Proposals (RFPs); how government evaluates proposals; using the Federal Register and the Internet; government grant application forms. How government funds flow. Strategies for responding to RFPs. Preparing and presenting styles Geever: Chapters Classes XIV and XV Presentations OFFICE HOURS The professor s office hours are: Contact information: Program and Proposal Development - SWGS

8 APPENDIX A: PROPOSAL DEVELOPMENT FINAL ASSIGNMENT FINAL ASSIGNMENT Proposal should be approximately 10 pages Double space APA Format I. Cover Letter II. Cover Page III. Executive Summary IV. Introduction Statement of Need Include introduction of topic, recent statistics, and documentation from the literature V. The Project and evaluation Include goals and objectives, methods, staffing, evaluation and sustainability VI. The Budget One page budget and brief description VII. Organizational commitment and conclusion Program and Proposal Development - SWGS