Avoiding False Starts | 059 | Grant Development
The most overlooked step in successful grant writing.
Many colleges approach grant writing backward. A grant opportunity appears. A workgroup forms. People begin brainstorming activities, drafting narratives, and imagining all the things they could do if awarded funding. Then, reality hits.
The proposed budget cannot support the ideas. Positions are too expensive. Activities need to be cut. Timelines become unrealistic. Teams spend countless hours revising proposals because the financial reality was not addressed at the beginning.
There is a better way. Start with the Budget, Not the Proposal
Before writing a single section of the grant narrative, complete a small amount of pre-budget planning. First, identify issue the grant will address. Let the data guide the conversation.
Then, identify two or three major components of the proposed project.
For example:
Improve student onboarding
Professional development focused on teaching & grading practices
Student internships and business partnerships
Keep these components broad. Resist the temptation to jump immediately into activities, strategies, and details. At this stage, you are simply identifying the major buckets of work.
Budget the Leadership First
The most overlooked part of grant planning is often the most expensive: leadership. Many colleges underestimate the cost of managing a large grant. Start by budgeting the Project Director or Principal Investigator.
At some colleges, salary and benefits can easily exceed $120,000 annually.
Need a Project Coordinator to manage implementation, reporting, purchasing, and day-to-day operations? Depending on the institution, that position could add another $90,000 or more annually with benefits.
Next, consider the leaders responsible for each major project component.
Will they receive:
Reassigned time?
Stipends?
Hourly compensation?
Partial FTE support?
By the time these grant leadership costs are included, a substantial portion of the grant budget may already be committed. In many cases, the leadership structure alone can approach or exceed $300,000/year.
That realization is not necessarily bad news. It is exactly the reality check your team needs before investing significant time in proposal development.
Let the Budget Inform the Design
Once a draft budget exists, create a logic model. The logic model helps determine whether the proposed activities, staffing structure, outputs, and outcomes align with available resources.
Now the team can begin writing the proposal with a clear understanding of what is financially feasible. Instead of generating dozens of ideas and cutting them later, the team designs a project that fits within the available funding from the start.
This approach saves time. It reduces frustration. Most importantly, it creates a stronger proposal because the narrative, staffing plan, activities, and budget are aligned.
Avoid the False Start
One of the most common mistakes I see is colleges spending weeks or months developing ambitious proposals only to discover they cannot afford what they designed.
The result is often a painful cycle of revisions, cuts, and compromises. A draft budget developed early in the process prevents this problem. It grounds the conversation in reality and it helps teams make informed decisions. And it increases the likelihood that the final proposal can actually be implemented if funded.
A Simple Process
If you want to avoid false starts and wasted time, follow this sequence:
Step 1: Complete the Pre-Budget Work
Identify the institutional challenge using data
Select two to three major project components
Step 2: Budget Grant Leadership
Project Director or PI
Project Coordinator, if needed
Leads and coordinators for major project components
Step 3: Create a Draft Budget and Logic Model
Determine what is realistically possible
Align resources, activities, outputs, and outcomes
Step 4: Write the Proposal
Allow the budget and logic model to inform the narrative
The strongest grant proposals are not created by brainstorming the most ideas. They are created by designing a project that the institution can realistically fund, implement, and sustain.
Start with the budget. Your future self will thank you.
NOTE: Colleges have a tendency to put the burden on student services to “fix” the institution. Yet, where do open and broad-access students spend mores of their time? In the classroom. Teaching and learning is too often an after thought in any major initiative, including grants.
To help you be more intentional about instruction, I organized these resources: Teaching & Learning.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn.
Onward…
Dr. Al Solano
Founder, Continuous Learning Institute | About
Host, Student Success Podcast
A meaningful test of success is how helpful we are in contributing to our fellow human being’s happiness.