#47: The Mossberg Solution - the grant writers guide to school data

A month or so ago, Walter Mossberg, a Wall Street Journal technology columnist, published a column describing three sites where parents can research schools. I use SchoolMatters.com, but you may find one of the others more to your liking. Check them all out.

The Mossberg Solution - WSJ.com: "SchoolMatters.com, a service of Standard & Poor's, is more bare-bones, containing quick statistical comparisons of schools. (S&P is a unit of McGraw-Hill Cos.) This site gets its content from various sources, including state departments of education, private research firms, the Census and National Public Education Finance Survey. This is evidenced by lists, charts and pie graphs that would make Ross Perot proud."

I especially like the fact that SchoolMatters can generate one report that pulls together data from several schools. I'm currently writing a grant application for three after school programs -- an elementary school site and two very different high schools. One report gives me the data on all three.

Here are the three sites Mossberg reviews:

• Education.com
• GreatSchools.net
• SchoolMatters.com

Photo by Dean Terry

#46: Statistics Help for Grant Writers

Here's a site to help those of us who are statistically challenged.

Statistics Help for Journalists: "Statistics Every Writer Should Know
A simple guide to understanding basic statistics, for journalists and other writers who might not know math."

#32: Parent Engagement Strategies for Grant Writers

Grant writer, how will you engage the families of your young program participants?

This question, in one form or another, keeps popping up in grant applications these days. All the research shows kids do better when their parents participate in their world.

But, engaging parents challenges even the best programs. It's especially sticky for those designing programs for adolescents. Seems like the parents of adolescents just run out of energy.

And many at-risk kids wouldn't be 'at-risk' if their parents were involved.

I turn to the Harvard Family Research Project for up-to-date research on family engagement. You'll find a wealth of information, toolkits, publications, annotated bibliographies, and a monthly newsletter from FINE.

If you write grants to fund youth programs, this site deserves a place in your favorites. And do share it with the staff providing services to youth.

Welcome to FINE - Family Involvement Network of Educators - at the Harvard Family Research Project: "The Family Involvement Network of Educators (FINE) is a national network of over 5,000 people who are interested in promoting strong partnerships between children's educators, their families, and their communities."

#9 Google Government Search, Now With State Filtering

Google Government Search, Now With State Filtering

One of the most useful blogs I follow is ResearchBuzz. She keeps track of resources and tools for researching on the web.

Now she's gone a step further. She's improving the tools out there. I was delighted when Google introduced Government Search. But the addition of state filtering makes it perfect. WOW!

And thanks, ResearchBuzz.

#6: Survey your clients -- how are you doing?

I once had a new client tell me I was the first grantwriter who hadn't yelled at her and lost my cool at some point during the process. She wanted me to know she really appreciated it, and she's become a regular customer.

While clients won't use a grantwriter who can't bring in the awards, they'll also shy away from one that is tempermental, disorganized or difficult to deal with. But when the deadline is staring us in the face, we grantwriters don't always know we're being difficult. We're just getting the job done.

So I've found it's wise to ask for feedback from my clients.

About once a quarter I put together a simple on-line survey asking them to rate my service and comment on what they like and what can be improved. (I use www.surveymonkey.com -- it's free for surveys under 100 responses.) Sometimes I get surprised. It's always instructive. And when the comments are positive, it feels really good.

So don't be shy. Ask. And don't just ask the boss. Whether you freelance or have a position on staff, it's a good habit to periodically survey all the people who work with you preparing applications and proposals.

Resource # 5: Checking the Latest Research

Foundation Center - Research Studies - Regional Trends

I always want to know the latest research published on my topic before I start writing an application. It helps inform the proposal - everything from the field's buzz words to the design of the program.

The Foundation Center's PubHub is a good place to start that research. It's a repository of reports created with foundation money, so you know the content reflects funders' agenda. You can search by subject, keyword, publisher, foundation - and a mix of all of these.

Happy reading.