January 2007 E-bulletin

FEATURE ARTICLE
New "Proposal Review" Consultation Service Available

RELATED RESOURCES
Resources to help you write successful proposals

TIPS & TOOLS
How to make that first call to a funder a positive experience

SPECIAL EVENTS
Motivating Youth Volunteers: Roadshow (book your presentation)
CONTACT Community Guides are now available for purchase

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Comprehensive Changes to Employment Standards Code
2007 Community Places Program grant applications available
January is "Get Moving" Month - register your event
New organizations added to CONTACT Community guide

FEATURE ARTICLE

New "Proposal Review" Consultation Service Available

Volunteer Manitoba is continuously striving to meet the needs of the non-profit sector. Our most popular workshops are the ones that help organizations raise money either through writing proposals or fundraising events. The resources most frequently borrowed from our library focus on writing proposals. The funding environment for non-profits is intensely competitive and we are all seeking ways for our projects and ideas to inspire grantors.

Over the past two years, Volunteer Manitoba has had requests for a more advanced workshop on Proposal Writing. After careful consideration we have developed a service that will provide one-on-one time with an experienced, successful proposal writer. We believe a private, personal consultation would be more effective than a workshop because it will allow you to focus your valuable time on your own project.

Along with a discussion with the consultant, this service also includes a written critique of your proposal so that you can refer to the comments as you write other proposals in the future. The consultant will review your draft proposal and analyze it against the funder's request for proposal, application form, and website. You’ll get specific feedback based on the following questions:
- Does your proposal create an overall positive impression?
- Does your proposal effectively address the needs and requirements of the funder?
- Is your idea and its benefits clearly outlined?
- Is your budget set up effectively with sufficient documentation?
- Does your proposal establish the credibility of your organization and the key individuals involved?
- Is your proposal well written and well formatted?

Fee: $250

To utilize this service you must first take Volunteer Manitoba’s Effective Proposal Writing workshop.
To access this service, please contact Denice Girdner, Manager, Training & Development, vmtraining@mts.net, 477-5180 x 224, 888-922-4545.

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RELATED RESOURCES

Resources from Volunteer Manitoba's Resource Library:

Grant Seeker's Budget Toolkit - A well-crafted budget goes a long way toward selling a grantor on an applicant's vision. Unfortunately, many nonprofit professionals lack the know-how required to create budgets that instill grantors with confidence. This book fills that much-needed gap.

Demystifying Grant Seeking - Down to earth advice on implementing an effective grant-seeking process based on the art of fearless grant seeking.

Winning Granst Step by Step - A Complete workbook for planning, developing and writing successful proposals.

Grant Writer's Start-up Kit - video

To borrow any of these resources: 477-5180, 888-922-4545, or vmresource@mts.net

Websites:

www.cpb.org/grants/grantwriting - This is an easy guide to the basic elements of grant proposal writing and is offered to assist applicants to Corporation for Public Broadcasting and to other funding sources. It offers guideposts to help you through each stage of the process.
www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/tips - U.S Environmental Protection Agency offers tips on writing proposals and provides great details on how to formulate your budget.
www.webaim.org/techniques/writing - Great resource to learn how to write clearly and simply.

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TIPS & TOOLS

How to Make That First Call to a Funder a Positive Experience
A section from the article: Cold Call Phobia, Charity Channel's Grants and Foundation Review newsletter, Wednesday, November 02, 2005 - Jenifer D.B. McEnery

Cold Call Tips and Peripherals

A little perspective: You are working and so are they. Foundation staff members expect to receive telephone inquiries and most appreciate answering questions that will result in better proposals (and less work for them) in the long run;

Know well and believe in the organization and project you are trying to promote;

Write a script for your introduction: Include who you are, why you are calling, why you believe the foundation would be interested in your organization, and what you are looking for from the foundation (it could be just a dialog about potential opportunities and the foundation’s priorities);

Have an idea of what project or projects you want to share with the foundation and keep a quick reference sheet on hand with your organization’s and the projects’ FAQs (just in case you unexpectedly lose your train of thought or need to switch gears);

Know the foundation enough to make the call initially . . . research the foundation’s prior giving, preferred approach, typical grant amount, etc.;

Know to whom you wish to speak to at the foundation. Try to get the person most able to make decisions or influence decisions like the foundation’s director, president, etc.;

Prepare a list of questions you would like the foundation to answer such as: What does the foundation know about your organization, when is the next deadline, what is the best approach, can you meet with the foundation director in person, is there a program/cause of particular interest to the foundation, etc.;

Know what next steps you would like to take before making the call so that you can offer the foundation director options for follow-up, or if the foundation director is not available, you can skillfully articulate a message and time to follow-up with the foundation. If possible, I suggest coordinating a phone meeting with the director’s secretary;

At the close of the conversation, ask if you can contact the individual if you have additional questions, or if there is a better method for communicating such as email;

Follow-up the conversation with a letter, email, or proposal depending on the foundation director’s preference;

Treat yourself with a pat on the back and a special treat. You survived!

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SPECIAL EVENTS

Motivating Youth to Volunteer

MYVOP will be traveling around Manitoba this spring to reach out to youth, schools, community groups and volunteer agencies. We would love to see if we can come to your community to do a motivational presentation on Youth Volunteering.
Currently, MYVOP plans to be in:
> Brandon and Westman area, week of March 5. and week of April 23.
> Parklands area in April. No specific dates yet.
> Eastman area, week of May 7th.
> Thompson and Norman area in May. No specific dates yet.
> CentralManitoba area on request.
You can request our presentation by gong to our website, www.myvop.ca to Contact us, presentation request and applying on-line.
You can also call Lee Anderson, Coordinator or Chelsea Bronevitch, Youth Outreach Worker, 1-888-922-4545, ext. 229 or email myvop@mts.net.

CONTACT Community Guides are now available for purchase

For more information or to place an order contact: Alanna, vmcontact@mts.net, 1-866-COM-INFO (266-4636), 287-8785 or visity their website at www.contactmb.org.

Brown Bag - Legislative Changes to the Employment Standards Act

Friday, February 2, 2007 (12:00pm-1:00pm). For more information click here.

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