Hi, everyone!
Well, we're down to the last week before the Laura Bush Foundation grant is due. I've heard from many of you who opened the grant application up and were so surprised how simple it is. Yep! Like I show in the video on my Pop Up PD webpage, you need some basic demographics about your school and 2 brief written responses about your grant goals. And that's doable! So, let's celebrate!
There were 2 big topics I shared in my webinar (recording on my Pop Up PD webpage). First, you have to be specific in describing your needs. Every librarian that applies to this and other grants wants to "update their collection".
So what is it about yours that needs updating? Run your collection analysis. Look at your state/district test scores. Study your bilingual/ESL and special pops numbers.
You need to describe your specific need in such a way that it stands out to the grant evaluators who will be reading and scoring hundreds or thousands of applications.
The second thing I mentioned was to make your application memorable. In my case, I learned to create an acronym or word visual to describe what I wanted to do with the grant funds. I once used Rookie Readers to describe my needs. I had rookies as far as being young early readers. I had rookies who were learning to read English instead of their native language. And I had older rookies who needed high-low books. My hope was that when the evaluator looked back at all of the grants my word visual stuck with them.
And yes! I was awarded several grants using the Rookie Reader word visual. Notice I said several grants. Like I share in my Pop Up PD video, once you get the basics down, you can recycle your grant writing over and over again.
Good luck! The deadline to apply to the LBF grant is January 29, 2021.
I hope you met librarian Stacy Cameron this week. She is an outstanding leader who is leading her district to capitalize on the changes brought about by the pandemic.
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