Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with grant

Grant scam satisfaction

hulahulagirl — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:19:45 -0800

How should I attempt to get satisfaction (ideally, a refund) from a scammy "grant" company? My mom was searching for grant information and was contacted by a company called United Economic Agency. She was told that for $375, they would hook her up with a grant ("pretty much guaranteed"), so she let them withdraw the $375 from her account with the promise that if she didn't get a grant, all but $50 would be refunded.

I know, it smells like scam right off the bat. But she was hopeful and did talk to some people on the phone and they had a website, so she trusted them. She's obviously naïve about things like this.

Now it's several months later and I am checking the BBB's website and surprise, surprise they have a score of F. Apparently the physical address on file for the business doesn't even exist and BBB has tried to resolve some complaints, but has not had a lot of luck.

I've seen consumer help articles in AARP or Costco's magazine or somewhere where someone goes after places that rip you off, but I don't know how/if I should start that process. If the BBB can't get any satisfaction, what are the chances someone else can? Do we just chalk this up to a lesson learned?

My mom has put her entire 401(k) into our business (a restaurant) and this $375 she's out for this scam is just like shit icing on the shit cake. What steps do we need to take to at least make sure they don't get any more money from her since she's already given them her bank info, short of closing the account which would be a hassle but ultimately worth it, I guess?

How Do We Get Into Grant Writing?

musofire — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:40:24 -0800

How can we get into grant writing for other people? I've had good luck getting money out of the Canadian government for my screenwriting, I've done successful book proposals, and my wife has done all sorts of other successful applications. I am told a grant writer can claim 30-35% of a successful grant. How do we get into this line of work?

Help me identify potential grant sources for rebuilding an elementary school's IT network

Imhotep is Invisible — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 09:42:58 -0800

I have been tasked with rebuilding the computer lab and administrative systems for an elementary school. One of my tasks will be to seek out and apply for grants of funds or equipment for an upgrade. What organizations should I approach? The primarily African-American Christian school located on the south side of Chicago has approximately 20 lab machines and 8 administrative machines, though the majority of the machines are out-of-date. I would be looking to obtain network hardware (firewall, switches), complete desktop systems, printers, 2 small servers, client licenses for Office and Windows, antivirus and content-filtering solutions, and (potentially off-site) backup.

I've found this ask question about how to approach a foundation and there's plenty of information about how to write a grant request but there seems to be vast volumes of potential sources and I'm not sure how to identify who would be an ideal partner.

Is this report worth the money? Who else would you recommend I/we approach?

Much obliged!

Help me get to TED

cmchap — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:03:00 -0800

I want to attend a TED conference. I'm a junior at a liberal arts College in the US, and I have a $3000 grant to do pretty much anything I want next summer (mid-May through mid-August 2010). Give me your suggestions of awesome things in any discipline that $3000-$5000 will let me do/make/research/found/publish/etc. (If it's a money-making business venture that a collegiate entrepreneur can run, it can cost more than $5000.) Seemingly, all the big movers and shakers of innovation and design go to TED. I want to see them, meet them, discuss ideas with them, and learn from them. Problematically, I am not TED-worthy, yet.

Help make me a worthy candidate to apply to go to a TED Conference.

Like a good student of the liberal arts, I am looking for ideas in any discipline. I like 'em all. Promise.

I love the internet, and I'm fascinated by the startup culture around San Francisco. When I graduate, I want to work out there with those guys. Just a heads up in case your ideas can help me down that path.

I've got a few ideas of ways to spend the $3000, but I don't think either of them are TED-worthy at all.

idea #1) Start in Lisbon, and take the Euopean rail system through 10-15 major cities across Europe. I'd looked into the Trans Siberian Railway from Moscow to Beijing, but I found it to be prohibitively expensive.

idea #2) Travel to Dharamsala, India and study the Tibetan government in exile. Realizing that speaking to his Holiness the Dali Lama is a stretch, I would try to speak to as many high-ranking political/religious figures I could while studying the day-to-day activities of their non-sovereign government.

idea #3) Go to Johannesburg, South Africa for the 2010 Soccer (football?) World Cup. I could study the way the South African government tried to cope with the massive influx of foreigners in a city-planning/economic light.

Got any ideas that would actually be TED-worthy? Any and all suggestions will be very helpful.

Wine for money!

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:45:18 -0800

University-etiquette filter: I received a great grant and would like to thank the professors who helped me through the rigorous application process. Is a good bottle of wine a proper choice? This is at the PhD level, in Canada. The grant is provincial, and will make a huge difference in my studies. I just don't want the gift to seem too personal or what not. I know the professors well, just not much outside of academic life. Anounymous because it is such a small world.

Learning about already awarded grant money?

Anonymous — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:53:07 -0800

How can I learn more about the grant money my lab already has? I'm a first year PhD student (but older, organized, with loads of transfer credit from my M.S.) in a medium-large science lab (psych and neuroscience), and I'm trying to get a better sense of how money works in the lab so I can effectively use what's been earmarked for me as well as argue well for how pooled money is spent. (Things usually end up happening here in crazy scrambles at the last minute. I feel like having a cool head and a long view will give me massive leverage to do good things.)

I'm on a T90 and the lab has maybe three or four R01s.

I found all these grants on CRISP, but I want more information.

Where can I find the breakdown of what money has been earmarked for various purposes? (e.g., there's been money set aside for me for travel and supplies, separately. How much? When do I have to spend it by?)

There is also pooled money for all the graduate students on the T90. A few are in other labs. How can I figure out who those people are? I'd like to A) use my share, B) tell at least the three people I know who are on the grant that they have supply money which I'm sure they don't know about C) politely use more than my fair share of the pool if time is running out and I definitely know (by asking) that other people aren't going to be proactive enough to spend the money.

I'd also like to know how much of various earmarked sums have already been spent.

Presumably my lab keeps this information on file, on site. What do I ask for? Does the NIH keep up-to-date, in-the-trenches records, or do they get updated maybe once a year (and/or it's not available to me for access)? Does the university or department "business office" keep track of all this stuff?

I realize that a lot of these questions can be answered by people in the lab, but generally the PI and more advanced graduate students tend to be rushed, terse, and cryptic. Also, because they're so scattered, I need to use my face-time with them for science questions. There are a few administrative people connected with the lab who are knowledgeable, but they're 9-5 and, again, I need to spend my time during the work day doing science, not sitting down with them for 15-30 minutes a few times so they can walk me through X, Y, and Z. (I'm sort of dense about this stuff, so I'd ideally want information I can look over, contemplate, and daydream possibilities about on my own time. I may just need to spend some time with the administrators and I know I should hang out as much as possible with the post-docs and advanced graduate students, regardless.

I'm picking up things by osmosis--that's why I know enough to ask this question. But it's too slow. And, this is taxpayer money. I feel like the more I know, the more I can ethically, effectively, and responsibly use this resource.

In summary, where can I learn about the details of "earmarks" on grants and what's already been spent? In the rare instances that I have my advisor's attention and during group lab meetings, I'd like to have some numbers to quote. I know it'll be a process, but I want to jumpstart it.

Most basic question: Is there anything out there like CRISP that gives much more detail than just one paragraph? Or, where are grants broken down in detail so people can decide what to apply for?

To whom it may concern:

pseudostrabismus — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:57:08 -0800

I'd like to see examples of great cover letters, please. In my experience applying for jobs, grants, and programs, I think most of my cover letters have been kind of lame- a little stiff, overly formal, and basically boring. But when I try to make them sound more "like me", they get gimmicky and annoying.

I'd like to read examples of excellent cover letters. I don't really care what type of job or program they're for. I'm not so much looking for advice like "keep it brief" or "use humour" or "write it on a pizza box!" Rather, I'm seeking actual examples of smart, clear, charming, and attention-grabbing cover letters that would easily land an application in the YES pile.

If you know of something online, please share links- and if you want to share a real letter you wrote or received, perhaps you could remove or alter any identifying details, and post it here. (Obviously I'm not looking to violate anyone's confidentiality.)

Thanks!

Friend letter of recommendation?

kitcat — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 06:56:00 -0800

How do I write a letter of recommendation for someone seeking grant money write her novel, especially given that I'm a long-time friend and not a former teacher or mentor? I know her work, her character, and I certainly have glowing things to say about her. But I'm not an authority, nor am I published. My most relevant credentials are my B.A. Honors in comparative literature and admission to Ph.D programs at two Ivy League schools (I started but didn't finish that Ph.D...). How much do I say about myself? Do I focus on her work or her character?

Please note: She will have two letters from former professors and has a very impressive CV.

How do I help an adult with LDs find an expert tutor?

Jennifer S. — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 15:04:12 -0800

I need help finding free expert literacy tutoring for an LD adult learner in Charlotte, NC, or a grant source for an adult learning center there. I don't just need a community literacy volunteer. I need someone who has been trained to work with adult learners with learning disabilities, and can work intensely with a learner. OR I need a grant source that might pay such an expert to help a struggling learner.

The backstory:

I used to work with a Charlotte adult literacy center, teaching an adult learner I will call Delores.

Delores was in her 60s and totally illiterate, a second-grade dropout from a low-income family. We worked together for months with very little progress.

I raised money for Delores to be tested for learning disabilities. I was told by the tester (an expert in LDs and special needs education) that Delores probably had significant learning disabilities.

He recommended that someone work with her several times a week, not just once a week as we had been doing. He also recommended that she work with someone who had experience with learning disabilities, and acknowledged that even with help, she might never learn to read.

His recommendation has so far proven impossible. Delores is beyond being helped by even the most gifted and persistent community volunteer, but has no money to pay for professional help. She is falling through the cracks.

People who have expertise want money she and I don’t have. I asked the local college for volunteers from the education department, no luck.

I wrote a grant to pay for an LD professional to come to the adult learning center and work with Delores and the center’s other LD learners. The adult learning center did not offer me much help in applying for grants for its under-served learners (Delores is not the only one with this problem, and my contact at the center said others need the same help). I'm not even sure they did anything with my grant letter. No luck.

I have now moved to another city several hours away, making it even harder to help. Delores still gets help from community volunteers, and has made next to no progress.

There is no budget for any help for Delores, at least not until I am out of college.

I am aware that Delores might never learn to read, but it’s still not certain that that’s the case. She deserves time with a real LD professional before anyone writes her off.

So here’s what I want to know:

Is there something I’m not thinking of to get Delores help, or get the Charlotte adult literacy center the funds it needs to pay someone teach its most challenged learners to read?

Is there another Charlotte-area organization to ask or talk to about learning help from someone who really knows how to teach LD adult learners?

Are there grants/organizations you know of that could fund the learning center in a way that would help Delores (i.e. paying for a professional who is experienced with working with LD adult learners)?

And does anyone have any stories -- good or bad -- about an adult learner who struggled to learn to read through learning disability and disadvantage? What’s happening out there with other dedicated adult learners in a long-term struggle? I want to know.

Is there anything else I should know to help Delores?

Thanks for your time!

Examples of successful creative grant/fellowship/scholarship applications?

gottabefunky — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:23:36 -0800

Where can I find examples of successful applications for grants, fellowships and scholarships related to writing and/or international research, along the lines of Fulbright, NEA, etc? I'm especially interested in programs applicable to longer (book-length) nonfiction projects, and grant amounts in the $thousands more than $hundreds.

Looking for bars near Grant Park

wfrgms — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 12:35:20 -0800

Chicago-Obama-Filter: Can you recommend a bar with good TV viewing of the election coverage near Grant Park? Partially building on this AskMe.

I've reserved my ticket, but like everyone else I have all sorts of questions.

Mainly though I'd like to find a quite, non-tourist bar near Grant Park where I can drink and watch the news without much of a hassle before going over to get in line. Something inside the Loop and divey would be great.

I just received the following from the DNC: "Ticket holders should walk towards Grant Park on Congress Parkway, then walk south on Columbus Drive to the site." So, somewhere near that would be good.

Also, any advice on when I should get in line? Or if ticket holders will be ushered in?

I'll be checking this thread between now and late Tuesday and updating it with details as I find them. Thanks for any and all advice.

Bonus points if any Chicago Me-Fi's want to join.

Find me a grant to give away art.

ScarletPumpernickel — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:03:47 -0800

GrantFilter: Help my artist friend get a grant to pay for materials so he can donate art to hospitals and other public-benefit places. My artist friend makes large, appealing digital art installations about 4x6 feet in size. He's in the permanent collection of the local government, has been exhibited in galleries, and has been accepted into a National juried show next month. (He's located in Southern California.)

He does not need money to get by. He wants to get a grant to pay for the materials cost (substrate, pigment, framing, delivery) of donating his large works to hospitals, VA centers and other public-benefit institutions. About $7500 per year would do it.

Help me find such a grant. Thanks.

Grant writing 101

greta simone — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:17:22 -0800

Best book for grant writing? I would like to pick up a book to learn the basics of grant writing. I've perused the Amazon listings, but they all look the same to me. Assume I know absolutely nothing about grant writing (which is true), and point me in the right direction. Thanks!

I work hard for the money

doctor.dan — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 04:18:18 -0800

Just started a PhD in cognitive neuroscience/imaging genetics and looking for some way to fund my research. I'm doing a PhD at a major Australian research university and need quite a bit of money in terms of research funding to pay for the experiments that I want to run (fMRI is quite pricey, about $450 per subject for the cheaper scanner and $650 for the stronger scanner).

I get about $5000 in research funding every year and can use some money from my supervisor's grant, but all up the funding is only enough to run one good fMRI study. I'd love to be able to run more than one.

Are there any grants/funding sources I can apply to get my mitts on some more research funding, or should I give up and focus on doing my research? Also, I have a scholarship that covers my living costs (barely), so I'm not looking to increase that.

Education giving in Miami?

ejvalentine — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:47:04 -0800

My organization is searching for foundations or individual donors in the Miami area who fund education related projects in Miami-Dade. Do you know of any? We have applied at about 5 foundations in the city for grants, but have had little luck so far, mostly because we can't seem to locate that many. I don't want to name them here, but am looking for ideas on ones we may have overlooked.

Does anyone know of foundations or individual donors that make grants in Miami-Dade, especially for education? Any and all names would be appreciated.

We're a 501(c)3.

What could a high school chemistry teacher do with $5000? (besides buying computers)

chr1sb0y — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:44:22 -0800

What could a high school chemistry teacher do with a $5000 technology grant? (The grant restrictions state that it cannot be used to buy computer hardware or fund after-school programs or summer projects.) I am looking for project inspiration for the a Toshiba America Foundation 7-12 Science/Math Education Grant (PDF). Past winners are here, but few are chemistry-related. So far I am pondering biodiesel and also trying to come up with a way to mix up BASIC Stamps and chemistry, but any and all suggestions are welcome.

Help me pay for nursing school

serazin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 12:59:29 -0800

Scholarships for nursing students? I’m starting nursing school at a small community college. Their financial aid department bites – they have zero information about scholarships beyond the Pell Grant/Cal Grant and they won’t even talk to me about loans until August (when I’m starting school). I’ve been trying to research scholarships on my own and have found a couple, but not the dozens that I imagined when everyone told me that there was lots of help available for nursing students. I know the basics: fastweb, google, and I've looked through some askme scholarship threads, but with no help from my school financial aid department, I’m floundering a bit.

I know I’m late to apply for many awards (the program didn’t tell me I was accepted until May, a couple months after most scholarship deadlines passed) but I would love any suggestions for nursing related scholarships, grants, loan-forgiveness, etc. I’ve applied for this one: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/nursing/scholarship/ but haven’t found others.

If it helps, I’m also an “older” student and a single parent.

Teach me how to fund art organization!

actionpact — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:05:45 -0800

I have an idea for a community art organization. Help me figure out where to look to fund it! For a year or two I've been toying with the idea of building a community printmaking center in the future. Basically a small center where people could pay a small fee to join as members and do relief or screenprinting, and perhaps work in some community lessons for people if there was interest. I'm currently not living where I'd want to host it (would probably go for Portland, OR, but I'm in AZ) so I know this would be a long project in the making, but I'd like to start learning about how feasible this thing is. I'm not rich so I can't really finance it myself, but I was thinking that perhaps I could find a way to fund it via grants or other government funding.

So basically I just want to know, where should I start researching this? I am completely in the dark about how to raise money or get a project like this underway. Are there good books or websites on the topic? Would this count as a non-profit? An arts organization? What little I've found so far in regards to organization funding seems to go towards pre-existing ones. Any legalities I should be aware of?

If it's vague, just let me know and I'll try to add details. This is a goal that I really would love to make happen in my future, so any suggestions/ideas no matter how offbeat will be great! Thanks so much!

NGO fundraising

Meatbomb — Sun, 18 May 2008 07:00:34 -0800

Chasing funding and attracting sponsors / donors for an NGO: European Union / Bulgarian / educational context. Please, teach me? My professional experience is as a teacher, teacher trainer, and trainer of trainers. Suddenly an opportunity has come up to lead a Bulgarian educational NGO. The partner I am going to be working with is a trusted friend and colleague, and his background is pretty much the same as mine.

We are very confident that we can successfully design and implement educational programmes, courses, projects, etc., which will be the core of this NGO's activities. The trick is quickly learning how to get the positive attention of donors, and make them fund our stuff. Neither of us has skills / experience in fundraising, submitting project proposals, winning project grants, and in general chasing / securing funding for the work we want to do.

I know there are a lot of Mefites out there with this kind of background. Any advice, links, ideas, places to search to help us hit the ground running and make our NGO a success would be much appreciated.

Technology Educational Grant

bob bisquick — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:11:41 -0800

How to pay for a computer programming class? I would like to take a boot camp microsoft MCPD class in the fall. My job is grant funded, so they can't pay for it. Is there a way I can get money for the class, like a grant of some kind? I can get a loan, but I would like to avoid debt if I can.

Writing a Travel Grant

tickingclock — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:34:19 -0800

I am applying for a small travel grant to fund a trip to a semi-local conference. The problem is that I have no idea how to write one! I am interested in presenting the results of my undergraduate research project at a small conference taking place at a nearby province. To help fund this trip, I would like to apply for one of the undergraduate travel grants available at my university -- but I have no idea what I am supposed to say. The application instructions are fairly minimal: "attach a one-page explanation of your role at event and title of presentation."

Some specific questions:
* Do travel grants have a standard format that I should follow?

* What kind of information are they looking for in the grant proposal? My role at the event and title of presentation will not take up a whole page -- what are they actually asking me to say?

* There is a separate application cover sheet that contains the important information such as the name of the conference, the amount of money requested, as well as the proposed dates of travel. Should I repeat this information in the proposal?

* Should I attach some documents that are not explicitly requested? I am thinking of things like the abstract, a proposed budget, and my resume.

This is my first time writing a grant, travel or otherwise (see: undergrad), so any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Where are all the US eco building grants?

JackarypQQ — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:57:07 -0800

Where can I find funding sources to start an Eco farm/Artist collective? I've been looking for grants online, but they all seem to be for Europe or Australia, or already too late to apply. I want to build it in either the North or East San Francisco Bay Area. This is my ultimate goal in life so I'm sure I will eventually complete it, but on a lark I moved my timetable from ten years to three and so I need ~$300 000 in the next year to fifteen months.

How can an American get money to travel to Japan?

itchi23 — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 09:53:21 -0800

How can I, an American, get money to travel to Japan? - Ideally I'd like to go through arts & humanities grants, cultural exchange programs, or visiting artist/musician programs, but other forms of travel funding assistance would be great too. Bonus mefi: how can an American musician (electronic, pop, club) find venues, promoters, DJ's, clubnights, etc, that can lead to a performance while visiting Japan/Tokyo.? My wife landed some pretty sweet grant $$ through a cultural exchange program with the university she teaches at, so she'll be heading to Tokyo for ten days in June. I want to join her in Japan after her program ends for five or six days. Her travel costs and lodging are pretty much covered, but mine aren't. What I'd like to do is find some funding sources I can apply to in order to make the trip a bit more affordable. I'm a digital video/animation artist and an electronic musician who's entering an MFA program this fall, so programs/grants along this line would be super helpful.
Additionally, my wife and I perform in an electronic pop/dance/electro music "band" - and if we could land a gig or two while in Tokyo, that'd be....well...awesome. The problem is, I know how to go after shows in the states, but I'm at a loss on how to go after shows in Japan/Tokyo.
Any help's definitely appreciated!

How do I get funding for summer history research?

slowcat — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 08:33:28 -0800

How do I get an undergraduate summer research grant in history? I want to spend my summer working on my senior thesis without going completely broke. I'm a 2nd semester Junior history major at Columbia, looking to write a thesis next year. I'd like to do as much research as possible this summer, while also bumming around with my boyfriend in Providence (where I would have access to Brown University's libraries). Is there any way to have someone else pay for it, ie, are there any fellowships or research grants I could apply for? Columbia offers two fellowships, but they're very competitive. Where else should I look? I've never applied for a grant, written a proposal, or really done anything in this vein before, so I'm not sure where to start. Any advice would be much appreciated. (Also, I'm not sure if it makes a difference what my topic would be, but I'm thinking about something on the Spanish Civil War and its influence on American intellectuals. Or possibly something relating to environmental history).

How to fund small film?

snsranch — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:36:36 -0800

Having asked this already, and having followed some of that really great advice, I've found that I'm only 50% Hollywood compliant. So I want to do my own film, here in San Diego. Any advice for getting funding for a couple of cameras and some sound? I've been developing some chops but I'm done with the mini-dv. It's time to step it up a bit and produce something that can be shown in a theater.