The Ultimate Grant Proposal Blueprint

THE ULTIMATE GRANT PROPOSAL BLUEPRINT - Fall 2019

YOUR STEP-BY-STEP ROADMAP AND BUILD-IT-YOURSELF TOOLKIT FOR CRAFTING AN A+ PROPOSAL - EVERY TIME!

Watch Intro Video

Course Description

Maryn Boess

Chief Magic-Maker

Over her 20+-year career in the nonprofit world, Maryn has been an on-staff program developer and grantwriter; a independent grants consultant (winning more than $42 million for her clients over 10 years); a grants project manager; a grants trainer; a grants reviewer, author, speaker, mentor and coach; and - for the past 10 years - even a grantmaker. This done-it-all background gives her the unique 3-D "insider's" perspective she brings to the practical and inspiring trainings on healthy, successful grantsmanship that she has been blessed to share with thousands of nonprofits of every size, nationally and internationally as well. GrantsMagic U, launched in fall 2015, is the "virtual academy" she created to make her extensive portfolio of grantsmanship trainings available (and affordable!) for anyone, anytime, anywhere. GrantsMagic U is an Approved Continuing Education Provider for both the Grant Professionals Certification (GPC) and Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) credentials. Since 2006 Maryn has also been “in the grantmaker’s chair,” managing up to $2 million annually in grantmaking for K-12 education in the Southwest. She considers herself a dual citizen in the grants world, and may be the only person currently holding membership in both GPA (Grant Professionals Association, for grantseekers) and GEO (Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, for grantmakers). Every hour of GrantsMagic U training qualifies as 1 credit toward CFRE and GPC continuing-education and certification requirements.

Course curriculum

1
PREREQUISITE! Getting Started: Important information to get you off to a good start
- PREREQUISITE: Getting Started - Please Come In!
- PREREQUISITE: Getting Around Inside Your Course [VIDEO + DOWNLOAD]
2
SESSION 1 (Oct. 21): Starting Right Where You Are ... Right Now!
- SESSION 1 Downloads and First Steps [READ]
- LESSON 1-A: Foundations - Let's Get This Party Started [READ]
- A-1. Foundations: What's Ahead [WATCH]
- A-2. Foundations: Let's Get This Party Started! [WATCH]
- A-3. Thinking in 3-D: The Ant, The Eagle ... and Superman [WATCH]
- LESSON 1-B: The Power of Mission-Centered Grantsmanship [READ]
- B-1. The Power of Mission-Centered Grantsmanship: Warm-Up [WATCH]
- B-2. The Grantsmanship Game: Playing to Win [WATCH]
- B-3. Rule 1- Know Yourself: The Heart of Mission-Driven Grantsmanship [WATCH]
- B-4. What Do You Know? - Revisited [WATCH]
- LESSON 1-C: The One-Page Grant Proposal: Your Blueprint Framework [READ]
- C-1. The One-Page Grant Proposal: Your Blueprint Framework [WATCH]
- C-2. But First, A Few Words About Mind-Mapping ... [WATCH]
- C-3. The Magic Wand Worksheet: A Guided Tour, Part 1 [WATCH]
- C-4. The Magic Wand Worksheet: A Guided Tour, Part 2 [WATCH]
- C-5. Putting the Magic Wand to Work for You! [WATCH]
- LESSON 1-D. Session 1 Review and Action Steps [READ]
- D-1. Session 1 Review [QUIZ]
- D-2. Session 1: Your Quick-Win Action Step [POST]
- D-3. Session 1: Your High-Leverage Action Step [POST]
- D-4. Session 1: Questions? Discussion? Inspirations? [POST]
3
SESSION 2 (Oct. 28): What's the Problem? - Crafting a Statement of Issue, Need, or Opportunity that's Clear, Compelling - and Completely Irresistible
- SESSION 2 Downloads and Overview [READ]
- LESSON 2-A. You Be the Grantmaker! - Lessons from the Winning Edge [READ]
- A-1. Session 2 - Foundations and What's Ahead [WATCH]
- A-2. You Be the Grantmaker! - Lessons from the Winning Edge [WATCH]
- LESSON 2-B. Building the Issue Statement: Your Fill-In-the-Blanks Formula [READ]
- B-1. Building the Issue Statement: Your Fill-In-the-Blanks Formula, Part 1 [WATCH]
- B-2. Building the Issue Statement: Your Fill-In-the-Blanks Formula, Part 2 [WATCH]
- LESSON 2-C. It's Never About the "What": The Motivating Why and the Universal Ideal [READ]
- C-1. It's Never About the "What" - The Motivating Why and the Universal Ideal [WATCH]
- C-2. More About the Motivating Why and the Universal Ideal [WATCH]
- C-3. Wrap-Up and What Do You Know? [WATCH]
- LESSON 2-D. Session 2 Review and Action Steps [READ]
- D-1. Session 2 Review [QUIZ]
- D-2. Session 2: Your Quick-Win Action Step [POST]
- D-3. Session 2: Your High-Leverage Action Step [POST]
- D-4. Session 2: Questions? Discussion? Inspirations? [POST]
4
Q&A #1 (Wed., Oct. 30): Replay and resources
- Q&A #1 - Replay and resources
5
SESSION 3 (Nov. 4): Impact Outcomes: Let's Pay a Visit to Emerald City!
- SESSION 3 Downloads and Overview [READ]
- LESSON 3-A. The Change Map and the Change Gap: From Desolation Island ... to Emerald City! [READ]
- A-1. Session 3 - Foundations and What's Ahead [WATCH]
- A-2. Big-Picture Context: The Change Map [WATCH]
- LESSON 3-B. What's Logic Got to Do With It? - Let's Get Tactical! [READ]
- B-1. What's Logic Got to Do With It? - Let's Get Tactical! [WATCH]
- LESSON 3-C. Crafting Knock-Their-Socks-Off Outcomes Statements: Your Fill-In-the-Blanks Formula [READ]
- C-1. Knock-Their-Socks-off Outcomes Statements - Getting Started [WATCH]
- C-2. The Fill-In-the-Blanks Formula - Two Examples [WATCH]
- C-3. More About Outcomes Statements [WATCH]
- C-4. Wrap-Up and What's Next [WATCH]
- LESSON 3-D. Session 3 Review and Action Steps [READ]
- D-1. Session 3 Review [QUIZ]
- D-2. Session 3: Your Quick-Win Action Step [POST]
- D-3. Session 3: Your High-Leverage Action Step [POST]
- D-4. Session 3: Questions? Discussion? Inspirations? [POST]
6
SESSION 4 (Nov. 11): Work Plan & Partnership: Crossing the Vision Bridge
- SESSION 4 Downloads and Overview [READ]
- LESSON 4-A. Leveraging the Power of Partnership: A 3-D Perspective [READ]
- A-1. Session 4: Foundations and What's Ahead [WATCH]
- A-2. Collaboration: Let's Get Tactical [WATCH]
- A-3. Developing the Collaborative Proposal [WATCH]
- LESSON 4-B. Lights! Camera! Action! - 3-D Thinking and the Work Plan [READ]
- B-1. Lights! Camera! Action! - 3-D Thinking and the Work Plan [WATCH]
- B-2. Breaking It Down: Our Working Example [WATCH]
- LESSON 4-C. "Scripting" Your Work Plan, Step by Step: Your Fill-In-the-Blanks Formula [READ]
- C-1. "Scripting" Your Work Plan, Step by Step: Your Fill-In-the-Blanks Formula [WATCH]
- C-2. Time to Build It Up: Two Practice Examples [WATCH]
- C-3. Another Example [WATCH]
- C-4. Pulling It All Together [WATCH]
- C-5. A Quick Look Back: Where Have We Been? [WATCH]
- LESSON 4-D. Session 4 Review and Action Steps [READ]
- D-1. Session 4 Review [QUIZ]
- D-2. Session 4: Your Quick-Win Action Step [POST]
- D-3. Session 4: Your High-Leverage Action Step [POST]
- D-4. Session 4: Questions? Discussion? Inspirations? [POST]
7
SESSION 5 (Nov. 18): The Essential Evaluation Toolkit - Defining and Measuring Success
- SESSION 5 Downloads and Overview [READ]
- LESSON 5-A. Evaluation: So What Is It ... and Why Do It, Anyway? [READ]
- A-1. The Essential Evaluation Toolkit: Getting Started [WATCH]
- A-2. Evaluation: So What Is It ... and Why Do It, Anyway? [WATCH]
- A-3. Learning from Failure: My Favorite Evaluation Story [WATCH]
- LESSON 5-B. Let's Get Tactical Redux: A Closer Look at the Logic Model in Evaluation Planning [READ]
- B-1. Let's Get Tactical, Redux: A Closer Look at the Logic Model in Evaluation Planning [WATCH]
- B-2. The Logic Behind the Logic Model: Let's Plan a Vacation! [WATCH]
- B-3. Where Does the Planning Process Begin? ... Looking at Real-Life Examples [WATCH]
- B-4. Back to the Bottom-Up Logic Model: Mapping Out Your Grant Proposal [WATCH]
- LESSON 5-C. Zeroing In On Success: Where's the Finish Line ... and How Will We Know When We Reach It? [READ]
- C-1. Zeroing In On Success: Where's the Finish Line ... and How Will We Know When We Reach It? [WATCH]
- C-2. Knock-Their-Socks-Off Outcomes Statements - Redux! [WATCH]
- C-3. Key Steps and Benchmarks - Redux! [WATCH]
- C-4. Mapping Your Evaluation Plan, Step by Step [WATCH]
- C-5. The Project Evaluation Summary Chart: Pulling It All Together [WATCH]
- C-6. Session 5 Wrap-Up [WATCH]
- LESSON 5-D. Session 5 Review and Action Steps [READ]
- D-1. Session 5 Review [QUIZ]
- D-2. Session 5: Your Quick-Win Action Step [POST]
- D-3. Session 5: Your High-Leverage Action Step [POST]
- D-4. Session 5: Questions? Discussion? Inspirations? [POST]
8
Q&A #2 (Wed., Nov. 20) - Replay and resources
- Q&A #2 - Replay and resources
9
SESSION 6 (Nov. 25): Building an Unbreakable Project Budget ... Guaranteed!
- SESSION 6 Downloads and Overview [READ]
- LESSON 6-A. Mastering Mission-Centered Budgeting: Your Essential Power Tools [READ]
- A-1. Mastering Mission-Centered Budgeting: Your Essential Power Tools [WATCH]
- A-2. The Budget Hierarchy, the Bottom-Up Logic Model ... and Chocolate Chip Cookies [WATCH]
- A-3. Introducing the Master Budget Planning Checklist and Worksheet [WATCH]
- A-4. Two Warm-Up Examples ... and a Solemn Pledge [WATCH]
- LESSON 6-B. Let's Put On a Play! - Bringing in Detail with a Real-Life Scenario [READ]
- B-1. Let's Put On a Play! - Bringing In Detail with a Real-Life Scenario [WATCH]
- B-2. Our Scenario: Salaries ... Two Examples [WATCH]
- B-3. Our Scenario: EREs and Contractual Services [WATCH]
- B-4. Our Scenario: Space Costs and Equipment [WATCH]
- B-5. Our Scenario: Supplies; Travel; Building Costs; Other [WATCH]
- LESSON 6-C. Everything Else You Need to Know to Build an A+ Proposal Budget [READ]
- C-1. Everything Else You Need to Know to Build an A+ Proposal Budget [WATCH]
- C-2. More About "Direct" and "Indirect" Costs [WATCH]
- C-3. The Funder's Budget Form - and a Few More Considerations [WATCH]
- C-4. How It All Lines Up ... A Final Look [WATCH]
- LESSON 6-D. Session 6 Review and Action Steps [READ]
- D-1. Session 6 Review [QUIZ]
- D-2. Session 6: Your Quick-Win Action Step [POST]
- D-3. Session 6: Your High-Leverage Action Step [POST]
- D-4. Session 6: Questions? Discussion? Inspiration? [POST]
10
SESSION 7 (Dec. 2): What's This All About ... Quickly? (And Who Are You, Anyway?)
- Session 7 Downloads and Overview [READ]
- LESSON 7-A. The Hard-Working Proposal Summary ... and How to Muscle It Up [READ]
- A-1. Our Session 7 Road Map: Getting Started [WATCH]
- A-2. Lesson A: The Hard-Working Proposal Summary ... a First Look [WATCH]
- A-3. You Be the Grantmaker! - Two Exercises [WATCH]
- A-4. More Hands-On Examples for Your Practice! [WATCH]
- LESSON 7-B. The Credibility Statement: Who Are You - What Are You All About - and How Do We Know We Can Trust You? [READ]
- B-1. The Credibility Statement: Introduction [WATCH]
- B-2. Your Fill-In-The-Blanks Worksheet [WATCH]
- B-3. Two Samples - and More Things to Think About [WATCH]
- LESSON 7-C. What About Sustainability? - Answering the Tricky Question About Future Funding [READ]
- C-1. What About Sustainability? - Answering the Tricky Question About Future Funding [WATCH]
- C-2. The "Sustainability" Checklist and Worksheet [WATCH]
- LESSON 7-D: Frameworks, Frameworks, Frameworks! - The Proposal Checklist and Review Worksheet [READ]
- D-1. Lesson D: Frameworks, Frameworks, Frameworks! - The Proposal Checklist and Review Worksheet [WATCH]
- D-2. Frameworks: The Proposal Sections [WATCH]
- D-3. Where We've Been, What's Ahead [WATCH]
- LESSON 7-E. Session 7 Review and Action Steps [READ]
- E-1. Session 7 Review [QUIZ]
- E-2. Session 7: Your Quick-Win Action Step [POST]
- E-3. Session 7: Your High-Leverage Action Step [POST]
- E-4. Session 7: Questions? Discussion? Inspirations? [POST]
11
SESSION 8 (Dec. 9): Turning Your Blueprint Into an A+ Proposal ... On Paper or Online
- Session 8 Downloads and Overview [READ]
- LESSON 8-A. The Myth of the A+ Proposal: Let's Take a Peek Inside the "Black Box" [READ]
- A-1. Our Session 8 Roadmap: Getting Started [WATCH]
- A-2. The Myth of the A+ Proposal: Let's Take a Peek Inside the "Black Box" [WATCH]
- A-3. Inside the "Black Box": Who's In, Who's Out ... and Why the Points Don't Matter [WATCH]
- A-4. Lessons from Inside the "Black Box": Beyond Mission [WATCH]
- LESSON 8-B. The Inner World of the "Grantmaker": A Reality Check [READ]
- B-1. The Inner World of the Grantmaker: A Reality Check [WATCH]
- B-2. "Thinking" Through the Grantmaker's Eyes, Revisited: Let's Do a Reality Check [WATCH]
- B-3. The 12-12-12 Scenario ... and What Grantmakers Really Want [WATCH]
- LESSON 8-C. "So ... What's an RFP Again?" ... Making Sense of the Grantmaker's Guidelines [READ]
- C-1. "So ... What's an RFP Again?" - Making Sense of the Grantmaker's Guidelines [WATCH]
- C-2. Think of It This Way ... and a Tip to Keep Your Sanity [WATCH]
- C-3. Inside the Ben & Jerry's Foundation: A User-Friendly Example [WATCH]
- C-4. Let's Do a "Reverse" Scavenger Hunt! [WATCH]
- C-5. Going to the Well ... and Rule 6, Revisited [WATCH]
- LESSON 8-D. Creating a Winning Proposal: Putting It All Together ... On Paper or Online [READ]
- D-1. Creating a Winning Proposal: Putting It All Together ... On Paper or Online [WATCH]
- D-2. Online Proposals ... Attachments and Appendices [WATCH]
- D-3. The Golden Rule of Good Writing ... and More, More, More [WATCH]
- D-4. Session 8: Wrap-Up and Review [WATCH]
- LESSON 8-E. Session 8 Review Quiz and Action Steps [READ]
- E-1. Session 8 Review Quiz [QUIZ]
- E-2. Session 8: Your Quick-Win Action Step [POST]
- E-3. Session 8: Your High-Leverage Action Step [POST]
- E-4. Session 8: Questions? Discussion? Inspirations? [POST]
- LESSON 8-F. Course Reflection: Not Your Typical How-to-Write-a-Grant-Proposal Training [WATCH]
- An Important Note About Course Completion! [READ]
12
Q&A #3 (Wed., Dec. 18) - Replay and Resources
- Q&A #3 - Replay and Resources
13
PLEASE READ: An Important Note About Course Completion
- An Important Note About Course Completion

Reviews

Wonderful training!

Melissa Parsinen

I am new to the grant seeking world. This course was amazing and taught me so much! It will take me quite a while to implement all that I have learned...excellent, rich, vast resources in this course. Thank you, Maryn, for sharing your experienc...

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Excellent, excellent!

Roni Kobel

It was well worth the time to take this course! I feel much more confident moving forward that I can create an A+ proposal! Thank you, Maryn!

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So much valuable information

Anne Wallman

This course was excellent, thorough and practical. As a grant writing newbie, I feel empowered to go out there and start getting grants for my organization. In addition to using the many tools contained in every session for grant writing, I have already found ways to use things like mind mapping and issue statement crafting in my everyday activities. As a career counselor who will be doing grant writing on the side, I was so surprised and pleased at the amount of information that can be applied to all kinds of persuasive writing - such as cover letters, resume profiles and thank-you notes. I plan to run a workshop on Mind Mapping to help my clients plan their New Year job seeking strategies.

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What a wonderful exciting class.

Kathryn Chandler

Thank you for more information than i ever could have imagined. Very comprehensive, compelling, understandable material! I will let you know about my next successful grant on the Facebook page.

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went from scared & overwhelmed to I can do this!

Jan Spencer

Am now retired, and my career wasn't in this realm of endeavor. But did have a very negative experience with a Fund Development director and process many years ago. So was very reluctant to participate in classes for it even as a backup to the primary person. However, was greatly surprised and so thankful for Maryn's coaching and instruction - I learned so much and hopefully will be an asset to my organization that I volunteer for. I recommend all who want to support their cause, even if not directly involved in the grant process, to take this course. Not only helpful for grants knowledge - but many life lessons too!

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THE Ultimate Grant Proposal Blueprint ... A Winning Course!

Leslie Kahn

Thank you for organizing and putting into place a course that really did fit my needs. I am new to the grant writing world and as a volunteer have not taken courses to prepare me. This course did just that! I have not completed all of the suggested worksheets that ultimately will support my grant writing, yet! That time is coming, though, when I will sit down with other volunteers to complete what is needed to write an A+ proposal. I am inspired to do well in the world, and my community certainly. Thank you for your help. Leslie Kahn

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The Ultimate Grant Proposal Blueprint - Fall 2019

Arlene V Strong

I'm glad I took a chance and went through the course. It has given me the confidence I needed. I should probably open each meeting with the true/false question: "If we are struggling with grantseeking, it's almost always the fault of the grantwriter." Also, I will be repeating the course over the holidays to get a jump start on my next big project in January! I have been in grant writing for five years now and I wish this was available when I started. Thanks Maryn. I look forward to taking other online courses from Grants Magic University.

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Wish I'd done this 10 years ago!

Stacey Turner

I'm no grants-seeking spring chicken but I am amazed at what I learned in the Ultimate Grant Proposal Blueprint course. Maryn is a terrific educator and a delightful personality; the materials she provides are invaluable. As one who habitually seeks professional development in topic-specific webinars and workshops, I can attest to the value of this comprehensive deep dive. I recommend it highly.

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Fell in the Well - in a good way!

Fred Cruger

Upon completion of the course, it is very clear how important the various "frameworks" provided can be in the long run. "Digging the well" is indeed the perfect analogy - creating a source from which material can be drawn as needed. Admittedly, each framework made sense as explained, but as they rapidly accumulated in number, keeping their names and formats in a mentally intact model became progressively more difficult. For me, the "Bottom-up Logic Model" was the most comprehensive and intuitive . . . therefore the easiest to remember. But using that as the big picture, the other smaller frameworks really provide the details that make up the contents of "the well". At the very end of the course, you asked for us to reflect on how we might have changed ourselves. I realized that "the well" might indeed be the solution to a problem that has nagged me for some time. As an organization, we've done quite well in obtaining the grant support we've needed, and along the way we've built some very strong organizational relationships. But all of the effort underlying that "success" has been borne by just a couple people. Those folks are getting tired, and need a way to facilitate passing the wand. "The Well" can be a big piece of that! It can be a great training tool for new folks who are interested in carrying the organization forward, but have little organizational history! As we dig the well now, we will in fact keep that aspect in mind. Maybe I wasn't paying attention well, but I didn't recognize the "digging the well" analogy until partway through the course (and it made perfect sense as soon as I saw it). Had I realized each small framework was merely one piece intended to go into the well, it would have been easier to get equally enthused as new frameworks (and buzzwords) were introduced. An educational course is by its very nature a "sequential" series of events, but the pieces we were creating along the way were never intended to represent a collection of pieces to be used to sequentially build a proposal. They were intended to become the bricks of a foundation, or the contents of a well from which we could draw as necessary . . . items to be used in parallel to create what we intended to build . . . an A+ proposal. Great ideas, great details, great tools. Certainly an A+ course.

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Wow, wow, wow!

lindsay martin

This has been quite a learning journey. You are a gifted teacher and equip your students with the tools they need to write A+ proposals. There are so many aspects I like about this course but my ultimate favorites are the 1-page magic wand proposal that clearly links to the large sections of the proposal and the fill-in-the-blanks statements such as the Issue Statement. I've taken 4 other grant consulting courses (I love learning!) and this has been the best by a long shot. It has been the most practical and thorough. I won this course for free and you have truly given me a gift. Thank you! I also appreciate that your courses are affordable and accessible to anyone. I'm looking forward to the Grants Camp. You are now my go-to grants teacher.

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Excellent course!

Linda Remsburg

I really appreciate the clarity of the course. The worksheets and guides are very helpful. I will refer to them frequently!

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