Can you believe that we have like 20 something days of school left?! It seems like yesterday, was October and we were thinking we would never see the end of the year. Now, it seems like it has gone by so fast. As another year ends comes a lot of busy days, paperwork, and planning for the new school year. With every summer, I try to challenge myself or to set a goal for myself for the next year. Last summer, my goal was to get more organized. I followed a classroom organization blog and learned the best ways to organize my newest classroom. Today, I thought I would share with you my new goal for this summer. I want to become a grant writer! It fits perfectly for this blog about surviving and thriving with less. With our budget being cut more and more each year, I think it would be great for every teacher to learn to tap in to the free money set aside for us. It’s just waiting on us to take it.

So, this summer I am going to learn to be a good grant writer. AND here’s the kicker, I do not think I am a very good writer! I have never enjoyed writing and I struggled with it through high school and college.  So this task is not only going to be enriching but also challenging for me. I went to a conference a few weeks back. It was one of those conferences where you got to choose your “breakout sessions.” One of the class choices was on grant writing. So I thought today I would share some resources that I got in that class as well as some resources I found online.  First, here is a video on how to properly write a grant:

The great things about grants are that there is money out there for everyone. You just need to decide what kind of grant you are interested in applying for.  There are grants available if you need technology, supplies, music, field trips, to encourage literacy, and many more. In the session I attended, I was given a great resource for finding the grant you need. It is A Guide to Alabama Grantmakers. It’s a CD-ROM with a plethora of grant resources from people and places in Alabama.

Next, you need some pointers and ideas for making your grant perfect. I found this article on Education World. This article gives you the things you need to get started. I also am planning on researching and reading up more on being a successful grant writer. I will not only get the technology I would like for my classroom but I will also become a great commodity for my school.