Writing the grant for NICE with my group went really well. The grant application we filled out was to Caterpillar. NICE and Caterpillar’s missions both have a focus on education. This is where the two organizations align. NICE strives to help youth with reading, writing and speaking so they can continue their education, so they can help stop the starting cause of poverty throughout the refugee community. NICE places these youth on the “path to prosperity,” and helping them build an “academic foundation to thrive in society,” just as the Caterpillar Foundation aims to do. Throughout the grant we laid out exactly what programs NICE would be running, who would benefit from these programs and how they would benefit from them. The grant overall focuses on NICE’s mission and how they can benefit from the help of Caterpillar.
The way we approached the writing for this grant was how to get our point across so that it will make the Caterpillar Foundation understand and be interested in helping. I’ve learned the way to grab someone’s attention is by getting to your point as quick as possible. Adding things that are irrelevant or explaining the same thing twice just in different words will make whoever is reading it uninterested. Editing the grant and getting to the point quicker was my biggest part in this grant-writing project. Coming up with the best way to word things in a professional manner is one of my skills so I was able to contribute that to the group.
The advice we got throughout this the grant project was extremely helpful and taught me a lot. When I first started looking into grant writing and Caterpillar I thought it would be fairly easy to do. However, as we moved forward I realized it was more difficult then I had originally thought. Having Debbie come and talk to us was extremely helpful and we applied the tips she gave us into our final grant. Having a rough draft due was also extremely beneficial because of all of the feedback we were able to get back on it. Having Dr. Overall, the class and Kathy’s give feedback really helped us with writing the grant and perfecting it.
Writing this grant for NICE was extremely fulfilling. I hope that NICE can use this grant and that it helps them to grow as an organization. The best part of taking this class was knowing how much the materials we drafted and made up will help NICE. The things we did will hopefully be extremely useful and can help them accomplish the things the organization strives to do.
Caterpillar Grant