Paula writes asking where she can find a grant writer.  You can hire one.
Call around to the non-profit organizations in your community and see if
anyone wants to take a free-lance job.  Generally people expect to be paid.
However, there may be someone in one of your local bfg support groups, LLL,
the local ILCA affiliate, the local Healthy Mothers/Healthy Babies
Coalition, March of Dimes, etc who has some grant writing capabilities and
might be willing to do some pro bono work for a good cause.  Easiest still,
write it yourself!  If you connect with folks in your community in the
non-profit sector, they all know where the books, web sites, contact sources
are for funding.  You do a bit of research just by reading through the
grants that are out there to find one which fits (generally) the area you
are working.  Some grants are to fund start-up projects only and expect you
to rapidly become self-supporting.  Some may do annual re-funding if your
project outcome goals are clearly met (this requires that you have clearly
stated goals and develop a way to monitor whether you reach them.)  Some
groups are interested in specific categories.  You might want to look at
community health projects in maternal child health.  Once you locate  which
grantor you think fits in with and is likely to be interested in your
project, you contact them and request a grant packet.  Grants usually have
to be completed by a deadline, and do require things like a budget.
However, they are really exactly like getting a very detailed term paper
assignment.  You follow (exactly!) the menu of documentation that they want
you to provide.  Generally this includes a short (several paragraphs)
description of the over-view of your idea.  Then you have to describe how
you will use the money (a budget).  Then you have to tell how you will
document the outcomes so they know that you will use the money for what you
say your will.  There is often another brief section where you tell how your
idea is different from already existing community resources, and how your
project will  inter-relate with existing programs.

Few ideas get done if you wait for someone else to do them.  Also, you are
the one with the idea, so you are the one best qualified to put it out
there.  I've found that people just have a fear that somehow grant writing
is difficult.  Getting FUNDED is difficult.  Writing the grant is actually
the easy part.

Barbara Wilson-Clay, BS, IBCLC
Austin Lactation Associates
LactNews Press
www.lactnews.com

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