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when compared to your competitors—who are also seeking that grant money. With such a foundation, you can then move toward exploring potential grants sources. Develop and know the detail of your project so that you can match it to the grantors most likely to fund it. Grantors do have priorities for their money, and you must match those priorities before you will be seriously considered as a contender for the grant. Determine what the grantors funded in past years, what is at the top of their list for the current year, and what details they require from their applicants. Remember to check for the "obvious" such as due dates, geographic restrictions, applicant qualifcations, and even grantoroffered seminars about their grants. Thorough exploration of the grantors' websites should yield the information you need, but, if necessary, follow up by e-mail, phone, mail or in person for questions not answered on the grantors' websites. Introductory sources for learning about the process of locating, writing applications, and managing grants are available at www.bja.gov/gwma/index.html; www. ojp.gov/grants101; and (non-Federal) Grant Writing, by Dr. Bridget Newell, as prepared for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in its Smaller Police Departments/Technical Assistance program, and located at www.theiacp. org/Portals/0/pdfs/Publications/BPGrantwriting.pdf. Such sources will introduce terminology, methods, processes and other information of value, regardless of whether the grant is Federal, State, local, corporate or private. In searching for a grantor, you might think frst of a government grant, but consider all potential sources of money, including private or corporate grants, and mini-grants from county and local foundations, service clubs and similar sources that provide money for smaller projects that might not get a second look from a government or large grantor. The primary resource for Federal grants is www.Grants.gov. This central storehouse of information about Federal grant programs helps you in researching grants, applying for them, and keeping informed about upcoming grants or grant timelines. By law, the website is supposed to list every Federal grant available, however, log on to the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (www.cfda.gov), a website that, once in a while, leads you to information that might be missing or incomplete on www.Grants. gov, for example, in the use of keywords. If a private sector grant is your quest, start with www.FoundationCenter.org. It even lists seminars relating to private grants, and you can browse Requests for Proposals and other non-governmental grant sources. A non-proft organization, The Foundation Center offers subscriptions to its newsletter and other information services. (At most any foundation or corporation grant website, or at a clearinghouse's link, it is wise to sign up for e-mail updates. They can streamline searches and matches, and could reveal grant sources you might not have previously considered. Such newsletters often contain grant deadline changes or other timely information.) The Grantsmanship Center at www.tgci. com lists State sources, with links to various websites. It was the frst organization to offer grants training programs. Its current fve-day instructional course covers planning projects, locating funding, and writing of proposals. And, yes, search engines such as Google ™ or Bing ™ can be of help. Enter key words such as "government grants," "equipment grants," "private grants," "grants clearinghouses," etc. and you might fnd quick access to government, tribal, corporate, foundation or private grants not yet listed on other, more traditional, clearinghouse websites. If you are wondering how much a grantor is likely to fund, check www.GuideStar.org, a website that also displays the tax returns for non-proft organizations. You can study the patterns of grants, the agencies that have received money, and whether your project is a match. (You must register on the website, but it is a free service.) Your next step is organizing your information into a logical and useable guide, with notes about deadlines, trends, grantor preferences and priorities, geographic restrictions, and whether you can obtain enough for your particular project. Create a master list of potential grantors for your project. Know what the grant application must contain (usually an executive summary, statement of need, statement of introduction, project description, work plan, budget, memorandum of agreement, and evaluation process). If appropriate, build contacts with other agencies in your area to create a regional project. There has been a trend for the past few years of grantors favoring regional projects. Sometimes, two or more grantors may choose to fund a project, but before actually doing so, the grantees must be sure each grantor permits matching, and to what dollar extent the matches can go. Know what your project will do, how it will beneft the community to be served, why it should be funded, and how much money will be needed to make it a reality. Match to the grantors most likely to fund it, and know each grantor's requirements, deadlines, and trends. Because grantors change their preferences from time to time, a project that might have been funded in years past may be rejected now. Start crafting the grant application. Be sure the project matches the grantors' priorities, and present your project that way. Think "who," "how much" and "for what" when applying. Be concise in your wording about your agency, the project, its benefts, and how the grant money will be spent. Write in a way that is clear and logical, and that tells your grantor about the project's merit and why it should be funded. Because online grant applications make the "who," "how much," and "for what" obvious, develop information about the steps of the project, the problem to be solved, goals, methods, and evaluation processes. If the application must name specifc personnel, do so by job titles, not personal names. And if the application must describe equipment to be purchased or used, avoid brand names (unless the grantor requires otherwise). Use correct spelling, grammar and syntax, and write in layperson's language because the reviewer of your application is probably not someone in law enforcement. Use the third person (e.g. "the police department"). Verbs should be in active, not passive, voice. You are judged by the quality of your writing because it refects your degree of care and your competence. If you are not comfortable with writing or editing, enlist the help of someone who can assist. Grantors know you need and want money. They want to learn why they should provide it. You must emphasize the needs of your community or the problem, and the project that will solve the problem. Completely describe the problem or project with facts, statistics, survey results, and interviews or anecdotes from competent or authoritative sources. Be logical even though you are striving to be persuasive www.lawandordermag.com 53