After your proposal has been submitted to the funder, its easy to slip into a kind of post-project development malaise. Be sure to keep the following points in mind while awaiting the decision of the funding agency:

• The time between proposal submission and award notification varies from a few weeks to many months. Try to remain patient by immersing yourself in other constructive activities.
• Refrain from contacting the funding agency unless they call you requesting additional information. If your organization has a grants office, utilize its services. This office should be in close contact with the funding agency because others within your organization are also submitting proposals there.
• The chief official of your organization (e.g., library director, superintendent of a school district) usually receives the official notification of award letter or letter of denial of the proposal. The grants office (if one exists) is contacted next. The grant initiator and other appropriate personnel are then notified. In some cases, however, the funding agency will contact the project director first. If so, higher officials in the chain of command should beold of the decision immediately.
• Whatever the outcome, the readers' scores and comments on the proposal should be obtained from the funder by either the chief official or grants coordinator and forwarded to the proposal initiator.

If the proposal is funded, the first order of business should be to celebrate! Hard work deserves to be rewarded.

Before the punch glasses have been shelved in anticipation of the next success, however, the project director needs to be actively negotiating final award amounts with the funding agency. The following checklist should frame this negotiation process:

• Ask for the names of the funding officers who will handle program and financial issues. Establish a rapport.

• Ask for the exact amount to be awarded, including indirect costs.
• Ask what reports will be required and what terms and conditions must be followed.
• Ask what method of payment the funder will use and what financial forms you must complete.
• Ask when youcan expend grant funds and request cash advances.
• Ask if a signed letter of acceptance is required.
• If the funder reduces the project budget, counter with related cuts in project objectives and activities.
• If you must make budget and/or program changes, send the funder a written explanation.
• If you must make project changes or budget reductions, consult with project staff and administrators.

• Ask when the funds will be sent and, if neceeasy, revise project start and end dates accordingly.
• If you need letter of support from Congressional representatives, ask the grants coordinator (if available) for assistance.
• Call the grants coordinator for any assistance which might be needed in the negotiation process.

In the meantime, project implementation should begin within thirty days of receiving the funder's award notice. Immediately after notification of the award, it is recommended that the project director take the following steps:

• Send a thank-you letter to the funder.
• Ask an appropriate official to sign the grant agreement, if necessary. In cases where a school district is on the receiving end of grant funding, the superintendent's signature is usually required.
• Call the Personnel Department about hiring grant-funded positions.
• Publicize the award internally and in the community.
• Write purchase requisitions to order equipment and supplies.
• Set up subcontracting arrangements, if necessary.
• Establish project administration procedures and timeline, including a report and form completion schedule.
• Meet with advisory committee members, project staff, and the evaluator to coordinate the activities and timeline, involving the evaluator from the beginning and timeline, involving the evaluator from the beginning of the project.

• Speak to the appropriate higher official within your organization about the requisition process and purchasing policies. Prepare vendor requisitions, but do not submit them until the funder's check has arrive.
• Arrange for project facilities and equipment.
• Interview staff candidates sent to you by your Personnel Department.

As soon as the funds arrive, the director should:

• Hire staff.
• Set up consultant contracts.
• Submit vendor requisitions.
• Set up facilities and equipment.
• Meet with staff and consultants to document their responsibilities and the project timeline in addition to discussing project plans.
• Establish a schedule for project staff to complete activities.
• Follow organization guidelines on depositing the check(s) and disbursing the funds.
• Call the appropriate higher official within your organization if you have any questions about project implementation procedures.

In order to assure the success of the project, it is recommended that the project director conform to a number of established business procedures. Upon receipt of the award notice, the director should:

• Call the appropriate organization official and make an appointment to discuss the oversight of project funds.
• Submit the following documentation to the organization's main office:

1. grant proposal budget worksheets; and
2. other materials relating to the initial administration of the grant.

• Receive and review instructions on:

1. creating the budget;
2. how to keep detailed records of each transaction;
3. preparing expense reports; ad
4. procedures for expending funds.

Once the funds have arrived, the director should make the following business-related moves:

• Forward the check or entitlement card from the funding agency and all documentation on the grant to the main office of te organization; and
• Review all documentation with appropriate organization official to assure that you are complying will all of the grant's requirements.

If you are active in the grant development process for any appreciable length of time, it is inevitable that you'll experience the disappointment of having a proposal fail to get funded. When this occurs, don't take it personally, don't feel rejected, and--above all--don't give up! Try to focus on the bright side. Consider the proposal writing process a growth experience. You have undoubtedly gained knowledge in the process that will help you write stronger proposals and obtain future funding.

If you receive a "letter of declination" from the funder, review the reasons the funder gives for not awarding a grant. Send a copy of the letter to your organization's grants office.

When you apply to a state or federal government agency, they will send you a card containing the document control number. Be sure to send the grants office a coy of that card. After the funder announces grantees, the grants office should contact the funding agency and get scores and readers' comments on the proposal. This information will provide insight into your proposal's strength and weaknesses.

Meet with the grant development team to review the scores and readers' commnts. Discuss ways to rewrite and strengthen the components that received low scores. Determining the weaknesses in a proposal provides a learning experience likely to help in preparing future grant proposals.

Success in the long run is likely to depend on the ability of the grantseeker to develop consistently high standards in the proposal writing process. On the other hand, the inclination to engage in poor grantsmanship practices must be overcome. Practices to avoid include:

• Failure to research the potential funder.
• Failure to follow the funder's guidelines.
• Failure to follow the basic rules of proposal writing.
• Missing signatures.
• Missing components.
• Missing deadlines.
• Exceeding page limits.
• Lack of attention to detail.
• Dull, uninteresting writing of timid, unimaginative proposals.
• Use of undefined acronyms.
• Overuse of jargon, fifty-cent words, or "educationese."
• Asking for equipment without describing innovative application.
• Too much doom and gloom" in the statement of need.
• Budget items that do not reflect program description.
• Padded or mathematically incorrect budget.
• Numerous errors in spelling, grammer, or punctuation.
• Fonts that are too busy or too small.
• Complicated, difficult-to-understand components.
• Failure to provide clarity of purpose.
• Lack of collaboration.
• Failure to describe project management capability.

In the event that money becomes available once again from the same soource, send the revised proposal to that source during the next funding cycle. Grantseekers have frequently received funding on the second submission of the proposal. One National Endowment for the Humanities staff member recently noted that almost 90 percent of resubmissions to the NEH library program have been funded. At the same time, your chances of success will be substantially increased by searching for additional sources to fund your project.

Grantseekers should keep in mind that, no matter how good the proposal, factors outside their control may play a role in the failure to get funded. Each funder possesses a limited amount of money. In addition, funders often strive for geographical balance in funding.

If you have implemented the guidelines included in the text, a number of tangible assets remain despite your failure to obtain grant funding. These include a well-organized project proposal and potentially useful professional contacts. Even if your proposal can't be resubmitted to a particular funding agency, the program officer may be able to recommend other sources. In some cases, the officer may offer to call other funders on your behalf.

As a final resort, you may wish to explore the possibility of obtaining other sources of funding. Most educational institutions possess discretionary funds to be tapped as needed. Friends groups can be helpful in raising money as well as community awareness of the project's inherent potential. Philanthropists with a professed interest in the project's stated goals may also be able to provide needed assistance. If the proposal has merit, don't give up!