Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 31, Number 5, 1 May 2014 — Grant writing for nonprofits [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Grant writing for nonprofits

n March 22, 2014, , 16 individuals

from various c o m m u n i t y aroups on

Moloka'i attended an allday workshop titled "Grant Writing for Nonprofits." Hi'ilei Aloha LLC sponsored and conducted this workshop, whieh was held at Kūlana 'Ōiwi. The workshop instructor was Gigi Cairel, who is the Capacity Building Manager for Hi'ilei Aloha LLC. This particular workshop was intended for those

who were new to grant writing and with little to no experience or those wanting to brush up on some skills. The objectives of the workshop were to: learn the basics of the proposal development process; clarify roles among board, staff and other key stakeholders in the process; learn how to prepare key parts of a proposal; learn how to pitch a project idea to a potential donor; learn how to review a funding notice and make a checklist; and learn where and how to look for funding. Participants learned about various tools and resources on how to write the community need statement; write a project description; use SMART objectives including outputs and outcomes; and how to review a funding notice and make a checklist of items to prepare. Those in attendance appreciated the unique participant-centered training style, whieh included the use of appreciative inquiry, group activities, practice time and the use of examples. During the practice time, examples were provided for the participants to draft a need statement, a project description and prepare a checklist based on sample funding notices. In the afternoon the participants enjoyed themselves as they split up and did a little role playing. Half of the group played potential donors and the other half were those

that were requesting the funds. They took turns doina

moek meetings with the potential donors to ask for funding, for donated equipment and for volunteers for their project. They used their project descriptions that they wrote earlier in the day or one of the examples provided from the instructor. This gave eaeh of them the experience on how to interact with potential funders. At the end of

the session participants were provided with a slew of information of grants available for nonprofits online and how to find the right funders for their particular project. Those who participated in the workshop appreciated the clear explanation of the Proposal Development Process and the great opportunity to network whieh eaeh other and also have a knowledgeable instructor at their disposal. Another benefit for participants was that if they eame with a grant they were working on, Gigi helped them with suggestions to their proposal and met with them after the session was through. Below is a listing of Grant Writing workshops that are offered by Hi'ilei Aloha LLC: • O'ahu: July 9, Kapolei - Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Hale Pono'I; and Oct. 10 Kāne'ohe - Windward Community College • Maui: June 20, Kahului - Maui County Business Resource Center • Hawai'i Island: April 12, Hilo - Department of Hawaiian Homes Lands Conference Room You ean also visit its website at www.hiilei.org for up-to-date information and if you have questions. Please note that all workshops have a registration fee of $25 and runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ■

<LEO 'ELELE V www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org TRUSTEE MESSSAGES ' NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS l FEATURES I EVENT S

Editor's note: Beginning this month, certain trustees' columns will not appear in Ka Wai Ola. In accordance with an Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board ofTrustees policy based on state ethics guidelines, any trustee runningfor re-election is suspendedfrom publishing his or her regular eolumn until the elections are complete, except for those trustees running unopposed. Trustee Peter Apo hasfiled nomination papersfor re-election and as a result, his eolumn is suspended pending the ouleome ofthe eleehon.

Cūlette Y. Machadū Chairpersūn, Trustee Muluka'i and Lāna'i