First Impressions Revisited: A Program for Community Improvement - First Impressions Home Page - Center for Community and Economic Development

Like the hare who is overly eager to get off the starting line to win the race and the accolades that go with it, the grant writer who forges ahead in a hurry to win a grant , any grant, will come up short in the end.

In grant writing, we should be like the tortoise: thoughtful, focused, steadfast. These are the attributes that will allow us to successfully research, obtain and implement meaningful grant projects for our communities.

The tortoise understood why he was in the race. He had a purpose, a vision. We must have a purpose and a vision, too. We must ask ourselves what is the top issue facing the community. To best answer that question, we should conduct an organized community planning process that deeply involves the people. It matters less what approach is used and more that it was honestly and openly done.

The tortoise believed that the race was a small part of the journey. He spent much more time preparing for the race than in racing. We must believe that, too. Only a small part of the grant writing process is actually writing the grant. Much more time must be spent identifying priorities, researching grant options, meeting with agency contacts, building political support, building organizational capacity and implementing the project than writing the grant.

The tortoise anticipated setbacks. They're a part of any race. We must anticipate setbacks, too. If the grant is denied the first time, this is an opportunity to improve your proposal. Ask questions, listen carefully and modify your case for the next time. Some granting agencies will offer little or no feedback on your project until you submit a grant, at which time they become very helpful. We should embrace our setbacks as opportunities to improve.

The tortoise pictured the road ahead. He understood that there would be high points and low points in the journey. We must fully picture the road ahead, too. It is fun to win a grant and see a project to fruition. It's less fun to administer the grant, complete the paperwork and pay attention to the details of the project. The hare would sleep through these parts. The tortoise would complete these tasks in his steady way, understanding that these are the necessary steps to complete the course.

Our role as Extension educators is not to tie up our laces and jump into the grant writing race. Our role is to help create grant writers that exhibit the traits of the tortoise and not the hare. We should strive to create thoughtful grant writers that understand that a grant is but one of many steps toward achieving the vision of the community.

We should be coaches that steer grant writers in the right direction and that motivate and encourage them during tough times.

We should be trainers to train grant writers to prepare for the long road ahead and to understand that there are no shortcuts.

We should be cheerleaders to hearten grant writers in times of setback and to cheer them in times of success.

And we should be educators to identify and seize each teachable moment. We must be willing and able to:

Facilitate the identification of top priority issues;
Ensure that the identified project is realistic;
Research grant opportunities and other creative funding sources;
Educate individuals and groups about the grant writing process;
Review draft proposals and offer suggested improvements;
Prepare communities for project implementation;
Build the capacity of the community to maintain the project over time.

As Extension educators, we should work to create grant writers that understand the entire community planning process and the role that grants play in that process. We should also help build the capacity of communities to ensure that the funded project is successful and is maintained over time. To accomplish both of these tasks, we must help create grant writers and communities that exhibit the traits of the tortoise: have a vision, be focused, overcome setbacks, plod on, succeed.

"So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race. Then said the Tortoise: 'Plodding wins the race'." (Aesop's Fables)

This page was last updated: 8-26-2002
For questions about this site contact: li@uwex.edu

	© 2001-2006 Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System, doing business as the Division of Cooperative Extension of University of Wisconsin-Extension. For more information, questions and comments, please contact the web manager at: cced@uwex.edu
If you have trouble accessing this page, require this information in an alternative format or wish to request a reasonable accommodation because of a disability contact: cced@uwex.edu. University of Wisconsin-Extension - Cooperative Extension, University of Wisconsin-Extension