Grant Writing for Tribes
Does your tribe struggle to provide for its members and chart its own future?
You've worked hard to build your nation. For the last decade or more, your tribal elders, tribal council, staff, and members have found ways to reconnect with your traditional lifeways and language. You've created tribal-based remedies to habits of oppression and reinvigorated traditional forms of self-governance.
When you look around you, you are proud to see a society that is coming into its own, that is reclaiming its cultural and spiritual heritage, and that is breaking ties of economic dependence, addictions, and ongoing abuse. You see a tribal constitution and court, a language apprentice program, and tribal members gathering to learn about and protect the natural resources upon which your subsistence lifestyles depends. You see a school curriculum that reflects indigenous values and frames of reference, and an afterschool program where youth learn traditional handcrafts.
However, as someone concerned about your tribe's future, you find yourself worried that you may be attempting too much. There are days when it feels as if you are in over your head, lurching forward or struggling to keep up with the pace of growth and change. You have high goals for your organization and for new projects that you aren’t always prepared to meet.
At the same time, you worry that you are attempting too little and that the problems you face as a people will never go away. You are concerned that you need more programs and services to provide health care, education, and job training, and to protect your environment. You dream of increasing the skill base of your staff and tribal council to ensure their effectiveness as managers and shrewd leaders of your nation.
Above all, you want to empower your people to take control of their own future. All of this, of course, demands designing strong projects that make a difference in the long-term life of your nation. Setting realistic and achievable goals. Planning programs that deliver on outcomes and continue to bring healing to your tribe. Securing the funding you need for expanded or new projects and services. The responsibility can be exhilarating and overwhelming.
- How can you move from writing proposals that sometimes hit the mark to writing proposals that rise to the top of the pile?
- How can you translate your world view into language that funders understand?
- How can you write effective proposals that include input from and allow for consensus decision-making by members?
Begin by downloading my free booklet, Writing Letters of Inquiry That Get a Response.
Click here to find out whether you can get where you want to go using Grant Central Station’s approach and hear from some of the people who have benefited from this method.