Since 2016, K-State Research and Extension has taught “Grant Writing Basics” in local communities. Local agents host the workshops, providing marketing, registration, material copies, and hospitality, and the Community Vitality Specialist brings the program. The pandemic made us redesign our online workshop. Now, local agents play the role of online co-hosts and in-person hosts and information is presented over 6 hours.
- In FY 2024/25, we presented 10 in-person workshops and eight online sessions to more than 600 participants. We responded to personalized requests, including a regional library system, community health workers, and volunteer firefighters this year. Fifty-six percent (56%) of attendees have never written a grant.
- We created a Grant Writing Basics microcredential for those who complete the course and demonstrate the ability to create a logic model, grant budget, and budget justification.
In 2022, we had provided at least five grant-writing support services and decided to market this service. Our ability to research grant sources is especially valued by the public. Once we learn the type of projects, the estimated amount of funds needed, and the timeline, we conduct research using maps and grant databases available to Kansas State University staff.
- Grant seekers polled several months after receiving their results from 2023 through 2024, repored nearly $1.5 million in grants successfully received from the sources provided.
After Kansas made a concerted effort to empower communities to receive Bipartisan Infrastructure funding, K-State Research and Extension began in November 2023 to partner with experienced infrastructure grant writers. Experts from the Kansas Infrastructure HUB and the Kansas Office of Rural Prosperity now attend in-person workshop, which allow participants to get to know the experts by name, ask questions, and follow up with them.
- Participants are surveyed at the end of the workshop to measure confidence and self-efficacy; 92% reported greater confidence in writing a grant, including receiving new sources of data, and sources of funding. It’s a point of pride to K-State that 30% of grant writers are over 60, and many are retired. They bring a lifetime of wisdom, knowledge, and commitment to their work.
- A follow-up Qualtrics survey 9-18 months after the workshop measures whether participants are writing grants and whether they are successful. Through December 2024, 34% of the grant writers reported writing $52 million of successful grants within the first 18 months of the workshop. In our most recent survey, with the addition of infrastructure grant writing, grant writers reported $55 million in successful grants, doubling our 7-year total.
Additional Information
- K-state Research and Extension – Supporting Communities program
- K-state Grant Support Services
- Grant Writing Basics microcredential