Which Comes First? The Chicken or the Egg? Planning or Grantseeking?

Planning, Work Mode and How We Move Forward

Are you Grantcentric?

An old term I once used when talking with others about grant seeking and grant writing was “grantcentric”. Are you grantcentric? Meaning are you seeking to fit into the grant requirements when an opportunity is discovered? Are you trying to create something that would work? Or, are you holding your mission focus as the priority, to see what grant opportunities meet what you wish to achieve. While an old term in my mind at this point, the concept is still relevant and can help view how institutions approach opportunity and use relevant grant funds to achieve goals and move forward.

What Comes First, the Focus or the Funds?

A recent blog post by The Grantsmanship Center reminded me of the Grantcentric trap, “Which Comes First, the Program or the Grant?”¹ The article asks the question at the beginning, “When a funding opportunity comes across your desk, are you thinking about how well it fits the work you’re already doing, or are you thinking about how to shape your work around it?” Or perhaps propose something brand new, something big because the funding award seems like it could handle the budget required? The article argues that a strong program focus can be demonstrated within a funding request and shows that it was designed prior to a proposal being developed, and that the grant, if received, would be funding something real. The Grantsmanship Center sums up the true role of the grant proposal; it serves as a communication tool. “The grant proposal’s job is to convey the value of something that already exists, to a funder who is looking for exactly that kind of value.”

Is our Grant Planning Reactive or Proactive?

When we think of grant funding, are we taking a reactive or a proactive approach? How does grant funding fit into the institution’s overall plan? Where are the appropriate places for grant funds to be applied and what are the key areas of need? Goal 4 under the Resources pillar of 51����’s last strategic plan point to grants as well as other opportunities: Maximize new and existing funding sources. Could we use this focus to further refine a strategic approach? Absolutely. What might that look like?

Let’s reference the grand ‘ole resource, Grant Writing for Dummies by Beverly A. Browning² for some of the nitty gritty. Having a true fund development plan for grants can “guide your organization in adopting priority programs and services and identifying potential grantors (or partners) you plan to approach with grant requests.” When we improve our planning with an overall proactive strategy, including designing opportunities and initiatives for new funding partners and developing those relationships, we can do so much more. How about a “If… Then” statement, to sum it up? If the College plans and presents where we are and where we want to go, then we can seek the right resources to support and expand our efforts.

So on with the planning direction. How can you tell if you’re planning in a reactive vs. proactive organization? Check which way the work is taking you. 

1. Reactive: Are we finding grants and looking to see if we have a project/program that is a match? Or,
2. Proactive: Do we have defined priorities that tell us where we need funding the most?

According to Qualityze.com, reactive organizations participate in short-term thinking: “they focus on immediate results, rather than considering the long-term impact of their actions, they have a fire-fighting mentality and lack process improvement.” Proactive organizations tend to “consider the long-term impact of their actions and seek to build sustainable systems and processes, and they have a continuous improvement focus.

If we wait for a grant opportunity announcement to start planning, we often won’t have the time to draft a quality proposal. More and more often it seems that we are facing a three-to-four-week turnaround between federal grant announcements and their deadlines. The complexity of application requirements, partnership agreements, MOU’s, data requirements etc., that are necessary, will not be crafted into a competitive proposal in a three-to-four-week period of time. Those are the things that need to be in place before the opportunity arises. The complexity of your work, the way your institution is functioning and the data that you are collecting and utilizing can all be explained in the proposal, but not likely successfully proposed and then implemented if the award is received.

To make a movie reference, “if we build it, they will come”, best illustrates how to strategically utilize the grant funding to support our work – and how to get our chickens moving in the right direct.

So, how can an institution switch gears?

The “Reactive” mode keeps us in our Fire Fighting era, requiring immediate response, and can lead to stress and generally short-term solutions. Making time to intentionally step away from the immediate can offer the opportunity to become proactive. The “Proactive” approach allows for strategic planning and resource-seeking to make long-term plans come to life, keeping your sights on where you want to go. Proactive planning can take goals from high level vision to actionable steps that lead the way to achieving a long-term goal or solution. If the top institutional priorities and needs are known, then research for grant opportunities can be guided by the planning and approach.

Tools are also being developed and refined on the federal level to forecast awards in advance of actual grant NOFO’s being released. A searchable database, a decade in the making, which launched in February 2024, is the Federal Program Inventory (), which offers information on federal grant programs. In addition, the Grants.gov website () can also release forecast notifications for upcoming federal competitions, which can give you months of lead time in understanding that a particular opportunity is forthcoming. Private foundation grant opportunities can be predicted when there are generally established proposal deadlines that help fit into the foundation funding cycle, yet State funds can be unpredictable, both for when applications appear and when funds will be available to the awardee. Corporate funds (or in-kind giving/matching) are generally something which should be discussed in planning and partnership phases, as it is harder to push those commitments through during a proposal writing timeframe. Each of these opportunities can play a role in planning for success, if a strategic approach is applied to seeking grant funding. There will always be opportunities that arise unexpectedly, but taking a Proactive approach builds a better proposal.

Looking ahead!

The beauty of the world of grants is that there are individuals always seeking to improve and learn from one another, to meet the funding and administration challenges that grant opportunities present. The National Grant Management Association (NGMA) has an Annual Grant Training (AGT) conference each year that offers anywhere from the basics to the latest trends and news related to receiving and managing grant awards. Franklin Saunders, our Grants Accounting at VWCC, went with me this year as finance plays a huge role in how we track and implement the funds received.

In my first-year attending AGT, a session offered by Rob Hogan, a consultant with DRS and Integrated Grants Practice Lead, offered the diagram below³ in a session centered on growing and maturing your organizations grant work. I have thought back on this concept many times and have sought to gauge where VWCC fits along the scale. As you can see, references to reactive and proactive approaches appear along the scale as well. This is a great visual to show in a 50,000-foot view how our institution can continue to grow and refine our grant work.

So, now that I have shared some thoughts your way, I am excited for your teamwork in growing our maturity model. Let’s be intentional, using proactive, effective and strategic grant writing and management to optimize our ability to move forward.

Looking forward to exploring opportunities together!

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

1. ︎
2. Browning, B. A. (2022). Grant writing for dummies. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. ︎
3. Mr. Rob Hogan, Integrated Grants Practice Lead, ︎

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Since the beginning of the year, what has often seemed like a firehose of information, proposed, enacted, litigated, disputed, and forthcoming has been shared across the internet, through podcasts and news airwaves, federal agency communications, and White House executive orders and administrative announcements.  It’s been a wild ride to try and decipher what is happening, what changes and impacts will take place, and what we must simply monitor while waiting to see what ultimately happens. 

51���� has had a group of individuals connecting, sharing information, and seeking to evaluate the impact on the college based on what we know and what we may need to anticipate.  This group was cognizant of the need to share with the larger college community what resources could help us all understand what most have landed on calling “The Changing Federal Landscape“.  Thus, the creation of the Federal Guidelines & Resources page on VWCC’s SharePoint that was mentioned during our Fall In-Service.  More on those resources in a bit, but let’s talk about this concept of “The Changing Federal Landscape“. 

If you search up “the changing landscape phrase meaning” here is the immediate response which AI provides:

The phrase “the changing landscape” refers to the evolving nature of a situation or environment, indicating a shift, development, or transformation that occurs within a specific context.

Sounds fairly accurate when you look back at the description in my opening paragraph, but to have a little fun, let me share some of the many headlines that come along with the “changing federal landscape” internet search that provides over 329,000 initial results:

Higher Education and the Shifting Federal Landscape

Higher Education’s Changing Landscape

The Shifting 2025 Higher Ed Policy Landscape   

Potential Higher Education Impacts Amidst a Changing Federal Landscape

As Federal Funding Landscape Shifts, States Brace for Fiscal Impact

Navigating the Federal Funding Landscape

Navigating the Shifting Landscape of Federal Grants

The Current Federal Funding Landscape

How to pivot your funding strategy in a changing federal landscape

Demystifying the Federal Funding Landscape

How to Thrive in a Shifting Funding Landscape

So, we are “shifting”, “changing”, “shifting policy”, anticipating “impacts amidst change”, “bracing for fiscal impact”, “navigating the shift”, assessing the “current landscape”, seeking to “pivot”, “demystify” and “thrive”.  No joke, this is a lot to absorb, consider and seek to understand.  This clip below illustrates a bit of how it has felt over these 2025 months:

So, what to do now? How do we stay informed, yet balanced? We have work to do.

Technology can be both a tool and a rabbit hole. So, let’s see if we can find a way to use the tool and jump over the rabbit hole. Using the tool for a quick bit of advice on the question, “how do we stay informed, yet balanced”, here is what the internet tells me: To effectively manage information overload, prioritize your information intake, organize your data, and implement filtering strategies to focus on what truly matters.  Pretty sound advice, so let’s break it down for a VWCC campus focus:

Prioritize Your Information Intake – I am currently repeating this one out loud to myself multiple times. I have found over the last few months, that this step is so important. It is tempting to scan for news, which can lead to what ultimately can feel like doom scrolling, and just might send you directly into the proverbial rabbit hole. I have to monitor my own attempts to stay up to date, with my ability to walk away and have a strategy to do both. I have sources I look at daily, to scan for updates or new information. Many of these resources are included in the aforementioned Federal Guidance & Resources SharePoint page and are also how I am trying to Organize My Data. To share a few, I have noted the links below:

The Federal Register: published daily – you can receive email notifications with updates from individual Federal Agencies with grant opportunities or guidance updates, requests for comment, presidential documents or public meeting notices required by Federal Law. 

U.S. Department of Education: watching for press releases can give you information on upcoming changes, guidance that will be anticipated, or news on upcoming grant opportunities.

National Science Foundation: watching for FAQ and updates on changing priorities can assist us in making certain we have the most up to date information regarding our current NSF grants as well as upcoming requests we would like to make.

American Association of Community Colleges: The link for this site goes directly to updates from AACC’s Office of Government Relations on key community college issues.

American Council on Education: The link for this site also goes directly to recent Higher Education news across the country, a summary of Executive Orders and Actions impacting Higher Ed, and a tracker that allows you to search EO’s by impacted sector and to understand the status of pending litigation.

This brings us to the next step, Implement Filtering Strategies to Focus on What Truly Matters Ultimately, when actual decisions are made the federal government and specific federal agencies we work with are required to provide notice and guidance on the implementation of changes in process, procedure and expectations. So, once again, saying this as much to myself as anyone else, provide yourself the latitude to check in on news periodically, but understand that ultimate decisions and change will be directly communicated to the college and to your area if required. This balanced curiosity could serve as a filtering strategy to focus on what truly matters and what is known at the moment.

Focus on What Truly Matters – For some of us what truly matters is being in the classroom, tutoring, advising, engaging, sharing resources, offering social engagement, or providing professional skill development. But for all of us here on campus, it’s about assisting students in the path forward, whichever path they may choose. Allow your focus to remain steady despite the landscape you are currently traversing. Collectively we will discover the path ahead, for the benefit of our students while meeting the expectations and obligations that are required of our work.

A few last words: I have spent a lot of time following the news lately, and while one piece of advice originally came across as trivial or even silly, I now see its value…. That advice was to “log off, turn off, touch grass”. It is important for us to stay informed, to meet expectations, but not to get so lost in the twists and turns that we lose sight of what is most important. Give you brain a break, walk around campus, engage with your fellow colleagues, see what students are achieving, maybe touch a little grass. The joy in the work is still here, if we allow ourselves to focus on it, no matter the changing landscape.

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

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Innovation:

noun

1. something new or different introduced.
2. the act of ; introduction of new things or methods.

The Educational Foundation at 51���� each year offers Faculty, and Staff the opportunity to innovate. The Foundation elaborates on the definition above by noting that “Innovation is creativity in action: The introduction of new ideas, projects or methods to address a need or solve a problem.

The Foundation application process starts with an LOI.

A letter of intent (LOI) can be thought of as a first step in the grants process and is designed as a tool to generate interest. The idea is to generate the interest of a grant provider, based on the requested initial information. LOI’s can be requested when a funder is seeking to support projects in key specific priority area, such as the local Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia LOI process for projects related to Community Vibrancy, Education and Youth, or Health.

What is the benefit of the LOI?

First and foremost, this step in the process saves time. Time for both the funder and the applicant. An LOI gives you a chance to share the 50,000 ft. view and provides an opportunity for further details as requested. The LOI offers your grant idea in a summary format to allow the funder to decide if it meets the current funding interests. It also saves the applicant time, by not having to create a full proposal before knowing if the funder might be supportive of the particular type of request.

You can also view a LOI as an“elevator speech”. The thought process that you can explain the concept in a way that any listener can understand it in a short period of time.  What’s your idea? What problem are you trying to address? How do you plan to address the need? Who will you partner with? How much will it cost?

You should try an LOI!

The perfect start to discovering how an LOI can lead to an exciting project could be the Educational Foundation’s Bright Ideas Innovation Grant process! This process was started to allow faculty and staff to submit new ideas, projects or methods to address a need or solve a problem. With the beginning of the Fall semester, the Educational Foundation’s Innovation Grant cycle will open with a LOI opportunity which will be due November 3rd, 2025. The form can be found here .

As mentioned before, this LOI process can save time, allowing you to share your idea with the Foundation to match their innovation mind set for these funds. This LOI process allows the Educational Foundation to pose questions regarding your grant idea and ask for further information that would be needed in a full proposal request. The intent of the LOI is to save time and produce the information most needed to make a decision regarding a full application invitation.

Next steps after the LOI submission include:

The Foundation will respond to applicants who submitted an LOI by Friday November 14th. If selected to move forward, LOI applicants will be invited to submit a full application by March 2, 2026. The Foundation’s Scholarship and Grants Committee will make the final selection at a meeting held in May and grantees will be notified in June of 2026. Project timelines could begin in June 2026 with required mid-year and final reports to be submitted to the Foundation to share implementation updates and progress.

Also, New This Year…. Increased Funding!

Thanks to the generosity and good stewardship of the Foundation, this year’s application has been able to increase the maximum award amount to $15,000!

So, put your ideas out there. Give me a call and we can discuss! Review the Educational Foundation’s LOI form, think through your plan, and start filling in the details on how your idea could work and how it could create impact. These first steps could take you closer to finding the resources to make your idea come to life!

Looking forward to exploring opportunities together!

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

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Summer Spotlights

Summer can offer the ability to plan and reflect on where we have been, what we have accomplished and how to consider moving forward. So, I’m sharing some recent good news and some highlights from different areas of the College for this past grant year.

Grant News!

TRIO! – We were excited to receive notification of the approval of a new 5-year grant cycle for TRIO with word coming in from Department of Education leading up to the 4th of July weekend! Our application had been submitted since last summer, so the good news was definitely worth the wait! Congratulations to the TRIO team, we are excited to see your continued efforts to support students in the year ahead.

And For Continued Goodness, Here Are A Few Grant Highlights

Another Shoutout to TRIO – Cheryl Hilton, Project Director shared the highlight of the TRIO year which honors TRIO Graduates. Graduation day is always a highlight made possible by grant funding. From listening to TRIO graduates share their inspiring stories of perseverance, support, and gratitude during the morning brunch to watching them cross the stage in the evening wearing their regalia and TRIO Scholars stole, nothing compares to the significance of this day. TRIO had a total of 59 graduates for the Class of ’25 (Fall Graduates -17, Spring Graduates – 27 and Summer Graduates – 15)

Earn to Learn – Kelley Pennell and Whitney Bowles have led the effort to collaborate with Carilion Clinic, with the support of Virginia Department of Health funding to offer nursing students the opportunity to have a paid clinical experience, mentored by a Carilion nurse, that reinforces the nursing student’s ability to be “practice ready” by graduation. This spring 5 nursing students participated in a pilot and of those students, 4 of the 5 are now employed by Carilion, working in the facility in which they had their Earn to Learn experience. In the fall, 23 students will have to opportunity to participate as well.

Workforce Hydroponics Courses – Farm Credit of Virginia – Workforce partnered up with STEM and Horticulture to apply for this grant to design and implement two hydroponics courses with equipment funded through the grant. Intro to Hydroponics and Advanced Intro to Hydroponics Workforce classes are now being offered with the funds utilized to build complete tent setups with hydroponic systems, providing students with hands-on experience in controlled environment agriculture. The intro course was offered in the spring, so look out for offerings in fall 2025. (Reach out to Bryan Walke for more info)

Student Credential Attainment – The Educational Foundation was offered an invitation to apply to the Advance Auto Parts Foundation 10for10 project, for one of ten $10,000 grants within the Roanoke and the NC Triangle area to support workforce readiness. The Foundation applied for, and was selected for funding to support students who were about to finish their education but needed additional support to finalize their credentials and certification exams. (Reach out to the Foundation for more info)

Joint Ventures Model – VFCCE and HCA Healthcare Foundation- Through the HCA Healthcare Foundation, initial funding was awarded to the Virginia Community College System (VCCS) to identify and propose support for VCCS colleges, aiming to increase opportunities and access to healthcare careers for underserved populations, secure a future workforce, and elevate the healthcare industry.  51����, utilizing our historical knowledge of joint-venture educational partnership delivery, is developing a toolkit for our VCCS sister colleges interested in such educational opportunities.  Joint ventures offer a strategic pathway for community colleges to collaborate with one another to enhance programmatic, educational, and workforce opportunities.  This toolkit will provide a comprehensive overview for colleges to pool resources, expertise, and networks to develop and sustain healthcare programs that meet the needs of their service regions.  (Reach out to Marty Sullivan or Leah Savelyev for more info)

Such great work! I wish I had the ability to highlight everyone!

In the coming year, I will plan to share more spotlight moments as well as new and developing projects. Looking forward to continued work with you.

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

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Developments in VWCC Grants

Periodically, I would like to share updates on grants which have been awarded and provide a little detail about these projects. Often everyone is so busy on campus, there are many wonderful things happening that we might not know about. See some recent grant updates below with the primary contact noted in case you would like more information on the project.

Recent Awards

National Science Foundation – Virginia Tech: Center for Mining and Mineral Engineering Collaboration

NSF Virginia Tech collaboration – Robotics Mining Subaward-  A VWCC student team, and Dr. Richard Clark (their advisor), would collaborate with Dr. Erik Westman (the VT CASERM Site Director) as well as Dr. Xinxin Shao (a VT Research Associate) to design and build lab-scale autonomous mining equipment that will be tested at VT’s Center for Autonomous Mining. This project would encompass a two-year period with a total budget $99,868 covering equipment and student time working in the lab. (Dr. Rick Clark -PI)

National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education – NSF ATE

Cross-Pollination Skillsets:  A project to grow Mechatronics and Agriculture Collaboration for Producing Skills Agricultural Technicians.  This ATE project will combine mechatronics and agricultural curriculums to provide the next generation of agricultural technicians required by growing industries.  The goal of this project is to develop a novel Ag-Tech career studies certificate (CSC) that can be completed at the community college in just four semesters.  As no Ag-Tech program currently exists within the Virginia Community College system, the project will serve as a model.  Awarded funds:  $343,209 over a 3-year period. (Dr. David Berry – PI and Dr. Mallory White Co-PI)

FAFSA Student Support – ECMC Foundation

This summer, funding was awarded to support efforts toward additional FAFSA submissions and completed applications that nationally were below prior submission levels due to the delayed roll out and complications with the new application format and process.  Funds in the amount of $50,800 were approved for staffing overtime, additional part-time support during the summer months and marketing efforts to increase student knowledge of the FAFSA support available. Thanks to Financial Aid and Marketing for putting these funds to use and supporting student need. (Dr. Chad Sartini – Project Lead)

Earn to Learn – Virginia Department of Health

51����’s nursing program will expand its current clinical partnership to include an ETL pilot with Carilion Clinic.  The Earn to Learn model allows for additional guided learning in the clinical setting, offers financial opportunities for students while gaining clinical skills, ensures that new nurses are practice ready, and seeks to address current nursing shortages within our community. The performance period will run through December of 2025 with an award amount of $439,521.00. (Dr. Kelley Pennell – Project Lead)

Thank you to all of those invested in grant projects on campus! If there are updates or recent developments you would like me to share, please let me know.

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

The post Have you heard? appeared first on Grants Development & Special Projects at 51����.

Let’s play a game….

Most people say to me when they hear that I work in the field of grants, “Ugh, I would never want that job!” Encouraging, right? Really, most people feel like the process is too detailed, too complicated; they would prefer to be granted funds to do their projects, without any strings attached. Ah, but as they say… there is no such thing as a free lunch. Lucky for me, (most days), I enjoy the grant writing process and have often joked that my inner gambler has been the driving force for my interest in and desire to work on grants. You dig in, create a plan and roll the dice with your submission….. when you receive an award, it’s like hitting a jackpot, it’s a win! Some personal satisfaction + the ability to help support the needs of your organization, THAT is what makes grant writing great! In the last Grantology blog, I discussed what a LOI is and the benefits there can be for applicant as well as funder. For this edition, let’s think of grant writing or specifically, completing an LOI, as a game… that sounds more like fun, right?

Remember The Game of Life?

The Game of Life takes you on an adventure throughout your life, working your way through college, career, marriage, and children, all while traveling along a game board. The experience of this game, offers the players opportunities, while also helping them understand the requirements of those elements of life. You choose to go to college, you may have to pay student loans. You buy a house and may also have to address unexpected repairs. It’s a little ride on the reality train. So…. let’s play The Game of Life, Innovation Grant Edition!

See below the (very simplified) board game edition of the Innovation Grant LOI process!

Step 1: Think up a Bright Idea…. what is that aspect of programming you wish would improve, or a unique way to connect with students that you wish you could accomplish if you only had x, y or z?

Step 2: Do your research – sketch out your idea, what do you need to make your idea happen? How much time will you need to complete the project? When can it be accomplished? (Reminder, Innovation Grants are generally awarded in June and are meant to be completed by the following May) What purchases may need to be made? Will this affect other departments at the college? What will you need to request in a budget? (Reminder, the max request for a Innovation Grant is $10,000)

Step 3: Make Your Pitch – Get others on board, share your idea with your department/supervisor and those you want to collaborate with, including Human Resources, Finance, outside organizations….

Step 4: This one is easy…. Meet with the Grants Office. Meet with me to talk through your idea and allow me to share more about the process, what aspects to make sure you think through and review Innovation Grant requirements.

Step 5: Use the keyboard – get your thoughts down on paper, use the simple LOI form (located @ Bright Ideas Innovation Grants – Educational Foundation – 51����) and launch your idea.

Step 6: Review and Revise – review your LOI form and have someone else read it as well to offer feedback. Often once you work on something long enough, you may not be able to anticipate what others may or may not find clear. I am happy to review drafts and offer feedback as well.

Step 7: SUBMIT! – Wahoo, finish line! Submit your Innovation Grant LOI by emailing the form to Carolyn Payne (cpayne@virginiawestern.edu) by November 1st. * No late LOI’s can be accepted.

LOI Complete!

Now that you have finished the first round of the Game of Life Innovation Grant Edition, you only have to wait for a few short weeks for the LOI review process. All LOI’s are reviewed within several weeks and those which are selected, are invited to complete a full application. The full application requires more detail regarding goals of the project, expected impact, a more detailed budget and the sign off from key stakeholders at the college to show their support of the project (this helps the Foundation know that everyone is on board if the project is selected for funding). Full applications will be due to the Foundation by March 3, 2025. This spring submission will give time to further develop your project beyond the LOI, often with feedback or suggestions from the Grants Office and the Foundation.

Roll the Dice!

So, put your ideas out there. Review the Educational Foundation’s LOI form, think your bright idea through, and start filling in the details on how it will work and create an impact on campus. These first steps will allow you to jump on the game board, and take you closer to finding the resources to make your idea come to life!

Looking forward to exploring opportunities together!

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

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What Is an LOI?

A letter of intent (LOI) can be thought of as an appetizer, if you are ok with a food metaphor. An LOI can really be a first step in the grants process and is designed as a tool to generate interest (or get an appetite going, if we are staying with the metaphor). The idea is to generate interest from a grant provider, based on the requested initial information. LOI’s can be requested when a funder is seeking to support projects in key specific priority area, such as the local Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia LOI process for projects related to Community Vibrancy, Education and Youth, or Health. Our own Educational Foundation offers a LOI process as well for the Bright Ideas Innovation Grants.

Are LOI’s commonly requested?

The utility of an LOI for both submitter and funder seems to continue to increase, and the concept of providing initial detail seems to be gaining traction, as I have recently also seen this utilized at the federal level. Monday I was reviewing a National Science Foundation (NSF) solicitation for Regional Innovation Engines. This solicitation gives the opportunity for Big Asks, with a potential of over 10 years of funding totaling not more than $160,000,000 and it all starts with an LOI process that essentially asks for a project synopsis in one page. Guidelines are offered for content, and there are many details which need to be spelled out in just one page of text….. So why do this, why start the process this way?

What is the benefit?

First and foremost, this step in the process saves time. Time for both the funder and the applicant. While an applicant always wants to propose something of interest to the funder, open ended funding opportunities leave a great deal of room for interpretation. An LOI gives you a chance to share the 50,000 ft. view with the funder and provides an opportunity for further details as requested. The LOI offers your grant focus in a summary format to allow the funder to decide if it meets their current funding interests. It also saves the applicant time, by not having to create a full proposal before knowing if the funder might be supportive of the particular type of request.

You can also view a LOI as your proverbial “elevator speech”. The thought process that you can explain the concept in a way that any listener can understand it in a short period of time.  What’s your idea? What problem are you trying to address? How do you plan to address the need? Who will you partner with? How much will it cost?

Maybe you should try an LOI!

The perfect start to discovering how an LOI can be the first step in a new and exciting project could be the Educational Foundation’s Innovation Grant process here at VWCC! This Bright Ideas Innovation Grant process was started to allow faculty and staff to submit new ideas, projects or methods to address a need or solve a problem. When the fall semester begins in 2024, the Educational Foundation’s Innovation Grant cycle will open with a LOI opportunity which will be due at the beginning of November. The sample form from 2023 can be found here .

Just as mentioned before, this LOI process can save time in allowing you to share your idea with the Educational Foundation to see if it is a match with the innovation mind set for these funds. This LOI process allows the Educational Foundation to pose questions regarding your grant idea and ask for further information and details that should be elaborated on in a full proposal request. The intent of the LOI is to save time and produce the information most needed to make a complete decision regarding funding.

A recent submitted to the Educational Foundation’s LOI process by Dr. Mallory White was a request to develop a Agriculture 141 lab, which had no existing lab manual. Dr. White created a wonderful 139-page lab manual incorporating 7 labs, which was printed in-house and offered at the VWCC Bookstore at a cost of $35. This manual included pre-lab questions, lab background information, post lab follow-up questions and further resources, diagrams and illustrations. See sample pages here from the manual In addition to providing a low-cost learning resource, this project allowed students who utilized the produced manual in the fall of 2023 to earn an average grade that was 7% higher on the Final Lab Practical than students from the prior year. This idea that started as an LOI, created the resources needed to design the manual, and ultimately lead to greater student success! Proof an LOI can turn into great things!

So, put your ideas out there. Review the Educational Foundation’s LOI form, let your planning skills kick in, and start filling in the details on how your idea could work and how it could create impact. These first steps could take you closer to finding the resources to make your idea come to life!

Looking forward to exploring opportunities together!

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

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Finding your peer group.

I recently returned from my first National Grants Managment Association conference, called AGT, the Annual Grants Training offers continuing education on all things grants. Less about research and writing proposals, as the associations name reflects, this conference content is more about “managing” grants. And…. I found ”my people!”, across many disciplines, higher education, non-profit, local, state and federal government, disaster relief, conservation and on and on. All sizes of staffing, from a one-person shop, like myself, to departments that included teams of grant professionals focused on writing, administering and financial management of awards. It was awesome, it was Grant Nerd Shangri-La!

Compliance is Key

A large part of the conference centered around over-all compliance. The opening keynote sessions were entitled “Grants Compliance: It Takes a (Very Large and Very Complicated) Village” offered by the Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Investigations at the US Department of Energy, and an update from the Deputy Controller for the Office of Mangement and Budget (OMB) on federal policy directives for grants, and a teaser on the upcoming 2 CFR 200 revisions that should be coming out in the next several months. I know you just can’t hardly contain your excitement as well, right?!!

Individual sessions ranged from indirect costs, data analysis, grant closeout, subaward management, ethics, internal controls, time and effort, exploring Uniform Guidance (UG) revisions, fraud prevention, emerging and potential uses for AI in grant development and award monitoring, risk assessment, and purpose driven grant administration. There were many more options than you could possibly attend, and I wished that I had been able to clone myself!

Global Take Aways

1. There is so much to learn, and to continue to stay cognizant of, and NGMA is a great forum for doing just that. Grant Mangement is the nitty gritty of making sure that the creative ideas and opportunities we develop are executed properly, not just programmatically, but according to the specifications of the funder. It’s a two-way street, grantees want the funds to achieve, and funders provide the parameters within which that work can be accomplished.
2. Guidelines can be complex and difficult to fully understand, yet this is critical to meeting compliance requirements. One of the funny and frequent responses when a question was asked regarding guidance was “It Depends.” The fact that there is universal understanding of this response indicates the level of complexity to both the guidelines themselves and the situations and questions that arise. Further, this understanding has reached the federal level and is driving a portion of the 2 CFR 200 revisions (Uniform Guidance) that were mentioned earlier. When I say complex, I’m not joking, the Uniform Guidance is currently 473 pages. The proposed revisions which hopefully will be available in a few months, are focused on attempts to reduce agency and recipient burden, as well as to be more inclusive of plain language to offer greater clarity and comprehension of compliance requirements.
3. There continues to be room for growth and opportunity. One of the sessions that I attended that I enjoyed, and I felt hit home most with where my brain wants to go, was called “Purpose Driven Grant Administration”. Led by Rob Hogan, CFE, Director of Integrated Solutions, who works with governments and non-profits in the disaster recovery space, this session discussed implementing a purpose driven process and the progression that can offer organizations. His Grant Administration Maturity Model illustrates the progression from where many organizations begin (Initial – grant process is opportunistic and reactive, chasing dollars) along maturity milestones to where they can grow (Optimized – high-functioning grants administration tied to strategic initiatives). As my knowledge continues to grow, with study and intention, I look forward to working with grant champions in our academic, workforce and student services areas as well as finance and human resources, to grow along the maturity model and allow VWCC to continue to design and implement successful initiatives for our students and the college.

More to come…..

Stay tuned for further exploration of the ever-evolving important facets of grant management and how continued focus and attention to these developments can assist us in securing and creating powerful opportunities at Virgina Western!

Thank you for all that you do!

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

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An Imperative for Planning and Success

Collaborations can be complicated. These relationships take effort, energy and often, time away from the day to day work you need to stay engaged with. Yet, collaborations can be an investment in the longer-term impact that your daily work seeks to achieve overall.

Collaborations Are Valued Components of Grant Projects

Collaboration speaks to how well your organization is connected with its community and the ability to meet the needs of your target population. According to Eleanor Barnes with testlabs ¹, within grant applications and projects, “organizations can leverage collective strengths, expand their capabilities and enhance the overall quality of projects.” Further, collaborations offer opportunities for complementary expertise among organizations, shared resources, increased credibility of your proposed project, and expanded research and impact.

Think of some of the collaborations that are internal within our college campus, as well as, those which are external. For example, Great Expectations is a program that seeks to connect with students who formerly experienced the Foster Care system. While VWCC’s focus is on ensuring opportunities for educational success, the projects collaborators within our community can assist with a multitude of resources that our college does not have the ability to address outside of our educational mission. This is a win win for the student and their educational goals if each partner is able to contribute their part toward addressing overall student need.

Collaborations Maximize Success

Community Colleges have had the benefit of interested researchers studying interventions and collaborations to assess the status of efforts, successes and suggested best practices which others could follow. The Aspen Institute, bi-annually, offers the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence where “colleges with outstanding achievement in six critical areas: teaching and learning, certificate and degree completion, transfer and bachelor’s attainment, workforce success, access, and equity for students of color and students from low-income backgrounds.” Applications are narrowed to 150, then to 10 and ultimately, one or two winners of the $1,000,000 prize. And while each particular college has its own focus or success in the six critical areas, collaborations are a part of them all.

To learn more about the Aspen Community College Excellence Program’s work, visit highered.aspeninstitute.org. To explore some of the research that the Aspen Prize has informed (in collaboration with the Community College Research Center (CCRC) at Columbia University), see the Dual Enrollment Playbook (as.pn/DualEnrollmentPlaybook), Transfer Playbook (as.pn/TransferPlaybook), and Workforce Playbook (as.pn/WorkforcePlaybook).

Collaborations Are Complex

Let’s circle back to one of the original assertions, collaborations can also serve to be complicated and require great understanding to maintain the most successful relationships. In December of 2022, Harvard Business School’s Managing the Future of Work Initiative² (in collaboration with the American Association of Community Colleges), published a study report entitled “The Partnership Imperative: Community Colleges, Employers and America’s Chronic Skills Gap“.

Through this study, Harvard Business School highlights that the nature of work has changed dramatically due to multiple factors such as automation, creating great change among workers who are considered “middle-skilled”, those that will require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree. The researchers highlight that Community Colleges “have been and should remain, the education portal through which these workers pass.” Sounds reasonable and clear, right? Except that the study also found a disconnect on a number of factors and perceptions between those who teach and those who hire. For example, employers say they struggle to find the talent they need (quantity, quality and diversity). Educators struggle to get employers engaged (curriculum development, skilled advisors, latest technology). Yet, there are also many points on which these collaborators agree, including valuing the opportunity to collaborate in order to develop a pipeline of workers. The report produced by Harvard is big and fascinating, and also somewhat of a roadmap, offering a framework for effective collaboration, with goals and strategies, as well as, recommended actions which can move those strategies and goals forward toward more effective outcomes.

Check this report out ( and think of how this in-depth look can apply to your collaborative work. Consider the communication, understanding and investment that is required of collaborations that can lead to student and college success. Dream up who you want to work with to solve a problem, eliminate a barrier, create an opportunity and then give them a call. Share this report with them and let them know you want to create a lasting partnership that is effective and beneficial for you both. Will it take time and energy? Yes. Can it create lasting benefits for students and the college? Yes. If you make a good connection and build a good plan, could funding be found to make the work happen. Likely yes!

The best collaborative grant proposal that can be submitted is one that has had the time dedicated to planning prior to a grant being discovered.

Thank you for all that you do!

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

1. https://testlabsuk.com/blog/partnerships-on-grant-applications-how-importnat-are-they-exactly/
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2. Fuller, J., Raman, M., (December 2022). The partnership Imperative: Community Colleges, Employers, and America’s Chronic Skills Gap. Published by Harvard Business School. ︎

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Innovation LOI Deadline Approaching – November 1st

Faculty and Staff Friends,

We are approximately 1 month away from the Educational Foundation’s Innovation Grant Letter of Intent deadline, so here is a reminder of the details! Let’s keep it simple to start with the definition of innovation:

Innovation                      

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1: a new idea, method, or device: 

2: the introduction of something new

The Educational Foundation’s Innovation Focus

Innovation is creativity in action: The introduction of new ideas, projects or methods to address a need or solve a problem. The Educational Foundation annually awards the Faculty and Staff Innovation Grants to encourage academic enrichment activities. These awards are typically not funded by the VCCS’s professional development initiatives, the Equipment Trust Fund or the college’s regular operating budget. Faculty and staff, which includes adjunct faculty and part-time staff, should consider proposing innovative projects, novel approaches, and creative activities that support 51����’s mission, vision, core values, and goals.

What type of projects are considered for funding?

Some sample ideas include:

• Experimental or instructional equipment not funded through the college’s operating budget process
• Innovative instructional methods and procedures, including technology-based approaches
• Materials (as pertain to the direct design/creation/methodology of the proposal)
• Activities in support of new courses
• Guest speaker for a course (or group of faculty) related to teaching and learning (travel expenses)
• Student and faculty visitation to field sites
• Projects not funded by VCCS professional development initiatives

What is the range of grant awards?                                              

Grants will typically range from $1,000 up to a maximum of $10,000.

What are the timeframes for proposals and projects?

The 1st Step: Is to submit your bright idea through the Innovation Grant LOI process. –            

Deadline November 1st, 2023 The Letter of Intent introduces your Bright Idea to the Educational Foundation.  This is a required process to be considered for a full application proposal. If your LOI is approved, you may then move on to submit a full application. This process also enables the Educational Foundation and the Grants Office to provide feedback to assist you in crafting the best full application. LOI approval or denial notification will be received by 11/15/23. For planning purposes, project timeframes would run between June of 2024 and the end of March 2025.

2nd Step: If your LOI is approved, you will be invited to complete a Full Innovation Grant Application

Deadline March 1st, 2024 This step requires a more complete application that includes a developed budget and justification of expenses, as well as the signatures of the applicant’s supervisor, the Vice President over your department and the Grants Office. Your bright idea will be more fully developed for this proposal and you will be asked for project goals and objectives, your target population and anticipated evaluation and assessment.

3rd Step: Proposal Review and Funding Notification The Educational Foundation’s Scholarship and Grants Committee meets to review and approve submitted proposals and will make funding decisions in mid-May of 2024 with anticipated funding notification by 6/1/24.

4th Step: Projects Begin and Reporting Expectations Grant funding will be available between June 1, 2024 and March 31, 2025. You will be required to submit two reports to the Educational Foundation.

Midterm Report (due 10/18/24) and a Final Report (due 3/31/25)

5th Step: Celebrate Project Success and Share Details With Our Campus!

So, now you know the process…. take some creative time and share your bright ideas through a LOI submission! Have more questions, or need more information? Check out the link to the Foundation’s Innovation Grant page below to find out more, see the LOI form for submission, or contact myself or Carolyn Payne @ the Foundation (540-857-6371 or cpayne@virginiawestern.edu).

Happy Innovating!

Shelley

Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu

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