The Massachusetts Library System is pleased to announce that we have partnered with LibraryWorks to provide our members with access to their webinars.  These webinars are free to Massachusetts library workers who register through our calendar.  Because we are working with an outside partner, it is important that you cancel your registration in the event that you are unable to attend the webinar.

As library personnel, it's important to know the various ways and places you can search for grant opportunities. Getting to know a sponsor from information that is available online contributes to decisions that your team will make about:

• what type of expenses to ask for;
• how much money to ask for;
• who to partner with;
• how much time is reasonable to request in order to complete the project, and more.

These skills will help you and your colleagues to support the creative pursuit of grant funds as well as to assist patrons who want to learn more about grantseeking activities. Next, it is essential to gain practice in interpreting grant guidelines to create fundable grant proposals. This workshop offers practical steps for doing both: searching and learning what to do with the information you find. These two activities performed in a team-based environment will support the collaborative spirit in libraries for getting the job done together. Case studies from the past 16 years of developing awarded grant proposals will show you the hidden art and science of how to do this, and outline the steps necessary to create complete and competitive proposals.

Outcomes:

1. Knowledge of using databases for discovering appropriate grant opportunities
2. Greater understanding of how to read sponsor guidelines and create in-house checklists
3. Visualizations of awarded projects that benefitted from best practices in preparing proposals

Presenter: Bess de Farber has provided grantseeking instruction and collaboration workshops to thousands of library staff, nonprofit and academic professionals, artists, and university students in the past 32 years, and has led efforts to secure millions in grant funding for nonprofits and academic libraries.