Organizing Information

by Cynthia M. Adams, CEO, GrantStation.com

The last article dealt with the importance of identifying appropriate Internet resources from which you can gather reliable data to substantiate the need for your organization's project or program. We also discussed how you can save time before you begin writing letters of inquiry or proposals by having already determined how to use these resources.

Before we move on to more time-saving techniques, it's important to remind you that online research is not the only way to substantiate the problem your organization is trying to address. Never underestimate the value of person-to-person contact.

Hands-on research can humanize a needs statement and engage the reviewer much more quickly than a set of statistics. Circulate your own surveys. Hold community meetings to discuss the problem. Talk with experts in the field, particularly people on the ground whose daily work is an effort to address or resolve the issues, such as juvenile detention officers, Head Start teachers, and high school athletic coaches. Once you've gathered this information, you'll be able to integrate it with the statistical data for...