Advancement · Grants & Funding

A project description
a funder can score

Enter the need with its figures, the goal, each objective with a target and a date and each activity with its lead. The tool counts words against the funder’s limit, checks that every objective has a number and a date inside the project, flags vague words and missing leads, evaluation or sustainability, and prints the description in the order grant readers expect.

$12one-time · every device you sign in on

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Grant writer’s desk, $49 for 63 items.

Project descriptions

The worked example is made up: a ninth-grade algebra tutoring project with measurable objectives, a garden project written in general terms and a family literacy project just started. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Advancement · Grants & Funding$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per project description: title, funder, word limit and dates; need and goal; objectives with targets and dates; activities with leads and timing; evaluation, sustainability and six checks. Word count against the limit, measurable objectives, activities without a lead and project length in months; a printed description with numbered objectives and an activity table.
Who it is for
Grant writers, development staff, school and district grant coordinators, teachers applying for classroom grants and nonprofit program staff.
Format
Browser tool with a saved record per project. Prints the project description, the record, every project in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Grant writer’s desk ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Grants & Funding space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Enter the project, funder, word limit and dates.
  2. Write the need with a figure and its source, and the goal.
  3. Add objectives with a target and a date.
  4. Add activities with a lead and timing.
  5. Fix the flags, then print or paste it in.

Add a project

The logic grant readers look for

From need to results, in one line of logic1NeedA local figure, with itssource2GoalThe change, in one sentence3ObjectivesA number and a date for each4ActivitiesWhat you do, who leads, when5EvaluationWhat you measure, with whichdata6After the grantWho pays and what lastsFrom need to results, in one line of logic1NeedA local figure, with its source2GoalThe change, in one sentence3ObjectivesA number and a date for each4ActivitiesWhat you do, who leads, when5EvaluationWhat you measure, with which data6After the grantWho pays and what lasts
Grant readers follow the logic from need to objective to activity to measure; an objective with a number and a date is the link that holds it together.

Objectives you can count

An objective names a result, a number and a date: “raise the pass rate of tutored students from 59% to 75% by December 2027”. “Students will learn about plants” cannot be scored, because no one can say whether it happened. Keep activities (what you do) separate from objectives (what changes), and link each activity to the objective it serves.

Evidence and follow-through

Ground the need in a local figure with its source and date, and compare it with a wider rate when you can. Say how you will measure each objective, with which records and who collects them. Funders also ask what happens when the money ends, so name who pays for what continues. Always follow the funder’s own headings and limits over any general template.

Sources

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2009). Evaluation Briefs No. 3b: Writing SMART Objectives (cdc.gov).
  2. W. K. Kellogg Foundation (2004). Logic Model Development Guide (wkkf.org).
  3. Grants.gov. Grant Writing Basics and the Grants Learning Center (grants.gov).
  4. Candid Learning. Proposal writing short course (learning.candid.org).

The worked example is made up, including the schools, figures and funders. The checks follow common grant-writing practice; each funder’s instructions come first. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.