FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Do you have examples of grants that have been funded that I could use in writing my own proposal?
Yes. Click here for the 'give-away' page on our Intranet.
2. Will you write a grant for us on the condition that we will give you the evaluation contract, we will give you a training contract or we will pay you only if we get funded? We really don't have the money now and our community really needs this project.
No. There are no conditions under which we work for free, not even if you have great need and a wonderful project. We have a success rate for getting proposals funded that is several times the national average and as a result our time is 100% committed to projects that pay us. Working for you for free and taking a chance that you would pay us if your grant was funded six or seven months from now would mean giving up working for people who are willing to pay us right now. We have to pay our employees, the printer, our web host and our children's college tuition a lot sooner than six months from now. All of the people we work with are great people who have communities with real needs. For more on our grantwriting services and grantwriting in general, click here.
3. What happened to your site on English language learners?
We took it down, but it will be back up in several weeks. We are working on other projects at the moment and did not have time to maintain that area. We really don't want anything on our website that is not top quality and a number of the REALnet sites had become outdated. In conjunction with the University of California, Riverside, we have submitted a proposal to further develop that site. We hope to hear about that proposal soon. If we do not receive the funding, we will still put the site back up as a public service, but, of course, it will be more limited than if we do receive external funding.
4. Can you give a donation to our youth dance/ Pow-wow/ sobriety program, etc.?
Maybe. We only fund programs in locations where we do business. This would include the Spirit Lake, Turtle Mountain and Fort Berthold reservations and southern California. The majority of our donations are given for programs on reservations. Our maximum is $250 per program request and a program can only receive one award per quarter. For reservation-based programs, contact Dr. Erich Longie at ericstev@spiritlakeconsulting.com . For programs in southern California, contact Jessica Holmess at jessica@spiritlakeconsulting.com .
5. We need an evaluator. Are you available? And how much do you charge?
We charge $55 per hour. This is based on an eight-hour day, and a forty-hour week. If you have an emergency situation, e.g., you are six months behind schedule, we may be able to accommodate you but there will be overtime charges and we will let you know about those up-front. It is very easy to avoid those charges by simply contracting with us well before your evaluation is due. Our availability varies depending on other projects. Existing clients to whom we have made commitments come first. If we sign a contract with you, then you will be one of those 'existing clients' and we are sure this is the way you would want it. If you like, we can refer you to another evaluator if we cannot fit you in our schedule or if our rates are not within your budget. (Yes, of course we will refer you to a competitor. We want you to get help and if you cannot get help from us, we don't want your program to fail. Click here for more on evaluation.) If you are interested in our evaluation services, please contact Dr. AnnMaria De Mars at annmaria@spiritlakeconsulting.com .
6. Can you write a grant for us? And how much do you charge?
The answer is the same as for evaluation services. We charge $55 per hour. This is based on an eight-hour day, and a forty-hour week. If you have a very tight schedule, e.g., the grant is due in one month, we may be able to accommodate you but there will be overtime charges and we will let you know about those up-front. Our grantwriting services are in demand and our time is limited. If we don't think there is sufficient time available for us to write a proposal that has a good chance of being funded, we will not take the contract. That does not mean you cannot find someone else who will do it and they may even get it funded. Usually those people, if they do it right, will charge about triple our rates and we don't argue with that because someone will be working sixteen hours a day to get your proposal finished. If we don't think you have a fundable idea, we will tell you that and not take your contract. We don't want to waste your money or our time if we think the chance of success is low. For more on our grantwriting services and grantwriting in general, click here. If you are interested in our grantwriting services, please contact Dr. AnnMaria De Mars at annmaria@spiritlakeconsulting.com . 7. We would like training on our reservation for (Head Start, Special Education, Business Ethics, Vocational Rehabilitation, Program Management) where can I find more information or how can I schedule training?
Click here for a copy of our brochure to learn about the training currently available on disability and chronic illness. To schedule training for staff, people with disabilities or their families, contact Breeanne Hinojoso at breeanne@spiritlakeconsulting.com . To schedule training on management or business ethics, contact Dr. Longie at ericstev@spiritlakeconsulting.com . To learn more about our Spirit Lake Leadership Training Project, click here.
|
