Painting the Picture: Timelines

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Painting the PictureTimelines
BudgetsTuesday, September 16, 2008

• Rebecca Ruggles
• Director of Special Projects
• Mid-Atlantic Association of Community Health
  Centers

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Make the Grant Application Process Work for You

• Unmet needs abound!
• Never enough time or resources!
• We survive by setting boundaries
• A good Timeline and Budget set boundaries
• Use the principle of SYNERGY to set boundaries

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SYNERGY

• The working together of two or more people,
  organizations, or things, when the result is
  greater than the sum of their individual effects
  or capabilities.
• Never start from scratch
• What are you building on?
• Knowledge experience
• Expertise skills
• Relationships internal or external or both

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A Working Draft Budget

• PROBLEM to be addressed defined
• RESOURCES available identified
• Existing
• New
• IMPACT you can realistically have
• Baseline data about the problem
• Process measures related to activities you
  envision
• Outcome measures meaningful change in relation
  to the problem
• NOW do a draft budget

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Budget Mechanics

• Start with back-of-the-envelope
• Compare desired impact with available test
  feasibility
• Switch to a spreadsheet
• Do a working draft budget before you write
• Use plug figures
• Be selective in your research of costs

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Budget Principles

• Every resource listed in the budget should show
  up in the project narrative
• The scale and scope of your project need to be in
  line with your budget
• Be explicit about your in-kind resources
• Dont sweat the small stuff (supplies)

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Budget Principles scale and scope need to match
dollars

• Work from top to bottom
• Number of years
• Assess costs by year
• Year 1 start-up costs?
• Year 3 evaluation costs?
• Budget for each year
• Less fixed costs lease, equipment, media
• Variable costs staff, supplies
• The more you produce, the more it costs
• Divide whats left by outcome measure

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Let Your Outcomes Drive Your Budget

• Work from bottom to top
• Variable costs
• For example
• Each worker can serve 1500 people
• To serve 5000 people gt 3 workers
• Average salary 35,000 x 3
• With fringe 126,000 per year
• Is 5000 people served affordable?
• In-kind and synergy can make it so

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Timelines consider project management

• Steps to achieving outcomes
• Process measures
• what are your existing data sources?
• how will you know you are on track?
• Key reporting opportunities
• for project management how often?
• for grant accountability mid-point before due
  date
• for partners clients when where?

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Timelines consider lead times

• Phasing in of activities or sites
• One at a time
• Orienting partners of existing staff
• Setting up space
• Purchasing supplies
• Start-up time how much?
• Hiring staff
• Training existing staff

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Timelines consider communications

• Communicating about your project should show up
  on the timeline
• regularly scheduled community events
• existing forums meetings
• outreach activities that you already conduct
• Project team mid-course evaluation of progress

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Budgets Timelines - summary

• Make them work for you
• To test the feasibility of your planned project
• To revise your project plan before you write
  proposal
• To sell your proposal realistic, synergistic
• To manage your project once funded