Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Margie DuBrow, a visiting instructor, is teaching a grant-writing course at the Lang Center this spring. The course, which is not for academic credit, is “part of the skill-building workshops” that the Lang Center has hosted for the past four years, explained Cythnia Jetter, the Center’s Director for Community Partnerships and Planning. The course is also a requirement for Lang Opportunity Scholars.
The weekly “Effective Grantsmanship” workshops will cover a range of essentials, including “the methods used to conduct a community needs assessment” and “the building blocks of writing a solid action plan before developing a grant proposal,” according to the description. Students “will [also] be matched with a local non-profit agency and will conduct either grant research or write a portion of a grant proposal in partnership with that organization.” Each student will spend 10-12 volunteer hours with his or her assigned agency.
Lois Park ’10, a Lang Opportunity Scholar and a student in this workshop series, finds the experience very valuable for future work in non-profit organizations. She wrote in an email, “I think grant writing is an extremely valuable skill to have. Especially for someone who wants to work with non-profits and NGOs, having training in writing effective grants is an indispensable asset…. Money is often the limiting factor that hinders the plans of many promising organizations.”