A SWILSA Online Course
8 hours CE credit toward public librarian recertification
Introduction; outline of the course
No library's budget is large enough to finance everything that library boards and staff want to provide for their patrons. A possible source for "extra" money for special projects is a grant from a foundation or corporation. This online course, consisting of 5 lessons (including "homework!") will take you through the process of identifying a project and articulating the need, identifying possible funding sources, writing a grant proposal and applying for a grant.
By the end of the module, participants will be able to:
 | Describe the purpose of a project for which funding is sought, including goals, objectives, strategies, timetable, budget and evaluation |
| Prepare a written proposal for the project |
| Consult at least 5 lists or resources that list potential funders |
| Select potential funders that are appropriate for the specific project |
| Identify the procedure for applying to each funder |
| Apply to at least 2 potential funder(s) |
Lessons and assignments will be online; when complete, assignments can be mailed,
faxed, or e-mailed to SWIRLS for comment and suggestions. Assignments will
including reading, videotapes, visiting various websites, and using online and print
resources.
Outline of Lessons:
Lesson 1: Identifying and describing the project ; formulating needs
statement
(“Homework”—identify and define a project)
Lesson 2: Preparing a written proposal
(“Homework”: write proposal, with list of minimum required parts)
Lesson 3: Finding and selecting potential funders
(“Homework”—research in at least 5 sources and
identify at least two possible
funding sources)
Lesson 4: Matching project with funder(s)
(Homework: worksheet with requirements, match to requester’s project)
Lesson 5: Preliminary inquiry
(“Homework”: compose letter of inquiry)
Final: Sending application/proposal
The course may be taken for CE credit or "audited."
For credit: Participants will receive 8 hours of continuing education credit toward Iowa public librarian certification. Because SWILSA staff will be commenting and responding to each credit participants' homework, registration will be limited to 5 at one time.
Auditing: Those who "audit" the course will not be submitting the homework for comment, and will not receive credit. There will be no limit on the number who can audit the course; however, because we need to track the number of people accessing the course we will require registration from those auditing.
To register, please contact Karen. (SWILSA member librarians, only)
You will receive a user name and password from SWILSA; these are required to access the
lessons.