For organizations entering into the world of Federal grants, reading a Federal solicitation and knowing what to look for is likely a daunting endeavor. Even for organizations more familiar with Federal grants, solicitations can often contain information that is confusing or easily misinterpreted. This can be a significant barrier to successfully applying for Federal funds, because failing to follow solicitation instructions typically results in an application not being viewed at all by the agency.

This session will provide attendees with an in-depth walkthrough of a typical Federal solicitation. We will discuss strategies for ensuring that application requirements are met to ensure that an application is deemed eligible for review by the agency in the first place. We will then discuss strategies for addressing the agency's application evaluation criteria as listed in the solicitation. This will allow attendees to ensure that their applications gain the most points possible during the agency's review process, thereby increasing chance of award.

Following this session, attendees will be able to identify important components of a Federal grant solicitation, including sections related to application components, formatting requirements, evaluation criteria, and program contacts. Attendees will also be able to create tools to use during the application development stage that will help them to ensure compliance with the solicitation requirements, including thorough checklists, summaries, timelines, and narrative templates.

Presenter:

Christina has worked for Cherokee Nation for 17+ years in various capacities, ranging from tribal justice support, codification development, domestic violence program and grant development management, and most recently as executive management for the Secretary of Natural Resources.  She is highly skilled in proposal development, strategic planning, leadership, and project management.

Sydnee Krenek has nearly 7 years of grant experience, 5 of which have been spent with Cherokee Nation Grant Services, where she coordinates, writes, and edits 30 to 50 Federal grants per year. Her success rates over the past three years have ranged from 70-91%, resulting in millions of dollars awarded to the Tribe for disaster response, environmental protection, public health services and pandemic response, health research, and Native language revitalization efforts. Sydnee holds her GPC.

 
Skill Level:
Mid-Career

Learning Path: 
Federal Grants

GPC Competencies:
How to craft, construct, and submit an effective grant application

Strategies for effective program and project design and development Organizational development as it pertains to grant seeking

Ability to write a convincing case for funding