Grant writing skills are essential for all arts students, no matter what career path they take. This workshop gives students a foundation in grant writing skills that they can use to apply for grants and professional proposals of all kinds.

In a one-hour workshop offered by Douglas Detrick of Substrate Arts Consulting is for arts students of all disciplines and career tracks including education, administration, and those who plan to pursue professional creative opportunities as artists whether they do so full-time or not.

Contact me to talk about this workshop or about creating a customized workshop or residency for your students.

Basics of the workshop:

  • Educational outcome: students will know what an arts grant is and the basics of how to apply, including project design and narrative, and budget.
  • Timeframe: this is a single-session workshop lasting approximately one hour. Length can be adjusted to meet students scheduling needs with additional material, group activities, or discussion.
  • Visual aids and handouts: included as pdf or web-based documents.

Topics covered:

Students will learn answers to these questions:

  • What is a grant? Students learn the basics of the most common types of grants, where grant funds come from, and some examples of grant projects that have been funded by local grantmakers recently. For example, students in the Portland, Oregon area will see examples of grants that were funded by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
  • Who is eligible to apply for a grant? Students will learn how to understand eligibility requirements.
  • What kind of arts projects are eligible for funding? Students will learn about different types of grant funding and how that relates to the different types of project they could propose, based on recent real examples.
  • What kinds of information do I need to provide in a grant application? Answering narrative questions in a grant application, preparing an appropriate work sample, and
  • What is a budget, and how do I create one? The basics of describing a project in financial terms, how to value or estimate the value of typical revenue or expense items in the budget, and the difference between “projected,” “confirmed,” and “actual” revenue or expenses.

Visual Aids and Handouts:

  • Slideshow covering each question above with examples from actual grant announcements, and actual projects that were funded.
  • A basic budget template document as a spreadsheet, and an example budget worksheet from a grant application.

Past Workshops:

  • Douglas Detrick has been adjunct faculty at Oregon State University, and has taught workshops in professional skills and music composition at University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Lebanon Valley College, University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point, Lawrence University, Portland State University, Adelphi University, and Head-Royce School, among others.