I'll Grant You That. - Review - book review

School Administrator, Feb, 2001 by Coral May Grout

The need for additional funding to supplement public school budgets has intensified during the past several years and will continue to be a focus of school leaders.

The authors of I'll Grant You That, Jim Burke and Carol Ann Prater, have extensive know-how in crafting successful grant proposals. Prater also trains educators in proposal writing.

As a result, this work carries a wealth of useful information in its 23 chapters. Topics include conducting a strategic assessment; locating and reviewing grant applications; designing the actual proposal; and submitting the application. The book includes a step-by-step process for developing the grant proposal, as well as a series of "workshops" on writing, organizing, presenting and being creative. The descriptions are well conceived and sufficiently detailed, making the information beneficial to the novice as well as the seasoned grant seeker. A useful glossary of grant-related terms is included.

Unlike other grant-writing manuals, I'll Grant You That includes a CD, where grant writers can locate annotated sample grants that help to illustrate what works and what doesn't. The CD operates in both Windows or Macintosh formats. A Web site, which supports the book, can be used to obtain additional help and an up-to-date directory of organizations offering grants.

(I'll Grant You That: A Step-By-Step Guide to Finding Funds, Designing Winning Projects, and Writing Powerful Proposals, by Jim Burke and Carol Ann Prater, Heinemann, 361 Hanover St., Portsmouth, N.H. 03801-3912, 2000, 269 pp. with index, $25 softcover)