NCJ Number
200407
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 72 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2003 Pages: 12-21
Date Published
May 2003
Length
10 pages
Annotation
After reviewing the value of grants for law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve, this article discusses funding sources, the grant process, and procedures for writing a grant proposal.
Abstract
Improvement and change are the goals of most agencies and institutions that offer grants to law enforcement agencies. Whether a police department's current methods and operations need improvement or its practices require change to conform to contemporary standards, grants provide the impetus and the means to bridge the gap between imagination and practice. Departments can receive grants from a variety of funding sources, from Federal and State agencies to private corporations. Information on grant sources can be obtained from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS), a federally sponsored information clearinghouse for users around the Nation and the world involved in criminal justice research, policy, and practice. When contacting a funding source, the department should ask for a request for proposal (RFP), the official announcement from the source that specifies the availability and nature of grant funds. Most grant procedures involve a competitive process, since the amount of grant funds available typically restricts the number of applicants who will receive grant monies. This means that an applicant's grant proposal must persuade the granting agency that its project is a worthwhile investment that meets the criteria presented in the RFP. In providing instructions on steps and procedures in writing the grant proposal, this article describes information collection; the use of supporting data for the concepts encompassed in the proposed project; compliance with ethical considerations in writing the proposal (subject awareness, honesty, valid reasoning, sound evidence, and originality); the writing process; and proper organization of the grant proposal. The latter involves instructions on the cover, the table of contents, the abstract, the problem statement, goals and objectives, program strategy, budget narrative, and the appendix. 12 notes