• Tribal Members

The Process of Grant Development and Submission (pre-award)

Many granting agencies have very specific focus areas and requirements, will only fund certain kinds of projects, and have inflexible deadlines. This means that developing and submitting a grant application can be very time intensive, and time sensitive. Most grants take over 80 hours of uninterrupted writing time alone (not including all of the other components necessary for a successful application). Because of this, most of the time OGC staff must begin working on grants a month or more before the applications are due.

To best serve the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribal Community, the Office of Grants and Contracts follows the process below in working with tribal departments:

1. The Office of Grants and Contracts (OGC) will inform Program Directors of funding opportunities via email. This will include a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFA) which describes the basic area funding can be applied to, and the requirements for funding and the application.
2. An OGC staff member will follow-up with the Program Director within seven (7) days of the email.
3. If the Program Director is interested in applying for the grant, OGC staff will arrange a meeting to discuss the funding opportunity and its requirements.
4. If the Program Director and OGC team decide that the grant is a good fit, and choose to pursue the grant opportunity, the Office of Grants and Contracts will:
   1. Gather applicable information and data documenting need for the grant
   2. Develop the grant narrative according to grant application specifications. This may include asking departmental experts to contribute to the writing or content of the narrative as appropriate.
   3. Develop goals, objectives, budget, and any and all other necessary grant components according to departmental needs
   4. Prepare documents for Tribal Council approval of the grant and any supporting documentation needed (e.g. letters of support from partner departments or organizations)
   5. Review, edit, and submit the grant by whatever method the funding agency requires
5. After the application is submitted, we must wait to hear if the project will be funded. For some funders, it may take 6-8 months to hear back on a decision!