Retired-Course: Grantwriting: Bicycle Transportation

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Grant Writing for the Bicycle Transportation Alliance Grant writing skills are critical to the survival of non-profit organizations. In this course, we partner with Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) to help them increase their capacity by developing grants for specific projects. The BTA works to promote bicycling and improve bicycling conditions in Oregon and SW Washington. 

Through reading, writing, research, and presentations, students in this capstone approach the issue of transport from a variety of perspectives and engage with questions concerning bicycle safety, the environment, and the economics of transportation. The class also examines issues of race, class, and gender as they relate to bicycle transportation, exploring issues of access, awareness, and infrastructure. Also, students learn the steps involved in completing a successful grant proposal, research and write grant proposals, and develop their skills as effective writers.

Please contact Annie Knepler, knepler@pdx.edu, for more information.

Project Description

For their final project, students work in groups of 3 or 4 to research, develop, write, and revise a full grant proposal. Included with this proposal is a Letter of Intent (LOI) written to their chosen funder, along with a full budget for the project. Since the assignment is dictated to a great extent by the questions asked by the funder in their application guidelines, I provide students with a rubric that I use to assess their final grant proposal. We go through each step of the proposal in class and I provide both worksheets and other materials to help students through process. I have provided a copy of the rubric along with samples of the grant writing and groupwork worksheets/handouts.