[Nfb-fundraising] Braille Literacy Grant?

[David Evans]

Dear Michael,

There are lots of grants that can be turned to Braille literacy.
  The Barbara Bush Foundation gives for literacy and so do many others.
You can check out the "not for pay" sections of the Foundation Center's web 
site for many of these.
You can "google" grants for literacy, education, and community services to 
find more.
Most Public libraries carry "Foundations" and grants directories in the 
reference departments that list foundations in indexes that make it easier 
to find government and private foundation that give funds in specific "Areas 
of Interest."
Learning to write grants is not that hard and once you write your first one, 
you have most of the paperwork together already for your next one.
Many of these "foundation Directories" also include guides and information 
as to how to write grants.
It is a skill that can be very rewarding and a sellable skill.  There is not 
a non-profit, government agency, college or university or even some 
corporations that do not need people who can read and write or administrate 
grants.
I know a person, who was a pro grant writer, who charged 3% of the total 
grant award as their fee for writing a grant.  The grant was written for a 
for profit construction company to build a shopping mall.  The total of the 
grant was $19 million of which he got 3% as his fee.  Do the math and you 
can see he made more than the President of the U.S.  for his work.
Here is a little program that I did this last year.
Remember those little 2 track audio tape players the NFB was giving away to 
the chapters just for paying the shipping?
I got about 200 of those things and then got a small grant from my local 
Office of Equal Opportunity Handicapped Awareness Grant Fund with which I 
purchased a bunch of slates and stylists.
As the tape players came with a very nice tote bag, I added the slates to 
the package, along with a NFB Braille alphabet card, some NFB literature and 
a audio tape from the Hadley School on "relevant Braille.
The Hadley School tape teaches a person to write and read Basic Grade One 
Braille using a slate and stylist.
I really think that this is the best way to learn to write and read Braille 
as I learned it this way and I taught myself Braille, and was using it for 
my personal messages, in just 3 weeks by following the 5 easy lessons in the 
tape.
Anyway, I gave these packages out at our chapter's Xmas party and as door 
prizes at our Florida State Convention.
I am now going to give more to our Parents of Blind Children Division to 
give out to all new families who have Blind children as a "Welcome Wagon" 
gift.
You could do something like this too.
You will find that "equipment" grants are the easiest grants to get.
You must always show a "noble" purpose for what you ask for.  How you 
structure your grant can be the most important thing you do.
As an example.  You could ask for a grant to purchase a Braille printer such 
as a "Tiger Cub" printer that will print directly from a MS-Word document 
into a Grade Two Braille format.
The Cost is around $5,100 dollars.
One of the justifications you could use to get this printer is that your NFB 
Chapter will use it to publish a Braille newsletter and translate documents 
in to Braille for Blind people or other organizations or agencies for the 
use of Blind Braille readers in your area.
You could even use that printer to generate some funds for its use and your 
chapter by contracting with local cafes and restaurants to print Braille 
menus, programs and such as well.
You could also justify it to print a Braille magazine or newsletter for 
Blind children and adults in your area.
It could be housed in some members home or a common locations and used by 
just one person or by a group.
There are lots of ways to go here.
I hope that I have given you some ideas, but if you need more, just send me 
a message at drevans at bellsouth.net  .

David Evans, NFBF

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Freholm" <mfreholm at blindnet.zzn.com>
To: <nfb-fundraising at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 5:19 PM
Subject: [Nfb-fundraising] Braille Literacy Grant?


> Dear Fellow Fundraising Federationists,
> Does any one know of any grants out there that might help fund a Braille 
> literacy program? We are looking to tutor in the school as well as classes 
> for adults. I live in Kentucky if the grants are geographically specific.
> Thanks Much,
> Michael K. Freholm
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