Your writing assignment(s) each week will serve as the individual components of a working grant proposal that you will put together for your final project in Week Six.

For the Week One assignment, you will be writing a 1-2 page paper (not including APA formatted cover page and References section) in which you select a human service organization (HSO) and briefly introduce your grant proposal idea. Make sure to cite the website of the HSO you select, and include the full reference in the References section.

HSO Search (1 paragraph). In your first paragraph, you will identify an HSO that you would like to use as the basis for your grant proposal/final project. To conduct your search, visit the site: http://www.guidestar.org/pqCriteriaEntry.do?type=new&partner=guidestar&criteriaTab=FinSearch&source=hpadvsch, and search for an organization in your city and state (please note that you will have to register for this free service). Choose an organization that provides services to your community, and that seems interesting to you. Then, in a paragraph, provide the name of the organization, the organization’s web address/URL, and a 3-5 sentence description of the organization’s mission.

Proposal Idea (1 short paragraph). After you identify an organization, you’ll need to narrow the focus of your grant by coming up with a proposal idea that will improve your selected organization’s ability to meet the needs of those it serves in a specific manner. To do so, you may choose one of the specific services listed beneath the following four broad service areas (A through D below) typically addressed by HSOs, or formulate a focus of your own, based on the needs of the population served by your designated HSO. The specific service you choose will serve as the basis for your grant proposal.

A. Youth & Families Services: school drop-out prevention; increasing parental involvement; violence prevention; substance abuse prevention

B. Homelessness & Housing Services: permanent supportive housing; transitional housing; emergency shelter; supportive services

C. Disability Services: accommodadtive enhancements; accessible housing opportunities; employment assistance; legal assistance and advocacy

D. Employment Services: job training readiness; job placement; vocactional training, computer training.

Then, describe your proposal idea (3-4 short paragraphs) and answer the following four questions (two to three sentences each), as listed on page 16 of the text (again, this proposal idea will serve as the basis for all of your written assignments throughout the course):

• What community need does the identified program or service of your organization address? (The answer to this question will become the basis of your proposal’s need statement, which you will draft in Week Two).
• What would an improved community situation look like? (The answer to this question will become the basis of your proposal’s goals and objective, which you will draft in Week Three)
• What can your organization do to improve this situation? (The answer to this question will become the basis of your proposal’s methods, which you will finalize in your Final Project).
• How will you know if your organization’s program or service has succeeded? (The answer to this question will become the basis of your proposal’s program evaluation, which you will finalize in your Final Project).