Mastering Grant Timelines – The “T” in the G.R.A.N.T.S. Formula

Welcome to our in-depth guide on creating activity timetables for grant proposals.

In our previous discussions of the G.R.A.N.T.S. Formula, we explored the importance of narrowing objectives and setting SMART goals. Today, we’ll delve into the “T” of the formula, focusing on the critical aspect of developing clear and organized timelines for your grant activities.

A well-structured timetable not only helps you score higher on grant applications but also serves as a valuable resource once your grant is funded. It ensures that you and your team know what needs to be done, when it should be done, and who is responsible for each task. Additionally, revisiting your project’s specific actions becomes essential after a considerable time has passed since the initial grant application.

The timetable serves as a quick refresher, allowing you to review your project’s timeline and identify immediate action items. Moreover, if you have project coordinators or staff involved, the timetable becomes their go-to reference book for managing the grant effectively.

The timetable is not only helpful for scoring higher on grant applications, but it is also super helpful for YOU when the grant is funded. You will need to know what to do, when to do it, and who will do it. 

Chances are you’ve already read your grant application roughly a jillion times, but that was probably several months before it was funded! You may have also written even more grants since then, so you need a refresher for what your project will specifically do when the time is right! 

The timetable is a great item to review before you read the entire narrative. This will give your brain a quick refresher and also help you start to task any items that need to happen right away. Furthermore, if you are hiring a project coordinator or staff to run this grant, the timetable will be their ultimate reference book. 

The “T” in the G.R.A.N.T.S. Formula

The timetable is not only helpful for scoring higher on grant applications, but it is also super helpful for YOU when the grant is funded. You will need to know what to do, when to do it, and who will do it. 

Chances are you’ve already read your grant application roughly a jillion times, but that was probably several months before it was funded! You may have also written even more grants since then, so you need a refresher for what your project will specifically do when the time is right! 

The timetable is a great item to review before you read the entire narrative. This will give your brain a quick refresher and also help you start to task any items that need to happen right away. Furthermore, if you are hiring a project coordinator or staff to run this grant, the timetable will be their ultimate reference book. 

So, let’s get into the timetabling of your activities!

Timetable your Activities

Activities describe what you are going to do, but a timetable will show a clear delineation of each activity, who is responsible for ensuring that it happens, when it will happen, and how each activity will be measured. All activities should be connected to your S.M.A.R.T. objective.

By providing a timetable for your activities, you are demonstrating that each activity will actually happen and how each one leads to making sure your objective is reached. The actual table also helps to break up all the WORDS in your application. Believe me, grant reviewers definitely require some white space when reading grants or just something that breaks up a long narrative.

This timetable will absolutely help your grant stand out when compared to others who list activities in a narrative.  

You must include the following in your table:

1. Description of activity: This is the basic description of the activity to be accomplished.
2. Lead person who will be responsible for the activity: This is the main person responsible for ensuring that the activity is done.
3. Start date of activity: This is when the activity will start.
4. End date of activity: This is when the activity will be done.
5. Measurement: This is how you are going to measure if the activity was successful.

Remember to use a graph if you can as it helps break up the words and gets your point across.

Now, let’s refer back to the example we have been using. In episode 84, we crafted a problem statement: 

The teenage pregnancy rate in New Mexico is the highest in the nation, with 62 out of 1,000 teenage youth pregnant compared to the U.S. average of 18.8 (CDC, 2017). 

We then went onto Episode 85 and articulated the goal as: 

The Project will increase fiscal management and job wages for pregnant teenagers and teenage parents.

In episode 86, we devised three objectives: 

• 100 pregnant youth or teenage parents will receive 20 hours of financial literacy training by July 31st 2020. 
• 75 pregnant youth or teenage parents will have completed their GED or High School diploma by June 30, 2020.
• 20 pregnant youth or teenage parents will be employed by December 31st, 2020.

Today, we need to develop activities for each of those objectives. We will use our first objective for today’s example timetable. 

Problem Statement: The teenage pregnancy rate in New Mexico is the highest in the nation, with 62 out of 1,000 teenage youth pregnant compared to the U.S. average of 18.8 (CDC, 2017).

Goal: The Project will increase fiscal management and job wages for pregnant teenagers and teenage parents.

Objective One: 100 pregnant youth or teenage parents will receive 20 hours of financial literacy training by July 31st, 2020.

Description	Role Responsible	Start Date	End Date	Measurement
Hire Project Coordinator	Executive Director	Month 1	Month 2	Contract Signed
Partner with Financial Partner	Project Coordinator (PC)	Month 2	Month 3	MOU Signed
Create an online awareness campaign	PC	Month 3	Month 4	2 Social Media Platforms Created
Create a selection process for youth	PC	Month 3	Month 5	Intake Form Created
Recruit youth through online campaign	PC	Month 4	Month 5	Number of youth recruited
Commence cohorts (each cohort of 20 youth and 5 hours per week for one month)	PC & Financial Partner	Month 5	Month 12	100 pregnant youth and/or teen parents completing 20 hours of financial literacy

There you go! That’s how you create a timetable for your activities for EACH objective. 

You can see how this is super simple, yet will be how every objective is implemented for your project, and it will be very easy for you to see what your progress is throughout the entire process.

By providing a clear delineation of activities, assigning responsibilities, setting start and end dates, and defining measurement criteria, a timetable demonstrates the commitment to achieving SMART objectives.

Incorporating visual aids such as graphs helps break up lengthy narratives and improves readability for grant reviewers.

By mastering the art of timetabling, grant seekers can enhance their chances of success and effectively implement their projects.

One other important outcome of this timetable is that now you can see what you need to fund.

If you do not break it down on this level it is very likely that you may skip funding an integral portion of your project.

So this is a perfect segue into getting you ready for next week’s podcast: the sixth phrase in the G.R.A.N.T.S. formula – Strategic Budget.