The CESA #9 grant writing service merged with the CESA #6 Grant Office during the 2006-07 fiscal year. This combined service is now called GROW (Grant Resources of Wisconsin). There are currently eight grant writers (6.5 FTE) working out of this office serving school districts throughout the state. In addition, the office utilizes freelance grant writers on an as needed basis to meet the requests of member districts. A full-time grant writer, hired by CESA #9 and subcontracted to the CESA #6 Grant Office is the primary contact for CESA #9 districts.

Services provided to member districts include:

• Your grant writer will provide up-to-date information regarding grants available through state and federal sources at the beginning of each grant-writing season. Opportunities that arise throughout the year are shared through email, phone calls or personal meetings.
• Your grant writer will assist your staff in the selection of the appropriate funding opportunities for your district based upon funding source criteria and district needs.
• Your grant writer will provide leadership in project development by working with you and your staff to design projects that address both funding source criteria and school district needs.
• Your grant writer will use information from project development meetings to create a grant proposal. This proposal will then be submitted to your staff for comment and review; revisions will be made by the grant writer; the grant writer will prepare the proposal for submission; and the grant writer will submit the proposal to the funding source. Grant writers typically write up to two proposals per year, per district, depending on size, scope, grant availability, and time lines. Please note that the exact number of proposals your grant writer will write on your behalf depends upon a number of factors including: length of proposals, level of district cooperation, timing, difficulty of proposals requested, number of grant competitions available, etc.
• Grant writing is a multi-year, multi-submission process. If a proposal is not funded, your grant writer will work with you to identify problem areas and then make changes for future submissions. 
• You will receive the GROW newsletter, The Grant $eeker, a valuable publication tool for communicating important grant-related information. 
• GROW can also provide access to project implementation consultation and program evaluation services.

Grant writing is only successful if it is a cooperative process; thus, your school district also has specific responsibilities. These responsibilities include: willingness to work with grant writers to select funding opportunities based upon your district's needs; ability to assemble a team of enthusiastic staff to work with the grant writer on project development for each proposal; willingness to conduct district-specific research and needs assessments; willingness to provide prompt feedback on proposal drafts; and, the motivation to work with grant writers to develop innovative ways to address district needs.

For additional information on grant writing services, please contact Dr. Karen Wendorf-Heldt, Agency Administrator or Rena Beyer, CESA 9 Grant Writer. Click here for more information on GROW.