The Second Annual: Final Draft to Funding

About this event

THE SECOND ANNUAL: FINAL DRAFT TO FUNDING — Perfecting Your LOI or Small Application with Actual Funders!

Co-sponsored by the City of Thousand Oaks Cultural Affairs Department.

“The Final Draft to Funding workshop was interactive and practical. The instructor also provided great immediate feedback based on his expertise and presented very useful resources and reading material.” – Bonnie C.

“The workshop provided mock proposal presentations to actual funders who provided direct and impactful suggestions about how to change my LOI and pitch.”– Anonymous

In this five-part series, bring your working request for support (or one that’s not working) of a 2-3-page Letter of Inquiry, or brief online application, and together we will put the final touches on your funding request — then work with actual grant makers to perfect your ask.

Module Overview

1. Comparing your competitiveness
   Wed. October 18
   9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
   How does your draft rate on the Fundable Request Scorecard?
2. The final fundable touches
   Wed. October 25   
   9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
   Make your request for support POP!: Punch Up! Polish! Position!
3. Researching and approaching potential funders
   Wed. Nov. 1
   9:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
   Ask not what the funder can do for you, but what you can do for the funder.
4. One-to-one meeting with instructor
   Time & Date TBD
   Further refine your specific request for support by working directly with the instructor who, as an individual or part of a team, has won more than $900 million in competitive grants.
5. Meeting/Working with grant makers
   EXTENDED SESSION: Wed. November 8
   9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
   Roll up your sleeves and prepare to pitch to — and perfect your LOI or online application with — actual funders.
   Working lunch included.
   
   (Funders are there to critique and provide constructive criticism only.)

Seating is limited due to the interactive nature of this workshop. Pricing includes bringing a team of up to three from your organization, please RSVP all team members.

Faculty

Jonathan O'Brien, Th.D.

A successful program designer/grant writer for the past 15 years, Jonathan O’Brien’s offbeat, humorous approach incorporates his experiences as a network TV executive, professional screenwriter, creator/co-host of NPR’s Beyond Words and college screenwriting teacher. As part of writing teams or thorugh his own company, he has won more than $850 million in competitive grants.

Jon is a UCLA film school graduate, a former network program executive, a former juvenile hall writing instructor, and currently an ever-popular adjunct screenwriting instructor at Santa Barbara City College.

Jon has combined 35 years of diverse creative experiences with his passion for teaching to create his groundbreaking program design method. One of his educational program designs is permanently enshrined in the Smithsonian Institution. Two of the charter schools he helped to create are in the top 20 Charter Schools in the nation.

He is also the author of RIGHT BEFORE YOU WRITE: The Groundbreaking Planning Process Used to Win More Than $385 Million in Competitive Grant Awards. RIGHT BEFORE YOU WRITE has won six national book awards and was called by one reviewer, “the funniest book about writing I’ve ever read, and the most serious!”