The Grants Process: How To Get Started

Planning

  1. Identify the project you want to create that aligns with SCC’s Strategic Objectives using SCC Grants Opportunity Analysis Form with your department team. This form can help you develop your project as well as obtain departmental approvals.
  2. Work as a team to identify an initial budget and look for compatible funding opportunities for your project. Many federal grant opportunities require a logic model and creating one with your team can help you identify goals and outcomes for your proposal.
  3. Planning meetings can take days, weeks, or in some cases up to a year depending on the complexity of the proposal.
  4. If your proposal involves Human Subject Research (HSR), it is recommended to review the MCCCD Institutional Review Board (IRB) early for policies, processes and guidance.
  5. If your proposal funder requires you to contract with an internal or external evaluator, you can use the External Evaluator Toolkit to help with the process.
  6. Once a funder is identified and you are ready to move the project forward, complete the SCC Grants Proposal Approval Form to be submitted to the GAC at the next Grants Advisory Committee meeting (contact the college grants officer for GAC meeting dates), or to your department Chair or SCC’s Executive team.
  7. Once the SCC Grants Proposal Approval Form has been approved by one of the following; The SCC GAC, your Department Chair, or SCC’s Executive Team, you are ready to begin developing your project idea into a proposal.

Need more? Try:

Grant Submission

  1. The SCC Grant Officer can assist the Principal Investigator (PI) with proposal submission to the District Grants Office (DGO) 10 days before the application due date, so plan accordingly. During this approval process, more information or revisions may be necessary.
  2. The SCC grant officer completes a Proposal Approval Summary (PAS) for the college President and Provost approval in MCCCD’s electronic form workflow (eform) software GrantDocs.
  3. Once all approvals are secured your grant will be submitted to the funding agency by the DGO.

Grant Award Management & Compliance

  1. Communication of awards can take up to several weeks or months, depending on the grantor. Be patient.
  2. Consider giving the SCC marketing team the heads up that you have a proposal pending so they can prepare an announcement if you are funded.
  3. Plan to meet as a team to develop how the grant will be managed when your proposal is funded and involve fiscal stakeholders. Plan to meet with the SCC District Grants Office contact and the SCC grants officer when your proposal is funded.

Related resources: