Deer Lake -
When individuals, groups or organization have vision, but no lack the skill to communication this vision, their endeavours can come to a screeching halt.
The proposal writing workshop - sponsored by Western Health, the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development and the Western Regional Wellness Coalition - took place in Deer Lake Friday and aimed to break down the writing process, highlighting professionalism and creating business plans.
"Proposals can be complicated so having the basic skills to start out with can be very helpful ... This is most relevant to our community partners through non-profit organizations that are out there looking for resources to carry out activities but it's also for smaller groups like our church groups that may want to be doing activities," said Cara Welsh, wellness facilitator with Western Health.
About 15 people from different organizations throughout the area came to brush up on their proposal knowledge or gather total new information about the process.
Jenny and Steve Mudge are members of the Gros Morne Seniors' Club in Norris Point. They said they write proposals periodically to secure financial aid for their group and its projects.
"We've had to write proposals and get funding. We need the funding. We have an old building and we have an old membership too. There's not a lot of helping hands to get jobs done either. So we had to see what we could do to get the place brought up-to-date so that it can be used safely," said Jenny.
She said they wrote up a first proposal, acquired some funding, and now want to improve their skills and learn tips to get noticed and understand what funders are looking for in a proposal.
"We decided we better do another (proposal) and see if this (workshop) is going to answer some of the questions we had from the last one," she said.
Chris Freake attended Friday's workshop as well. He works with the Planning Preparation Centre in Corner Brook, and is also on the board of directors with the Grand Lake Centre of Economic Development.
"I'm aware that there are opportunities out there for government funding for various initiatives," Freak said. "The only way to access those is through formal proposals so I want to be able to that. I want to hopefully get a few more programs, whether they be for seniors or youths, I've got a few projects in mind. And the only way to access those funds is through proposals."
The day-long workshop stepped through what questions an individual or organization should ask themselves while developing a proposal for funding such as, why the specific project is needed; does the project build on existing strengths within the community; and who will be involved or who do you hope to reach through your project?
Margie Lewis is a facilitator of the workshop through Community Capacity Building, a program run through the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development. She said some of the people attending the workshop had experience with proposal writing and there were some who did not.
"We started with giving them all the tools that we think they need to get winning proposals to submit project ideas to funders," Lewis said. "In the end, hopefully they can eventually get the dollars to go out and do good work in the community."
