Grant Writing
For my Spring 2021 semester of college, I took an independent study in which I wrote a grant for a local company I was interning for, Greenhouse Theatre Project.
Company Background
Greenhouse Theatre Project is a Missouri-based, woman owned and operated, site-specific company. From reimagining classical pieces to doing new works, the company strives to tell stories in a way that engages and invigorates audiences.
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The company consists of only 1 full time employee, but hires working professionals across the country for their various productions.
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During the pandemic, the company worked to continue creating art switching between filmed projects and online performances. For their first live performance after the pandemic, Grounded by George Brant, they needed a grant to help fund the project, which is where I came in.
Research
To begin the process of grant writing, I began looking into national and local grants. I specifically looked for grants that focused on funding women owned companies, pandemic producing companies, and theaters that had impacts on their local communities. After researching several grants, I compiled a list grants that I thought fit Greenhouse Theatre Project, and sent it over to the Artistic Director.
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From there, the Artistic Director and I sat down and picked out which grant we thought fit the company the best (and which grant would be the most beneficial in helping me learn about grant applications) and landed upon a local Columbia, MO grant.
Grant Information
The grant we decided upon was the Boone Electric Community Trust grant. This cooperative was focused on funding companies that greatly impacts the Columbia, Missouri community. The grant itself had no specifications on how much money to apply for and instead was on a basis of need for specific projects.
Grant Application
My main job on this application was gathering materials. The GTP Artistic Director and I worked on compiling all of the financial documents for the application and then I worked on creating all "supporting materials". For this, I gathered quotes from all the companies we were going to need materials from, such as sound and lighting equipment and porta-potties (this was going to be an outdoor performance). I also created a collage to visually show all of the projects and variety of productions the company has done across the town of Columbia.
Success!
In the end, we ended up receiving the full $3,000 we requested for the grant, and I learned an enormous amount about what goes into grant writing/applications. From company financials to specifications of where the awarded money is going, all of this information helped me to better understanding the grant process.