Grant Program
Writing Sample

NOTE:  This program was created to meet the needs of a company's former community partners in the phone book recycling programs.  Due to budget cuts, the company was no longer able to participate as a full partner in the programs.  The grant program allowed them to back out of the programs gracefully, retaining support while encouraging communities to develop alternative methods of financing.  Successfully completing the grant application forced the community leaders to thoroughly plan a sustainable program, addressing all aspects and variables.

© 2003, Thompson Writing & Editing

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[Company Name]’s 2002 Grants for

Community Phone Book Recycling Programs

 

As a part of [Company]'s continuing commitment to recycling, the corporation has allocated funds to assist qualifying communities with local recycling programs for outdated telephone directories.  To qualify for grant funds:

  • The [Company’s directory] must be the primary directory in circulation within your community. Expired directories from other publishers may be collected during the recycling program, but the primary book of all phone books in circulation there must be published by [Company].
  • The recycling program should take place during and immediately after the time new [Company] directories are being delivered to your area.  Programs may continue year-round, or during other publishers' delivery times, but must at least cover the time of year during which [Company] is delivering its new books.
  • You must submit a Community Phone Book Recycling Program Plan, as outlined in this document, to [Company] with all required documentation postmarked no later than the deadline of April 1, 2002.
  • Funds awarded in 2002 are designed to cover phone book recycling program expenses incurred as early as December of 2001 and/or as late as June of 2003.

The primary contact for the program will be notified when we receive your grant application.  All applications will be reviewed no later than April, with responses sent to all applicants, and documents for the processing of payments sent to grant winners, by early May.  Once the documents are returned to [Company], payments will be processed. Checks for grants awarded should be in the hands of the designated primary contacts for the programs in June of 2002.

Community Phone Book Recycling Plan

Please submit a written plan for your community's phone book recycling program, answering all questions listed for each step below.  The Budget Form and Partner Identification Form must also be completed and submitted as a part of the plan.  Completing the application in this manner will help you to plan your program.  Consult the Community Guidelines section of [Company]'s website (www.[URL]) for additional information and tips on planning your program.  Please mail the completed Steps 1-3 of the package to the following address by the deadline of April 1, 2002:

Lynn Thompson

[Company Name]

[Company Address]

You may also submit the package electronically, as a Word document attachment to an e-mail sent to [e-mail address].

Step 4 of the package should be completed after your post-campaign meeting, and submitted as soon as possible thereafter to the above address.  NOTE: COMMUNITIES WHO DO NOT TURN IN A POST -CAMPAIGN REPORT TO [COMPANY] AT THE END OF THEIR PROGRAMS WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR GRANT FUNDS IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS.

Each community's phone book recycling program is different.  Some cover multiple counties, while others have multiple directories delivered at the same time within the same county.  We encourage a variety of entities to work together in planning the program. The Community Guidelines section of the website will help you to identify potential partners in neighboring counties and municipalities.

In some communities, [Company]'s white pages and yellow pages directories are delivered at different times during the year.  These communities usually hold separate recycling drives during each delivery time.  For grant application and reporting purposes, you may find it easier to combine both campaigns into one application. You may wish to complete a separate budget for each of the campaigns and describe each separately in your plans, but all the paperwork for both can be submitted together.

Step 1: The Partners

Use the attached Partner Identification form to identify each of the partners involved in planning your community's phone book recycling program.  Make as many copies of the form as necessary to include everyone involved in the planning process.  Identify which one of the partners will receive the check from [Company] if a grant is awarded.  This will be [Company]'s primary contact for the program.  Consult the Community Guidelines section of [Company]'s website (www.[URL]) for help in determining who should be a partner in the program.

Step 2: The Plan

Please describe how your community will handle the various aspects of the phone book recycling program.  Each should be addressed in the order listed here, and the questions listed for each should be answered in your plan summary.

  • List the purpose of the project for which the grant is being requested.  Is it to cover a comprehensive community phone book recycling program, or a specific project in relation to a larger program?  (If the grant is to cover a specific project, your answers to the questions below should pertain only to the project itself, and not to the overall program.  You should still address each of the questions.  For those not applicable to the project, indicate that they are covered by the larger community program.)

Collection of the books:

  1. When will your phone book recycling program take place?  (Please list start and end dates, or "year-round".)  Is the timing the same for all aspects of the program (curbside, drop-offs, collection contest, etc.)?  If not, please list each component separately with the dates for it.

  2. What geographical area does your program cover?

  3. Will there be any curbside collection of phone books in your program?  If so, which area(s) are covered? How many households are involved?

  4. How will your program recover old phone books from multi-family housing?  How many residences are covered by this aspect of the plan?

  5. Will your program feature any drop-off sites for phone books?  How many?  Who is providing the containers for them, and servicing those containers?  How will the locations be identified to the public as accepting phone books (signs, banners, etc.)?*

  6. How will your program recover old phone books from businesses?  How many businesses are covered by this aspect of the program?

  7. Will you be holding any special collection events during your phone book program?  Where will they be held, and when?  What kind of offer are you making to draw the public to the event (what do they get for recycling their books there)?  Who will be providing staffing for the event(s)?  If available, please enclose a copy of any ads, flyers or other promotion that is to be done for the event(s).*

  8. Will your community hold a school or non-profit group collection contest during your program?  If so, please describe it.  If available, please enclose a copy of the rules, tally sheets, etc. that are distributed to the groups participating in the collection.  Who will be administering this contest (collecting the figures and distributing prizes to winners and/or participants)?

  9. For a school or non-profit group collection contest, how will the books be transported to the processor's facility?  (By a waste hauler, or delivered individually by the schools/groups?)  If the groups are bringing their own books to the facility, will this be done over a multi-week period, or on specific date(s)?

*Grantees are encouraged to post their phone book recycling information on the Earth's 911 Web and phone system and use the www.CLEANUP.org website and 1- 8OO-CLEANUP hotline in their promotions.  These services are provided at no cost, and a link to Earth's 911 is provided from [Company]'s recycling website. You can learn more about Earth's 911 at www.CLEANUP.org. You can contact Earth's 911 at specialevents@cleanup.org .

Processing of the books:

  1. Who will be storing your community's recovered directories prior to their shipment to an end user?
  2. Where at the processor's facility will the books be stored?  What provisions are being made to keep the books dry?

Transportation to the end user:

  1. Who is arranging for the transportation of the collected phone books to the end user?
  2. How will the books be transported to the end market?  (Truck, rail, ship, etc.)  Please list transporting company(ies), if known.

End market:

  1. Who will be the end user(s) for the recovered phone books from your community, and what product(s) will the books be made into?
  2. If the processors will market the books themselves and you don't know where they are sent, please list the processing company and state that they market their own material in your plan summary.

Publicity about the program:

  1. Please describe any print advertising (newspaper ads, flyers, magazine ads, utility bill inserts, etc.) you will be doing to promote your community's phone book recycling program to the public.  If possible, please attach a copy of the ad(s).
  2. Please describe any broadcast advertising (TV, radio, Internet, etc.) you will be doing to promote your community's phone book recycling program to the public.
  3. Please describe any other forms of advertising (billboards, movie screens, etc.) you will use to promote your community's phone book recycling program to the public.
  4. Please describe your publicity campaign (press releases, kickoff press conference or events, etc.) to promote the phone book recycling program.  If available, please enclose a copy of any press releases, PSAs, or other printed material used to publicize the program.
  5. How will you communicate information about your recycling program to area businesses? (e.g., letters, Chamber of Commerce newsletters, etc.)
  6. How will you communicate information about your phone book recycling program to apartment complex managers and condominium associations in the area?

Recycling goal:

  1. How many tons of old phone books does your community intend to collect in this recycling program?
  2. Upon what is this goal based?

Step 3: The Financing

  1. Please complete the attached Budget Form for your community's phone book recycling program.
  2. In the “Payments to end market(s)” section under Transportation/Marketing, show any proceeds from sale of the books (if you are collecting these) as a negative number (since this deducts from your campaign expenses).  If your processor is marketing the books on its own, and will be keeping the proceeds for its own use, do not show a figure in the “Payments to end market(s)” section.
  3. Be sure to indicate the total amount you are requesting from [Company] in the box at the bottom of the page.
  4. In the event that you do not receive funding from [Company], please list the alternative sources of funding available to cover the costs of your phone book recycling program. Listing these sources does not decrease your chances of being awarded a grant from [Company], but will help to show the sustainability of your program.

Step 4: Post-Campaign Analysis & Reporting

When your program is finished, meet with your planning committee once more to discuss how it went. NOTE: COMMUNITIES WHO DO NOT TURN IN THE POST -CAMPAIGN REPORT TO BELLSOUTH AT THE END OF THEIR PROGRAMS WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR GRANT FUNDS IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS. Please submit the completed Post-Campaign Report, along with any available photos taken during the program, to the following address:

Lynn Thompson

[Company Name]

[Company Address]

Photos, information on the results of your collection and helpful ideas will be published in future editions of the Phone Book Roundup newsletter, available from [Company]'s website, www.[URL].

Don't forget to list the identifying location name and state for your community's phone book recycling program at the top of the report.

 

Partner Identification Form

Partners for:                                                                                                                             

(Location of Community Recycling Program)                                                                   (State)

 

□ Government     □ Processor/Recycler     □ Waste Hauler

□ Non-Profit Group     □ Other                                                                                             

Contact Name:                                                                                                                        

Entity Name:                                                                                                                            

Address:                                                                                                                                  

City:                                                                              State:                 Zip:                           

Phone:                                                               Fax:                                                    

E-mail:                                                                                                                         

□ Check here if this is the Primary Contact, who will receive the check from [Company] if a grant is awarded for the program.

□ Government □ Processor/Recycler □ Waste Hauler

□ Non-Profit Group □ Other

Contact Name:                                                                                                                        

Entity Name:                                                                                                                            

Address:                                                                                                                                  

City:                                                                              State:                 Zip:                           

Phone:                                                               Fax:                                                    

E-mail:                                                                                                                         

□ Government □ Processor/Recycler □ Waste Hauler

□ Non-Profit Group □ Other

Contact Name:                                                                                                                        

Entity Name:                                                                                                                            

Address:                                                                                                                                  

City:                                                                              State:                 Zip:                           

Phone:                                                               Fax:                                                    

E-mail:                                                                                                                         

Please make copies of this form as needed to list all partners.

 

Budget Form

Budget for:                                                                                                                              

(Location of Community Recycling Program)                                                              (State)

Program Expense

Previous

Year Cost

Estimated
Cost This
Year

Source of Funding
or In-Kind Donation
(explain on separate sheet, if necessary)
Advertising & Promotion:      
   TV      
   Radio      
   Newspaper      
   Utility Bill Inserts      
   Billboards      
   Movie Screens      
   Flyers/Brochures      
   Kick-off Event      
   Exhibit fees/prep      
   Ad prep/production      
   Other promotional expenses      
Collection & Hauling:      
   Containers      
   Servicing of Containers/Hauling      
   Signage/Banners      
   Payments to Schools/Non-Profits
   & Prize Money Awarded for Contest		      
   Other collection/hauling expenses      
Processing:      
   Payments to Processor(s)      
   Other processing expenses      
Transportation/Marketing:      
   Freight to end market(s)      
   Chargebacks (wet/partial loads)      
   Payments to end market(s)      
   Other transportation expenses      
Other Expenses:      
   Mailing/Postage      
   Mileage      
   Sponsorship      
       
       

Totals:

      

What is the total amount of funding you are
requesting from [Company]?

 

 

 

Post-Campaign Report

 

Report for:                                                                                                                               

(Location of Community Recycling Program)                                                                    (State)

Dates of Phone Book Recycling Campaign:  From:                                 to:                              

Date of report:                                     

Please respond to the following questions, continuing on the reverse or a separate sheet of paper, as needed.

Quantities:

  1. How many tons of old phone books did your community recover in your recycling program?  Was this more or less than your goal?
  2. Were your program expenses more or less than budgeted?  By how much?  To what do you attribute the difference?
  3. What was the cost per ton collected of your phone book recycling program?  How does this compare to the cost of recycling various other commodities in your community?

Quality:

  1. What aspects of your program went as well as or better than expected?

  2. Were there any problems encountered during the program?  If so, what were they, and how were they handled?

  3. What might you change in next year's program to improve upon it?

  4. How will these changes impact your future program expenses?

  5. What additional partners might be drawn in next year to help offset some of the program expenses?  How and by whom will they be approached?  What benefit(s) will they receive as a result of their involvement in the program?

Please submit completed report to: Lynn Thompson, [Company Name], [Company Address]. You may also fax it to [Company Fax Number], or e-mail it to [e-mail address].

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© 2005,  Thompson Writing & Editing, Inc.