Grant application question- "Do you forsee any risks which may affect your project?"?

The project involves providing workshops (on parenting, mental health, relationships, finances, housing, legal etc) to young parents under the age of 25 and assisting them with access to employment and education. We will also be providing a bus pick-up service, lunch and childcare.

This is my first grant application and I am unsure as to which catigory of risks they are referring.

Am I supposed to include our organisations whole risk management policy and proceedures document?
Does it include risks to clients attending the project, such as the bus crashing on the way to a workshop?
Or is this just risks to the project such as the co-ordinator going insane and stooting them all?

Please only answer if you have knowledge on grant writing for social services.
(No, being ON social services doesn't count sorry)

Here are some risks that really could affect your project. I don't know your organization, but you need to be realistic:

-- staff turnover (staff leaving for better jobs/better pay)

-- lack of competitive salaries to attract top-quality staff to your organization to carry out its mission

-- volunteer turnover (not being able to retain volunteers; constantly training new volunteers)

-- lack of resources to adequately train volunteers (do you have a volunteer manager, and does that person his or herself have training in volunteer management, or is it someone that just agreed to help?)

-- a downtown in the economy leading to greater numbers of unemployed and less employment opportunities, beyond what you are ready to deal with

-- reduction in funding for your organization by other funders, because of the election of new officials with different priorities

-- a bus driver's strike or mechanical problem interfering with the bus pick-up service

In other words -- in a year, if you have NOT been able to provide the promised number of workshops on parenting, mental health, relationships, etc., if you have NOT been able to assist a large number of clients with access to employment, education, etc., or if you have NOT been able to provide bus pick-up service, lunch and childcare, WHY might be the reasons that make this so?

They basically are asking what potential problems may arise that would affect your project negatively. Being affected negatively would be things like running out of funding in the middle of the project (you didn't ask for enough), city/county regulations changing, what happens if you can't get the enrollment you wanted to have, potential problems with the bussing issues, staffing issues, etc.

Not risks like something insane happening. They just want to know that you have thought of possible obstacles you might face along the way and how you would deal with those challenges to overcome them so that your project will be completed (they want to make sure they won't be funding a project that is destined for failure).

Okay, you may want to step back and discuss your application with someone who has experience in grant-writing. This is a general question often asked on applications, and Dimples has good advice.

It sounds like you're offering a parenting education class/seminars. Risks that may affect your project include: parents do not enroll, parents begin the program and do not complete, you run out of resources, parents fail to practice new learnings at home.

You may also want to consider evaluation and which evidence-based curriculum you've chosen. For example, a number of proven effective parenting education programs require that parents and children attend together, or that parents complete the designated number of courses. If parents do not, then the program loses its effectiveness. Or, say you have a parenting educator who decides not to use evidence-based programs, they may not be effectively changing parenting behavior, or they may even be creating detrimental effects (as seen in the recent CDC metanalysis of parenting education programs).

Do your homework and your grant will turn out fantastic!

In applying for a grant there is a format to be followed and matrixes to be considered. So risks is one of the factors and it is within the matrix of the project, others are weakness and threats, management, sustainability, and etc of the project. So, one can see whats wrong and how to deal with it.

anything that might keep you from meeting your goals and objectives. You need to prove to them that all the support, structure and foundation has been put in place to realistically meet the goals you outlined in your proposal. I wouldnt list any risks - I would provide assurance that all angles are covered.

Sounds like an awesome project and MUCH NEEDED no matter where you live - good luck!! :)