Your final project for this course consists of three components: 1) grant proposal, 2) presentation, and 3) reflection.
Parts I and II: Grant Proposal and Presentation
Think of an issue in the world that you care about. Design a text-based grant proposal and presentation to address your chosen issue. Both your grant proposal and presentation should have key information including ALL of the following sections:
- Issue: Provide a brief overview of the context of your issue. What statistics do we need to know? Why is this an important issue? What is already being done about this issue? What needs are not currently being met? Include relevant statistics, in the form of charts or graphs that accurately and visually represent some of the research you used to provide the context of your issue and campaign.
- Headline: What is the “headline” of your campaign? What phrase or hashtag will you use? Why those words? What makes them effective? Include an image that incorporates the “headline” text in a visually appealing and compelling way [presentation]. Include a few sample tweets if it is a social media campaign.
- Message: What is the subtext of the campaign? In other words, what messages are you communicating by the headline?
- Audience: With whom is your campaign designed to communicate? Why will your headline and approach be effective with that audience?
- Approach: What exactly will you do in this campaign? Will you focus on social media or public space? Will you use videos, photos, music, or other media? If you would be implementing your campaign in public space, where would you situate it, and why? Why would your approach be effective?
- Theme of Civic Engagement: In which area of civic engagement does this campaign best fit: Associating, Serving, Giving, or Leading? Why?
- Materials and Cost: The grant is for $1000. How would you use that? What materials and resources will you need for your campaign? This may include physical materials and/or costs of labor. Be specific.
- Method of Evaluation: If you implement your plan, how will you know if it is successful at improving things in the area you are addressing? What specific outcomes will prove that your campaign has been effective?
- Concluding Plea: Summarize your campaign approach in one concluding slide, and make it as persuasive as possible. Why is YOUR chosen issue so important, and why will YOUR campaign design be effective? Finally, why are YOU the right person to put this plan into action?
Part III: My Words Change Lives Reflection
Write your final reflection, using professional, formal, and error-free English. Include specific details to support your claims. Be sure to answer ALL of the following questions:
- Which #MyWordsChangeLives project other than your own did you find the most powerful? Why? Be specific.
- Evaluate your own project. What are its strengths? What changes might you make to your original design in order to make it even more effective? Why?
- What are our responsibilities to other members of our community, society, and world? Explain.
- Which theme of civic engagement – Associating, Serving, Giving, or Leading – do you believe is the most powerful tool for effecting change? Why?
- Which text from The Civically Engaged Reader did you find most enlightening? Why? What did you learn from the text? Include specific textual details. You may choose a poem, story, or essay.
- Can words change the world? Why or why not?
HELPFUL TIPS
- Proofread your writing carefully for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Read your essay aloud to catch any errors.
- Submit your Grant Proposal, Presentation, and Reflection to the Module 10 Final Project D2L Assignment.
- Consider using the Essay Review Resources.
THE FINE PRINT
- Your grant proposal and reflection should be a total of 1,500 words (typically 5.5 double-spaced pages).
- Essay must be in APA format. See APA resources below.
- Your presentation should consist of 10-15 slides.
- Write in an appropriate font (e.g. size 11 or 12 in Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial).
- Reference List: Be sure to correctly cite any quotes or statistics. Use APA style. Use a minimum of 3 different, reliable sources. Include both in-text citations as well as a reference list at the end.
