Finding Money When There Isn’t Any Part 2

AFTER YOU ATTEND THIS COURSE, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO:

• Identify and review grant opportunities that match your library’s needs.
• Construct a narrative for a grant application that demonstrates need, impact, and innovation.
• Outline a project plan and associated costs for a grant application.
• Understand post-award grant responsibilities, including documentation and evaluation.
• Effectively communicate the impact of the award to the funder and the school community.
• Explain strategies for sustaining relationships and projects after grant funding ends.

This course is especially helpful for:

• K-12 school librarians who want to pursue grants more strategically and with less wasted effort
• School library staff responsible for researching, writing, or supporting funding applications
• Educators who help plan school library projects and need a better understanding of how grant funding works
• Librarians who have funding ideas they want to turn into stronger, more competitive proposals
• Anyone in a school library role who wants a more realistic process for finding, applying for, and managing grants

If that sounds like your role, you will probably see yourself in this course.

If you are someone who:

• Finds grant searching confusing because there are too many options and not enough clarity about which ones are worth pursuing
• Has a good project idea but feels unsure about how to shape it into a proposal that sounds fundable
• Worries about missing an eligibility detail, building the wrong budget, or writing a narrative that does not land
• Wants to get better at managing the work that comes after an award instead of treating the application as the finish line
• Would like grants to feel more doable, more organized, and less like a giant time gamble

This course was built for you.

THIS COURSE CONSISTS OF 3 ON-DEMAND MODULES:

Module 1: Finding the Right Grant

In this module, you’ll be introduced to grant funding available to school libraries. You’ll learn what kinds of grants exist, where to look for them, and how to recognize opportunities that match your goals. You'll dig into funder expectations and basic eligibility requirements, so you can identify grants that are worth your time and effort.

Module 2: Writing a Competitive Grant Application

A successful grant application starts with a clear need and a well-structured idea. This module guides you through the core elements of a proposal: defining the need, framing your story, identifying partners, and outlining project plans and costs. You’ll learn how to tailor your ideas to fit funder priorities and use generative AI tools to refine your ideas, turning it into a competitive application.

Module 3: Managing a Funded Project

Receiving a grant is just the beginning. This module focuses on what comes next: implementing your project, tracking progress, and documenting outcomes. You’ll learn strategies to communicate the impact of your project with funders and the school community. You’ll finish with a better understanding of how to manage a grant, and sustain funded projects and relationships.

COURSE INSTRUCTOR

Katy Black, MLIS, Librarian, Sheldon ISD

Katy Black is the School Librarian at Michael R. Null Middle School in Sheldon ISD. In her sixth year as a school librarian, she has secured more than $5,000 in grant funding to expand her library’s impact through initiatives such as a student language lab, a campus-wide Comic-Con, and the addition of a library pet. A frequent presenter at professional conferences on innovative programming, Katy is committed to helping others bridge budget gaps through creative, student-centered resource development.

This course is part of the larger two-course certification series focused on school library funding, but Part 2 stands on its own as the piece that helps you move from “this could be a good fit” to a grant application that is actually worth pursuing. It is built for school librarians who want to be more strategic about where they put their time and how they shape their proposals.

You will focus on finding grant opportunities that match your library’s goals, spotting eligibility requirements early, and understanding what funders are really asking for before you start writing. From there, you will work through the core elements of a stronger application, including how to frame need, impact, and project plans in a way that is specific, realistic, and compelling.

This course also covers what happens after a grant is awarded. You will look at documentation, evaluation, communication, and the work of sustaining both projects and funder relationships over time, so a grant feels less like a one-off win and more like part of a longer-term funding strategy.

SESSIONS AND PRICING

This course is part of the Finding Money for Your School Library When There Isn’t Any: 2-Course Certification. If you plan to complete the full series, the best value is purchasing it as a bundle.

Choose the session that works best for your schedule. Early bird pricing ends one month before the session deadline. Course materials unlock on the session deadline date.

GROUP OPTIONS

Training a team? Choose the setup that matches how you want to plan and pay:

Group course enrollment: Enroll 3+ staff in this course and save.

Bulk course credits: Prepay once, get the highest per-seat discount on every course, and assign seats later.

Unlimited annual licensing: System-wide access for a year with no per-course approvals.

Request Discounted Group Pricing

Questions? Email groupsales@libraryjournal.com.

COURSE FORMAT

This is a fully self-paced, asynchronous online course consisting of 3 modules. Each module includes video instruction, slides, readings, and reflective exercises designed to connect concepts directly to your daily work.

EXPECTED TIME COMMITMENT

Each module is designed to take approximately 4 hours to complete, for a total of 12 professional development hours. You may move through the course at your own pace and on your own schedule.

COURSE ACCESS

You will have access to all course materials for six months from the material unlock date.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION

Complete all modules to earn 12 professional development credit hours and a School Library Journal certificate of completion. Certificates are emailed upon completion.

ACCESSIBILITY

All video recordings feature auto-captioning. If you require accommodations, please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration and we will make our best efforts to support your needs.

SUPPORT

For technical or course-related support, please contact course-support@libraryjournal.com.