TAKING A PUBLIC HEALTH APPROACH TO

WRITING
GRANTS
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GRANTS

INTRODUCTION
Grants. No one really likes writing them, but they are a much-needed resource that help
non-profits such as Eversight successfully further their mission.  Since they are so
important, what are some ways that Eversight can build on the success it already has
and successfully compete for even more grants? The purpose of this guide is to argue
that taking a public health approach to grant writing is worth exploring as a potential
source of many new funding opportunities for Eversight.

The benefits of taking a public health approach to grant writing are twofold. First, it can
be difficult to compete for grants due to their competitive nature. However, taking a
public health approach to grant writing increases the amount of grants Eversight can
apply for, and therefore increases the likelihood of successful applications.

Second, and perhaps most important, is that taking a public health approach to grant
writing aligns better aligns with the current priorities of many funding organizations. It is
no coincidence that the grants that do this are often the most successful; funders want
to support programs that align with their own mission and values. In addition,
demonstrating that the priorities and framework a grant is built around align with those
of a larger governing body such as the World Health Organization (WHO) lends credibility
to and validates the necessity for the intervention laid out in a grant proposal. Currently,
many of these funders' and governing bodies' priorities come from the field of public
health, making it beneficial to also approach grant writing from a public health
perspective.

This guide will therefore outline three public health themes that, to lend credibility to,
funders and organizations such as the WHO and the United Nations have identified as
global priorities: sustainable development, holistic approach, and universal access and
equity. It is the hope that all of these themes represent new avenues Eversight can
pursue to maximize their grant strategy.

Madeline DeMarco
2019 Marliyn R. Lindenauer Intern
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GRANTS

WHAT IS PUBLIC
HEALTH?
The field of public health is about three things: prevention, promotion, and populations. 
It focuses on preventing disease and promoting good health on a population level, for all
people everywhere.  In other words, public health works to promote the health of the
population as a whole.  This might sound broad, and it is. However, this is also a good
thing because as funders are increasingly looking to fund programs taking a public
health approach, it is easier for organizations like Eversight to fit into this definition.

Public health functions on three levels: 

Tertiary: Treatment – Managing a disease after diagnosis to

slow or stop its progression in order to maximize quality of life
(chemotherapy, blood pressure management medication).

Secondary: Detection - Working to identify disease at 

its earliest stages before its symptoms begin
(mammograms, regular blood pressure testing).

Primary: Prevention - Intervening before

health effects or disease occurs (vaccinations,
exercise).

Eversight primarily functions on the tertiary level of disease prevention by working to research,
treat, and cure corneal blindness.

Prevention - Promotion - Populations

TH E 3 Pwe
Where ' s are
OF PUBLIC HEALTH

TODAY
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SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT

Sustainability should be built into the design of almost every program. Utilizing the
public health approach to sustainability means designing a program that has a long-
term plan for improving health, reducing inequalities, and promoting economic growth
even after the grant period expires. This includes maintaining a sufficient level of
funding, resources, and personnel in both the present and the future. Not only will
creating a sustainable program positively impact more people, but most grants require
the authors to explain their program's sustainability plan.

The concept of sustainable program development is so important that in 2015, the

United Nations (UN) made it a global priority. Adopted by all UN member
states, The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development contains 17
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to accomplish by the year
2030. These goals revolve around planning interventions that
focus on the three pillars of sustainable development: economic
growth, social progress and environmental protection. It is the
hope that by following this model of sustainable development,
achieving the SDGs will allow us to address some of the greatest
challenges facing our generation in a way that ensures equal
opportunities for everyone without sacrificing our planet. The 3 pillars of sustainable
development

Centering grant proposals around the SDGs, many of which are relevant to the
Eversight mission statement, indicates to funders that the needs outlined in a grant
proposal are a global priority, increasing the likelihood of funding. Although most of
the SDGs do not directly mention vision or eye health, restoring sight and preventing
blindness still positively contribute to achieving the goals.

"Sustainable development is development that meets the

needs of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.“
–Brundtland Report
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SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Some of the SDGs around which Eversight could frame grant proposals include:

SDG #3 - Good Health and Well-Being

Promoting eye health contributes to promoting healthy living for all people. It strives to achieve
universal health coverage so that everyone around the world is able to get the healthcare they
need. This goal also includes countries developing and maintaining a sustainable workforce to
provide comprehensive eye health services, much like the international work Eversight is doing
to establish eye banking networks..

SDG #1 - No Poverty and SDG #8 - Decent Work and Economic Growth

It is known that restoring sight also leads to improved economic outcomes. When sight is
restored, affected individuals and their caregivers are able to start working and putting money
back into the economy. They are also able to spend their money on more productive outlets
such as education rather than vision care services. These goals additionally have the potential
to cover the costs of eye health services and assistive devices for visually impaired people.

SDG #4 - Quality Education

Children that can see the whiteboard or read their textbooks will do better in school, ultimately
leading to better employment and economic outcomes as well. However, we know that children
are especially vulnerable to certain infectious corneal diseases such as trachoma. Prevention,
early detection, and treatment of corneal conditions in children can therefore work towards
achieving this goal by reducing school drop-out rates and improving academic performance.

SDG #5 - Gender Equality and SDG #10 - Reduced Inequalities

These two goals both focus on reducing inequalities. This is especially pertinent to the eye
banking world because the rates of visual impairment are higher in women than men. However,
women also face increased barriers to health care than men do. Working to promote equal
access to comprehensive eye health services for all people, especially marginalized persons
such as women, is thus a key perspective from which grant proposals can potentially be framed.

SDG #6 - Clean Water and Sanitation

This goal is particularly important for managing infectious corneal diseases such as trachoma.
These diseases are primarily controlled by promoting clean water, sanitation, and hygienic
habits such as face washing. Framing grant applications from this perspective could potentially
enable Eversight to explore environmental grants.
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HOLISTIC 
APPROACH
One of the hallmarks of public health is its holistic approach to health. With the goal of
achieving wellness at every stage of life, the holistic approach focuses on enabling people to
reach and maintain good mental and physical health throughout their life as opposed to
focusing on a specific disease. A large part of the holistic approach revolves around the primary
level of disease prevention because preventing people from getting sick in the first place is an
effective way of maintaining their well-being.

Utilizing a holistic approach is a particular

focus in the public health world, but it is
1. Comprehensive eye becoming a larger priority in other sectors as
well. The World Health Organization (WHO),
care services for for example, places a lot of emphasis on the
prevention, importance of comprehensive health in their
document Universal eye health: a global action
rehabilitation, and plan 2014-2019. The goal of this action plan is
care to reduce avoidable visual impairment around
the world by improving access to
2. Eye health integrated comprehensive eye care services that are

into national health integrated into primary health care systems.

Doing so makes it easier for individuals to
systems access eye care by alleviating transportation,
time, and financial barriers to care, while also
3. Access for all people making it easier for health care workers to
4. Financial means do monitor and treat eye conditions.

not determine The benefits of a holistic approach are many,

accessibility but fully integrating such a system requires
multi-sector cooperation. The health system
approach is one of the most cost-effective
interventions for reducing the burden of

CORE avoidable blindness that also yields the best

outcomes. However, implementing national
eye health plans and policies as the Universal
ELEMENTS OF eye health plan suggests requires
collaboration with new and existing

UNIVERSAL stakeholders to ensure that every individual is

able to access care, regardless of financial
means or demographic factors.
EYE HEALTH
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UNIVERSAL
ACCESS & EQUITY
Health equity is a core value of public health. More than just ensuring everybody has
equal resources, health equity means that everybody has what they need to be their
healthiest self. Inequities arise from barriers, or disparities, to achieving health and
well-being such as race, gender, geography, and even ability status.

The push for equity is a key component of the WHO Global Disability Action Plan 2014-
2021. Everyday, people around the world with disabilities face stigmatization and
discrimination that ultimately lead to health, economic, and social inequities, despite
the fact that almost everyone will be touched
by disability at some point in their life. This
action plan was adopted by WHO member
states in 2014 as a step towards combating
these inequities by achieving health, well-being
and human rights not just for people with
disabilities, but for those around them as well.

As an international eye bank, Eversight serves

29% of the people living with
a vital role in this call to action. Persons
disability around the world suffer
suffering from avoidable blindness and visual
from blindness or visual impairment impairment, as well as their family, friends, and
caretakers are specifically included in the
Global Disability Action Plan's definition of disability, making up almost 30% of the
people living with disability around the world. As the landscape of the eye banking
world is evolving, it is important now more than ever for eye banks such as Eversight to
push for universal access and equity for all people.

Although the recent eye banking trend of becoming a for-profit entity is strategic for the
long-term viability of eye banks, it actively works against promoting barrier-free access
to health and health care services. Our mission as an eye bank is, and should always be
to maintain the affordability and accessibility of our services so that even the most
vulnerable people around the world can receive the sight-giving care they need. Turning
instead to alternative sources of funding such as diversifying revenue streams or
widening the scope of provided services can work more productively towards a society
where all people touched by disability have equitable
opportunities and can reach their full potential.
1 in 70
people in need of a corneal
transplant worldwide are actually
able to receive a corneal transplant.
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A GRANT WRITING
CHECKLIST

Think outside of the box when searching for grants. Approaching grants from a
holistic perspective allows you to garner support from a variety of funders.

Make sure the grants you're interested in applying to still align with your
organization's mission and fit your program's goals. Otherwise they won't get funded.

Research the funder to find out who they have funded in the past and determine if
your organization is a good fit.

Start the application process early. Writing an effective grant is an iterative, time-
consuming process, so leave time for coworkers to proof-read drafts of your proposal.

Provide complete details about the logistics, planning, and evaluation of your program
in your grant proposal.

Plan for the end of the grant before it even begins. Funders like to know that there is
a sustainability plan for your program when the grant expires.

Prove it! Use reputable and reliable data to support facts, claims, and the
effectiveness of your proposed program.

Fulfill all of the grant's requirements in the order they are presented in the application
packet and do not leave anything out. Use headings for new sections and bold
keywords to make it easier for reviewers to navigate.

Begin each paragraph with a sentence summarizing that paragraph's main idea. This
will give reviewers an idea of your proposal's contents when they skim applications.

Be professional with your word choice. Use the active voice, avoid slang and
excessive adjective use, and define every acronym used in your proposal.
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GRANTS

RESOURCES FOR
GRANT WRITING

Resources to Documents Mentioned in This Guide

United Nations: Sustainable Development Goals
World Health Organization: Universal Eye Health: a global action plan 2014-2019
United Nations: Global Disability Action Plan: 2014-2021
International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness

General Resources for Grant Writing

Planning, Implementing, & Evaluating Health Promotion Programs: A Primer, 6th Edition by J. F.
McKenzie, B. L. Neiger, R. Thackeray Fox; Benjamin Cummings © 2013
The Only Grant-Writing Book You’ll Ever Need, 4th Edition by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue;
Fox Basic Books © 2014
New Approaches to Grant Writing with Holly Rustick
A Framwork for Program Evaluation
Logic Model Development Guide
How to Write Goals and SMART Objectives for Your Grant Proposal
Creating Your Sustainability Plan
Non-Profit Guides: Grant Writing Tips

Resources to Learn More About Public Health

What is Public Health?
American Public Health Association
The 10 Essential Public Health Services
The Social Determinants of Health

Resources for Finding Grants

https://www.GuideStar.org
https://www.Grants.gov
https://Pivot.Proquest.com

For any questions or additional information, please contact:

Madeline DeMarco at mndemarc@umich.edu