Lesson 35 · The Grant Architect

35. Inputs - The Resources

30 min

By the end you'll be able to

  • Inventory the full set of inputs a program requires, including in-kind and existing contributions.
  • Distinguish grant-funded inputs from inputs already in place.
  • Map each input to the activity it enables in the next column.
  • Avoid the "we can absorb that" trap that under-counts staff time in year one.

Inputs are the resources you invest to make the program possible. They include staff time, funding, curriculum, facilities, equipment, technology, volunteer hours, community partnerships, and the institutional knowledge already sitting inside your organization. In this lesson you learn to inventory inputs honestly, because a logic model that hides the true cost of a program is a logic model that collapses during implementation.

You will practice distinguishing inputs that are already in place from inputs the grant will fund. Reviewers want to see that the requested grant amount is the marginal investment needed to operate the activities, not a slush fund covering general operations. Pairing each input with the activity it enables also protects you in the budget narrative, where every line item has to map back to something the program actually does.

By the end you should be able to draft an input column for a real program, separate cash from in-kind contributions, and explain why under-counting inputs (the classic "we can absorb that with existing staff" mistake) is a common cause of program failure in year one. Strong inputs reasoning signals organizational capacity. It tells the funder that you understand what your program actually costs to run.

Common mistakes

These are the traps learners hit most often on this topic. Knowing them in advance is half the fix.

  • Treating "free" institutional resources as zero-cost.

    Faculty time, donated space, and partner-staff hours have a fair-market value and should appear as in-kind inputs. Hiding them obscures the true cost of the program.

  • Listing inputs that are not connected to any activity.

    Every input should map to at least one activity. Inputs with no destination are usually padding in the budget.

Practice problems

Try each on paper first. Click Show solution only after you've made a real attempt.

  1. Problem 1
    Draft the inputs column for a one-year financial literacy program serving 80 first-generation college students.
    Show solution

    Cash (grant-funded): 0.5 FTE program coordinator, curriculum licensing, participant stipends, workshop supplies, evaluation contractor. In-kind (existing): faculty advisor time, classroom space, registrar data access for evaluation. Partnership: local credit union providing volunteer facilitators and account-opening support. The grant funds the marginal cost of running the program, and the in-kind contributions are documented at fair-market value in the budget narrative.

Practice quiz

  1. Question 1
    Which of the following is the most complete description of "inputs" in a logic model?
  2. Question 2
    Why does the lesson recommend separating grant-funded inputs from inputs already in place?
  3. Reflection 3
    Why is under-counting staff time the most common input error in year one?

Lesson 35 recap

Inputs are the honest cost of the program, cash and non-cash combined, and naming them clearly is the first test of whether the design has been thought through.

Coming next: Lesson 36 — Activities - The Intervention

Next, we move to the activities column and practice writing interventions at the right level of specificity for review.

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