Selkirk College Awarded Third in World Proposal Championship

Renewable Energy instructor Rob Macrae garnered third spot for Selkirk College in the World Proposal Championship, an international competition designed to recognize extraordinary skill in the area of proposal writing.

Selkirk College's proposal was chosen from hundreds submitted by organizations from around the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

"Getting the proposal accepted seemed to include all the recognition I could ever want because it met our programmatic goals," Macrae said when he learned about the competition result. "But being acknowledged for creating one of the best proposals in the world is really something else."

Macrae's proposal sought the support to create a North American Renewable Energy Training program, which required the formation of a consortium of six college partners -- two in Mexico, two in the U.S. and two in Canada. Selkirk was the lead partner in the arrangement.

Approval was received in October, 2006, resulting in the two Mexican colleges receiving approximately $ 90,000, the two U.S. colleges receiving approximately $209,000 and the two Canadian colleges receiving just over $158,000.

The proposal effectively initiated the launch of an international program in renewable energy at all colleges. Largely due to Macrae's work, Selkirk College launched the Advanced Certificate in Renewable Energy program last August.

Bill Barratt, chair of the judging committee, said, "All of the finalist proposals were very well written ... And I think I speak for all of our judges when I say that we could not be more pleased to be part of such a great initiative to recognize the very best in grant writing."

The judging panel included some of the top professionals and thought leaders from the non-profit sector, with decades of experience shared between them.

Trevor Skillen, president of Metasoft, the company that sponsored the championship, said, "We send our sincerest thanks to all the organizations who entered the competition. We're proud to host the world's largest showcase of winning proposals, and we're pleased that so many excellent examples of grant writing will be showcased."

The World Proposal Championships aim to recognize and promote proposal writing excellence, and to help fundraisers learn, by example, what it takes to create an effective proposal.

To view the showcase of winning proposals or to learn more about the World Proposal Championships, visit www.bigdatabase.com/wpc.

First published on March 14, 2008