Designed for educators at all levels, this booklet offers guidelines on developing proposals for mini-grants. An introductory section underscores the importance of involving those colleagues who will be affected by the project and allowing enough time to develop the proposal. The remainder of the booklet is divided into nine sections. Number 1, "Getting Started" describes the steps in preparing a winning proposal and suggests a timeline; (2) "Writing the Mini-Grant Proposal" gives an outline to follow and explains each component; (3) "Search Strategies" suggests a way to locate funding sources, starting at the local level; (4) "The Pre-Proposal Contact" tells how to get the information needed to tailor a proposal to the requirements of a particular funding source; (5) "Avoiding Pitfalls" gives suggestions on how to avoid some of the most common mistakes made by grantwriters; (6) the "Sample Mini-Grant" is a proposal for a project, with each section annotated to reinforce what should and should not be included; (7) "The Award Decision" discusses what to expect after the funding source makes its decision on the proposal; (8) "Managing Your Grant" lists suggestions for organizing and operating the project; and (9) "Resources" lists directories and other sources of information about grants and 15 corporations with a history of funding educational projects. (AC)