This experience pointed up the importance of matching a proposal to the goals of the funder. Three hundred dollars doesn't seem like much, but it was a beginning. Beckman and his colleagues are currently writing proposals for that funding. With their track record, they are understandably optimistic about their chances for success. So start small, but start, and keep trying.
Persistence is the most important factor in obtaining a grant.
The Rivers Cirriculum Project is an interdisciplinary high school program combining science, social studies, and language arts in the study of a local river. Six cirriculum units have been field-tested and are due to be published in 1994.