GRAND PROPOSAL

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Motivation Theories Grant Proposal Project: Letter of Intent

Lashanna Graham

WSU

PSYCH 573

October 3, 2025

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Motivation Theories Grant Proposal Project: Letter of Intent

Lashanna Graham

3125 NW Cottonwood Ln

Pullman WA 99163

Lashanna.graham@wsu.edu

October 2, 2025

Dear Recipient

I am writing to express my intent to submit a grand proposal for a motivational intervention

program, "Motivation to Persist,” which is designed to enhance student academic motivation,

resilience, and decrease drop-out rate. The project mainly targets first-generation college

students, who, according to research, are at higher risk of low academic performance and

graduation rates, including higher dropouts compared to the continuing generation (Weisen et al.,

2024). Additionally, this population faces unique challenges and barriers such as a lack of

academic preparedness and social capital, therefore, there is a need for an intervention that will

help foster intrinsic motivation that will guide and motivate the students towards academic

success.

The design of the proposed program, "Motivation to Persist", draws on self-determination

theory, which emphasizes the significance of focusing on psychological needs for autonomy,

competence, and relatedness to experience intrinsic motivation (Ryan, 2023). These needs can be

nurtured through a supportive environment that encourages growth and positive outcomes, which

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is the goal of the proposed program. By addressing students' psychological needs, the program

will help promote internalized and self-driven motivation, which is significant for first-

generation students to persist through academic challenges.

The central goals of the program are to increase the targeted group's intrinsic motivation towards

academics or learning, reduce the rate of attrition through supportive peer networks, and improve

the overall academic persistence and performance. Therefore, it is made up of three major

components that include peer mentoring, which aims at connecting the students to mentors who

will help them establish social support and a sense of belonging. Goal-setting workshops that

will be reinforced through regular check-ins and involve learning how to set both personal and

academic goals, and skill-building seminars that will focus on building crucial skills such as time

management and study strategies. Funding this program is beneficial, as it will provide a

practical, evidence-based, and theory-informed intervention. If the program succeeds, it can be

scaled and adapted for diverse students who are facing different challenges, including

motivational barriers in higher education.

Thank you for considering this proposal, and I look forward to the opportunity to provide in-

depth information on the program.

Sincerely, Lashanna Graham.

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References

Ryan, R. M. (Ed.). (2023). The Oxford handbook of self-determination theory. Oxford University Press. https://books.google.com/books

Weisen, S., Do, T., Peczuh, M. C., Hufnagle, A. S., & Maruyama, G. (2024). How are first‐generation students doing throughout their college years? An examination of academic success, retention, and completion rates. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 24(3), 1274-1287. https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/asap.12413