I took the helm as President of the Grant Professionals Association on January 1, 2020. Our membership was climbing. Our annual conference was selling out often. The educational offerings provided by the organization were growing,…
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What Does True Collaboration Look Like?
Collaboration is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot, especially in the grant world. We all like to think we collaborate with our fellow nonprofits, local governments, and other neighbors, but do…
Summer Reading and Federal RFPs
One of my favorite things about the summer is the free time. I do not have to cart my kids around to practice, help with homework, or stick to the school year’s schedule. That extra…
How to Work Best with Your Grant Consultant
Many agencies hire a grant consultant to start or help grow their grant portfolio. And while that may seem like a simple solution to your grant woes, a they do not magically appear and take…
Grant Trainers – Who’s the Expert?
Years ago, the Grant Professionals Association started the Conference Navigators Program as part of their annual conference. They pair regular attendees with first-timers a month or two before the conference. Conference navigators typically email first-timers…
Perfection is the Enemy of Successful Grant Writing
Back in the aughts, I was a newly hired manager of corporate and foundation relations at a food bank with the directive to aggressively grow grant funding—by at least 25% in my first year. The…
Where in the Organization Chart Does Your Grant Professional Belong?
Where do you belong in your organization? Who do you report to? And does your boss even understand the world of grants? The answers vary with every grant professional. We bring in funding for…
The Nonprofit World is Messy, and So Are We
Y’all. Have you ever met someone, and loved what they were sharing so much, that you could just sit back and listen to their stories for hours? That is exactly how I felt when Julie…
Trust-Based Philanthropy: Both Sides Need to Do Their Part
Funders and nonprofits – two sides to a very important coin. Sure, nonprofits would not last long without the resources provided by individual donors, foundations, corporations, and (in some cases) government agencies. But without nonprofits,…
All the Data for All Your Grants
We have all been there. It’s time to draft a problem statement, and as grant professionals we know data is a necessary element to prove the need for our community. So where do you start?…