Grant Writer’s Blog

Become a Stronger Grant Writer Simply by Addressing DEI

in Fundraising HayDay Grant Writing Tips and Best Practices on Share
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DEI

Maybe it’s human nature. Maybe it’s cultural. Maybe it’s Maybelline. But seriously, why have I wasted so much time thinking in strict dichotomies? Either/or thinking has stopped or slowed some major career choices such as employee vs. consultant, grants vs. fundraising, grant writing vs. coaching or training. The best experiences in my personal and professional life have come from navigating the gray spaces that often…

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How Do You Sustain Your Grant Funded Programs?

in Fundraising HayDay Grant Writing Tips and Best Practices on Share
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SPOILER ALERT: More grant funding is not the answer.   Listen. I get it. I have been funding projects and programs with grants for the last 21 years, and I despise the sustainability question.  If I were brutally honest, my answer to that question would sound like this: Look, dear funder, I appreciate that you are thinking ahead. It’s smart. But right now, I’m in…

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Grant Writing is a Team Sport

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Team

Did you play a sport growing up? Participate in the high school musical? Play in the school band? Belong to a school club?   These are all great examples of how it takes a team to achieve a goal.   Fast forward to your work as a grant professional.   Have you been asked “if you can’t just write it?” in regards to an application?…

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My Own Worst Enemy: When the Boss Makes Life Difficult, But You Work for Yourself

in Fundraising HayDay Grant Writing Tips and Best Practices on Share
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Burnout

In September 2020 I penned an article entitled Battling Burnout as a Grant Professional where I shared several resources to help overcome the struggle. My number one suggestion was communication and transparency with your supervisor, because if you are not open and honest with your struggles, how can they be expected to improve the situation? A good boss can ease the burden, help determine the…

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Top Tricks for Grant Writing With Character Counts

in Fundraising HayDay Grant Writing Tips and Best Practices wRiting on Share
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Grant applications with character counts instead of word counts or page limits now dominate online proposals, particularly for private and corporate foundations. Online applications eliminate white-knuckling trips to the post office, emergency toner runs, and save trees formerly sacrificed to multiple hard copies of 990s and audited financials. (Ask me how I know…) Proposals measured in character counts may speed the read for grant reviewers,…

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4 Tips to Maintaining Relationships With Grantmakers

in Grant Writing Tips and Best Practices Grantmaker Relationship on Share
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relationships with grantmakers

Note from Diane: You may not know that we’ve worked with Bloomerang for numerous years through both the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference which they are the sponsor of, through one-hour educational webinars I present to their audience, and also through scholarships they have provided to BIPOC nonprofit professionals to attend our Scrum Basics for Nonprofits course. That’s why I was thrilled to have them offer a…

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Winning Grants and Beyond: The Power of Words

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Words

Traveling remains one of the most formative experiences of my life. The privilege of seeing how others live, eat and communicate—experiencing another point of view, another culture has a priceless value. It was worth every second (and third) job and living in a series of microscopic apartments in my 20s to fund plane tickets, gas money, youth hostel stays, and street food. While those days…

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2022 IGPD Key Takeaways

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IGPD Grant Professional

The #LearnGrants Online Summit was designed for 2022 to help grant professionals from a wide range of mission areas come together to celebrate International Grant Professionals Day (IGPD). Yes, I am incredibly biased as part of the organizing sponsors and day-of-production team for the event.  Yet, the six speakers did such a wonderful job sharing tactical information about each element of the grant life cycle…

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Grant Management 101: 10 Steps to Getting It Done Right

in Fundraising HayDay Grant Writing Tips and Best Practices Reporting on Share
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Grant Management

They lie. They steal. They cheat. Search the internet and you’ll find stories abound of individuals employed by universities, local governments, and nonprofits using grant funding for personal gain. What about organizations that break grant regulations but do it “for the right reasons?” You know, they want to do what is best for the people they serve. Or they want to make it as easy…

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7 of Our Favorite Grant Resources

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Grant Resources

Raindrops on roses,  And whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, Brown paper packages tied up with strings, These are a few of my favorite things….   Ok maybe we’re not in the Sound of Music, but if you joined us for our #Sweet16 celebration week, you’ll know that our team shared a few of our favorite GRANT things.  We compiled those…

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