Don't Let Grants Stress You Out
My most traumatic childhood memory is the day my sister almost drowned. We lived in Germany at the time, and some extended family was visiting from the U.S. My mom loaded up my younger sister and me, along with my aunt and cousins, for a day of shopping at many German pottery and glass-blowing sites. By about the fifth store, we kiddos were over it….
They’re everywhere. Whether you’re on staff at a nonprofit racing for those year-end donations, a grant writer chasing deadlines, or a consultant marketing yourself, there’s always a message, a video, an email, or a text that lists the top 10 things you must attend, buy, download, call, check off or find an intern to do or you’ll never succeed. But that’s not all there is…
So many of us found ourselves in this line of work because we wanted to help people (or animals or the environment), and we wanted to leave this world better than we found it. It is a noble cause and one I am proud to be a part of almost every day of my life. But that cause alone does not always make it fulfilling,…
Make FOMO work for you. First, I want to go on record as saying that chronic Fear Of Missing Out is not a healthy way to live your life. Rushing from meeting to meeting, scrolling through your social media feeds into the wee hours, or insisting that you can actually multitask a Zoom meeting, multiple deadlines, and Halloween cupcakes will not equal a happy life….
Where were you when you lost it? Were you reading your least favorite uncle’s latest Facebook rant? Trying to ignore your cat and dog fighting like, well, cats and dogs in the background as you wrangled five family members onto a Wi-Fi system meant for reading email…slowly. Or you were facing another day as an essential worker with nowhere to turn? Or was the final…
Each funder has its own approach to how it makes its grantmaking decisions. Each grantmaker also has its own unique capacity and preference as it relates to building relationships with potential and current grantees. While there is not one universal way to successfully approach a grantmaker to build or enhance a relationship, these ten tips are tried and tested ways that have worked to…
I talked myself out of a job and felt great about it. It was not because I won the lottery. As a business owner, I am not in the habit of turning down clients and projects that match my skill set, interests, and availability. I am in the habit of asking lots of questions, though, a blessing or curse that has followed me all my…
Quick Note from Diane: We’re thrilled to have a guest blog for you from Matt Hugg of Nonprofit Courses. I’ve had fun sharing resources back and forth with Matt and digging deeper into some of our shared passions like talking about “Not Treating Your Grantmakers Like an ATM.” His take on skills for nonprofit professional to develop is right on point (spoiler alert, it *does*…
I’m a sucker for advice columns. It started when I would leaf through the women’s magazines during my mother’s weekly trips to the beauty shop, not to be confused with spas, salons, hairdressers, or anything else other than the retrofitted basement of a split-level ranch house on a wooded lot down a two-lane road in the suburbs. Amid the scent of Aquanet and the radiant…
About 10 years ago I was participating in #grantchat (an hour-long grant discussion on Twitter most Tuesdays at noon Eastern) when that week’s particular topic was centered around high-tech grant tools. Everyone was sharing helpful apps, websites, and software. Meanwhile, I was raving about things like post-it notes, three-ring binders, and my giant whiteboard. (I do love a good whiteboard.) Despite my inclination towards…