Don't Let Grants Stress You Out
Top 3 Ways to Improve Grant Applications for 2021 If you’re pining for a return the way things were pre-pandemic, let me stop you right there. Of course, I am longing for an end to the extreme suffering and death that COVID-19 has caused. Let there be no doubt on that point. But in the nonprofit world, everything was not all coming up roses…
It’s the Season of Miracles, So Why Not Dream BIG for 2021’s Grant Goals When you have kids, the holiday season starts earlier than most of us adults would like. My youngest has been blasting Christmas tunes since August, her eternal favorite being Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas. We have already watched a National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (a Thanksgiving Day tradition carried forward…
Opportunity comes in many forms. It knocks. It forms a window. Or it opens a door. Or maybe a door closes, and a window of opportunity opens. Whichever proverb frosts your cupcake. Successful fundraising and grant seeking require recognizing and acting on opportunities as they appear—or as you create them. Not all opportunities are best for your nonprofit or agency. Make it your…
I may have driven my parents crazy with all my questions when I was a little girl. Okay, I did drive my parents crazy will all my questions. Maybe you did too. Or maybe you’re raising a someone who questions everything. When I started school, my questions changed from “why is the sky blue” and “how do my eyes know when I’m sad” to…
Growing up, my parents were strict but fair. They were clear in their expectations of how my younger sister and I were expected to behave. They wanted us to grow up as responsible adults. I did not always appreciate it at the time, but I sure do now. And let me tell you, between their expectations and my fear of disappointing my folks, they sure…
Self-Care in the Workplace. What Does That Mean to You? On the latest episode of the Fundraising HayDay podcast (Season 3, Episode 11), my cohost Kimberly and I spoke to Tara Davis, head guru of workplace self-care for the American Psychological Association. She shared an awful lot of data and resources related to the importance of self-care in the workplace, but the one statement…
Every time I teach an intro to grant writing workshop someone wants to know the secret to writing successful grant proposals. How I wish there was a simple guide, something like “8 Steps to Getting the Grant”, but this profession of ours is complicated and nuanced. Sometimes it’s about relationship building. (Actually, that’s often the case.) It is about the data, the storytelling, the budget,…
Are you sitting down? What I have to say in this post may be profoundly shocking for many of you. I really love going to the dentist. It’s true. I’ve been going to the same dental practice since I was 15. And it’s also true that I grew up privileged with parents able to afford regular dental care and braces for me. I…
Who remembers When a Stranger Calls, the horror film from 1979? Maybe the 2006 remake? It features a teenage girl babysitting for a family. She continually gets these creepy phone calls from someone asking, “Have you checked the children lately?” Spoiler alert: when she finally calls the police, they tell her the calls are coming from inside the house. And that’s when I lost my…
Personality typing and standardized testing leaves me cold. Humans are incredibly complex, messy, and often wonderful beings. That very complexity makes me resist the idea that neat little labels can define us—more likely, they will confine us, if we let them. I have been Myers Brigged, Neo’ed , Minnesota Multi-phased, and spent way too much time talking about “Who Moved My Cheese” in the early…