Don't Let Grants Stress You Out
Sometimes when you are writing a grant for a rural organization it can feel a bit like David and Goliath. Urban communities have more research done on them, more data to back up the challenges a community faces and more organizations to collaborate with. Organizations working in rural communities (I’m preaching to the choir if you are still reading this blog) can feel isolated and…
Certain times of year, grant professionals are stretched especially thin. Deadlines stack up, rejections arrive, and the sheer volume of the work can leave even the most dedicated person feeling burned out, underappreciated, or uncertain about whether it is all worth it. The answer, of course, is that it absolutely is. As explored in Are You Wearing the Burnout Badge? and Prioritizing Wellness: How Our…
If one was to ask my daughter to describe her best friend, here is what she would say. She loves to be pushed on the swing. She’s good at painting. She gives really great hugs. What she wouldn’t say is that her best friend is “special needs.” She would say, however, that she is her most special friend in the whole wide world. The…
“Community is being close to the people around you. To me, community isn’t a place, it’s a feeling,” Rebecca Leonard 13-year-old Rebecca Leonard submitted an essay for the Northern New York Community Foundation Community Spirit Youth Giving Challenge where she highlighted the Watertown Urban Mission and its many services including their food program. Her description of community was compelling to the review committee, so…
Resources for Writing a Good Demographic Statement or Why Grant Writers Deserve their own type of Sherlock Holmes Hats One of the most satisfying part of my job as a grant writer is when I’m listening to a client or colleague and they have a compelling request, “Can we find money to increase staffing for a homeless shelter” or “Can we find funding to…
It is award season for the entertainment industry – Golden Globes, The Grammy’s, The Oscars, NFL Honors, etc. It is time to celebrate the individual and team accomplishments of the last year. It is also time to celebrate the individual and team accomplishments in the grants world. The fifth annual International Grant Professionals Day (IGPD) is Friday, March 8, 2019. IGPD is a day…
I hear a soft knock on my door and I roll over and look at my alarm clock and it says 2 am. This happens every so often when you are a resident advisor in college. You open your door, see a student in a confused state and mentally begin an action plan in your head to help them out. Being a grant writer isn’t…
I have been conducting quite a bit of funder research lately, which has given me an opportunity to further develop my foundation research strategies. Last week in Developing Your Foundation Research Strategy – Part 1 of 2, I discussed search term selection and addressing previous funders. You may have heard the phrase “Plan the work, then work the plan.” Once you have identified the…
I have been conducting quite a bit of funder research lately, which has given me an opportunity to further develop my foundation research strategies. Last year in Improving Your Research Strategy, I delved into the Foundation Center’s taxonomy and visual navigator and boolean operators. Here are two key strategies I’ve been using since then that may help YOU with your own foundation research: …
Grant professionals choose this career for a variety of reasons, and as with any other career that involves writing, have unique routines to motivate them to dig in on their writing work. What is your go to routine or activity for motivation? Running? Reading? Working in a coffee shop? As we started the new year, I had the opportunity to create some new routines and thought about…