Don't Let Grants Stress You Out
The seed catalog came in the mail immediately after Christmas, its cover graced by bright sunflowers and its pages filled with beautiful photos of plump tomatoes on the vine, shiny eggplants, juicy cantaloupes, and everywhere green, green, green. This catalog didn’t meet its end in the recycling bin; instead, it has been given a prominent place next to my couch, a coffee table book of…
Learning, understanding, and feeling confident, not just informed about federal grants is a significant undertaking for a grant seeking organization. Mix in the occasional federal government shut down or the shifts in policy goals and funding priorities when there are changes in leadership in the government, and the federal grant funding landscape can feel stressful and uncertain. As a result, I thought I would pull together…
As grant professionals, we all encounter a sticky situation, an argument, or a difficult colleague at some point in high-performing grant teams. For example, an accountant might demand something unallowable in a grant application, or someone might want to control the entire project without any prior grant experience. It is so important to work collaboratively with the team, but frustrating to deal with certain people….
“If you want to be a writer you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” —Stephen King It is well-known that reading improves writing, and writing is a large part of the responsibilities of a grant professional. Because of this, the DH Leonard Consulting Team discussed our reading lives recently based on a shortened version of the…
2018 was quite the year in the field of grant writing as well as for the DH Leonard Consulting team. As it winds down and we ensure that all of our clients have their grant calendars and grant teams in great shape for the year ahead, we paused to look at which blog posts YOU enjoyed the most this year. I’ve turned them into a…
I was talking on the phone with another grant professional recently that I had just met. In the course of the conversation, she shared with pride that the Executive Director of her organization knew she could count on her to do whatever it takes to submit a grant application, whether it is working until 3am or working on the weekend. I was quiet about it at…
“Sorry, but there are lots of bad writers. Some are on staff at your local newspaper, usually reviewing little-theatre productions or pontificating about the local sports teams. Some have scribbled their way to homes in the Caribbean, leaving a trail of pulsing adverbs, wooden characters, and vile passive-voice constructions behind them.” Stephen King, the master of horrific imagination, wrote one of the best books ever…
Dear New Grant Writer, Welcome to the field of grant seeking! You may be wondering what you got yourself into as you accepted this new job, or perhaps this new assignment as part of your expanded duties for your current employer. When I was new in the field back in 2002, I wasn’t sure where to go for resources or to ask for assistance…
How Can Will Ferrell, a farming community and Legos Help Us Become Better Grant Writers I was helping a friend develop a list of motivational movies for a sports team and began thinking about what movies would psych up a grant writer. What films would inspire and motivate grant writers during a busy grant writing season, or perhaps during a writer’s slump? The following…
Dear Executive Director and/or Well-Intentioned Board President: We need to talk. First off, let me say that I am so proud to be a part of your organization. As a grant professional, nothing gives me more joy than working as a foot soldier for you and your team as you battle social problems and fight systemic barriers for the voiceless. I have been…