The grant life cycle is continuous and never ending (Readiness -> Research -> Relationships -> wRiting -> Reporting), but starts every time with grant readiness. In this session we will look at what it means to be grant ready, the foundation of successful grant writing strategies for organizations of all shapes and sizes. We will also look at how to measure grant readiness and to monitor changes in readiness as changes occur within an organization as this attentiveness helps to ensure the sustainability of a successful grant seeking strategy.

In this session you will learn:

• What does it mean to be grant ready;

• Why does it matter for an organization to be grant ready;

• ​How to measure grant readiness; and

• How to adjust to shifting grant readiness in an organization.

Presented by Maggie Perry, GPC, RPO

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Grant professionals are always scanning the landscape looking for potential new grant opportunities for their organization: reading emails, watching social media, searching databases for a potentially missed opportunity, and subscribing to any funder newsletters that may alert them to a new or upcoming opportunity. In this session we will share how to use proven tools and strategies to successfully navigate research results to create a prioritized proactive grant seeking strategy and avoid FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) on grant opportunities.

In this recorded session you will learn:

• How to create a grant calendar that aligns with your priorities;

• How to use the grant calendar as a part of the decision-making process for newly found grant opportunities;

• How to utilize a variety of tools to reduce your manual checking for opportunities; and

• How to establish a habit and grant team culture for grant research review.

Presented by Diane H. Leonard, GPC, RST

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Relationships are critical to the success of your overall grant-seeking strategy. This training will strengthen your grant funder relationship-building efforts and, ultimately, your grant funding success. Learn how to establish and maintain authentic relationships with grant funders to sustain and increase your organization’s grant revenue.

In this session you will learn:

• Why are grant funder relationships important?
• How to involve your grant team in relationship development and maintenance.
• How do you establish relationships with grant funders?
• How your approach should vary based on type of grant funder (i.e. private foundation versus government).
• How do you manage and improve relationships with grant funders?

Presented by Beth Archer, GPC, RST

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Creating a grant application in collaboration with the colleagues who will be implementing and reporting on the funded work is a surefire way to reduce the stress that grant funding can put on an organization. In this session, we will share tactics for how to engage your colleagues in your application process using program design and evaluation elements to strengthen your narrative and ensure that your grant reporting is stress-free once awarded.

Session participants will leave the session with concrete, repeatable processes and steps they can use with grant and program teams during pre-award planning to develop competitive proposals and set the team up for less stressful reporting at the end of grant periods.

Learning objectives for this session include:

• How to prepare for post-award reporting during pre-award planning
• How to incorporate evaluation elements into grant application projects to strengthen impact narratives

1. Theory of Change 
2. Logic models
3. SMART Objectives
4. Evaluation results

• How to navigate grantmaker expectations around evaluation and reporting

Presented by Julie Paynotta, GPC, RSM

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