This is our final of four posts about grant success and rejection. How to celebrate, learn and grow from both. If you missed the previous posts, you can catch up on Celebrating Grant Success by Briana Popek (here), When a Win Looks Like a Win by Nicole Sibilski, GPC (here), or Handling a Grant Rejection (here).

One of my favorite grant success stories was for a training project for a non-profit medical facility.  The client never worked with a grant professional before therefore this project was an indoctrination for them to the entire grant process.  The grant team consisted of myself and the executive team from the facility.  I was an integral part of the project planning process.  I researched the funder, potential training partners, and negotiated a vendor contract.  I facilitated meetings, interviewed staff members, and worked with the executive leaders to develop the project’s budget.  Once the grant proposal was written, we held several review sessions.  It was finally time to submit the proposal! This was a significant milestone in the process and a celebration was certainly in order.   Celebration # 1 consisted of coffee, tea, and warm handshakes.

After patiently waiting and waiting for a response from the funder, the grant was awarded.  The client asked me to come to their facility (they were local) to meet with the grant team.   We had reached a major milestone with a favorable result! You guessed it – another celebration was definitely in order.  Celebration # 2 included coffee, cookies, and congratulatory handshakes and hugs.

This project was to implement a training program for the entire staff at the medical facility.  The training would not only benefit the staff but it would also improve the quality of life for the residents.  The executive team invited me to the first day kick-off session for the training program.  Celebration # 3 included recognition by the CEO and being able to see the project come to fruition.

The celebrations for the grant team were very meaningful because we knew our work would make a positive impact on the staff and residents.  An internal “good feeling” was part of my personal celebration.

How do you celebrate your grant successes? We’d love to hear! Share in the comments section below or on social media with us.