Do Good Great!

This week on #GrantChat our topic is Asking for Introverts with guest Kimberly Hays deMuga. Kimberly is passionate about helping nonprofits fund their dreams. She co-authored Prepare for the GPC Examwith Charity Channel Press. When not leading multiple training sessions on grantsmanship and fundraising or serving as Development Director at The Frazer Center, she loves to read, write, cultivate…

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year to you. This week on #GrantChat we will be discussing our goals and plans for grant development in 2017. We are excited about 2017 and how the grants profession and those who work in grants will grow to meet the increasing demand for expertise in the area of grants.  And, of course, the GrantChat community and our SmartEGrants programs are here to help you on your 2017 journey!

We…

What is Grant.gov WorkSpace?

Have you heard about WorkSpace? If you work with federal grants, you may have heard about Grants.gov new collaborative platform called WorkSpace.

This week on #GrantChat, we are bringing the WorkSpace development team to you. I have had a chance to talk with them about the platform, what WorkSpace can do now, and (more exciting) how the Grants Profession can provide feedback and suggestions to…

Leveraging Social Media Differently to Stand Out in a Crowd

This week on #GrantChat Chris Strub is going to lead us in a discussion on leveraging social media differently to stand out in a crowd. Chris Strub is a trailblazer, a futurist, and a storyteller who loves pushing the limits of social media. As the first man to Snapchat and live-stream in all 50 U.S. states, Chris’s inspirational tale of social good has been featured in traditional media…

What GPCI Can Do for You

This week on Grantchat the Grant Professional Certification Institute and the Grant Professionals Foundation are joining us to answer questions about the GPC Exam and the various scholarships available for professional development for grant professionals.

Advancing Your Career with the GPC

This week, Bethany Turner, GPC, is leading us in a discussion on earning your GPC. Bethany has been on here GPC Journey with the SmartEGrants Blueprints for the GPC Communitythis year.  The GrantChat and SmartEGrants team gets a lot of questions about earning the GPC and the Blueprints program. You can hear first-hand from one of the newest GPC (and a founding SmartEs member) about the road to…

Getting the Most Out of Conference

The Grant Professionals Association (GPA) national conference #GPAConf16 in Atlanta, Georgia, is coming up soon November 9-12, so we invited a very special guest the CEO of GPA Mike Chamberlain, CAE to walk us through how to get the most out of a conference. Conferences give you a chance to connect to amazing people and provide you with opportunities to grow your professional network! Mike has…

Grant Horror Stories – 2016 Edition

It is time for our annual Grantchat Grant Horror Stories! 

We DARE you to join us a terrifying look into the world behind the grant professional’s creaky door.  Working with grants has its risks and most of us have experienced the terror of the invisible decision maker, the case of the missing form, gory paper cuts, and or haunting reflections after weeks with little sleep and heavy deadlines!

Jo…

Organized Approach to Proposal Writing

This week on GrantChat –  Jenny Braswell is leading the GrantChat community through a discussion on organizing your approach to proposal writing. Jenny is a grant consultant, rural Advocate through NC Crossroads Initiative, and riding Instructor. 

Question Preview:

Q1: What is the first thing you do when you identify a potential grant opportunity?  #grantchat

Q2: How do you determine which…

This week on GrantChat, Gayla Rawlinson-Maynard, GPC, is leading the GrantChat community through a discussion about cultivation and stewardship of Donors, Grantors, Stakeholders, and Partners. Gayla is the Director of the Center for Grants Development division with Harris County Department of Education with over 20 years’ experience. Her grant work has ranged from foundation and corporate…

Why in the world would you want to do that?

If you have ever followed your passion and had your friends, family and even strangers ask you, “Why in the world would you want to do that?” then you are a kindred spirit to our GrantChat guest this week.

This week on GrantChat, we are so happy to share one of our favorite do-gooders – Kristina Riffle Semuket.  Not only does she have one of the most infectious non-stop smiles and a remarkably…

Lead and Other Four Letter Words

Is ‘Lead’ one of your favorite 4-letter words? If you ask people what they think “leadership” means, you will get a wide variety of answers. Some people consider leadership a top-down approach to managing projects or companies. Others consider leadership to be something that isn’t connected to a title and is a combination of vision and service to lift and motivate others to accomplish goals. 

Thi…

Building Relationships as the Lone Grant Writer

Are you a Lone Grant Writer?

This week on Grantchat Amanda Day is sharing her tips and insights and asking the community to share their questions and tips on building relationships when you are the (cue the music) Lone Grant Writer. 

I met Amanda through the Grant Professionals Associationand our involvement in various committees and boards. Amanda Day, GPC is a self-proclaimed book nerd, grant…

Pointers for Year-End Fundraising

This week on Grantchat we have Farra Trompeter, Vice President at Big Duck. She is leading us through a chat about year-end fundraising.

I have been a BIG fan of Big Duck for a long time. Big Duck is a communications firm that works exclusively with nonprofits. In fact, Farra and Big Duck were two of my very first connections on Twitter. I loved everything they did on Twitter and in other areas…

Have you ever been asked by a funder, board, or policy maker for a brief, one or two-page paper on the project that you want to be funded by grants or other resources? This is where developing a concept paper can help you and your team get the ball rolling on a new project. A concept paper can save you and decision makers time by providing a platform for moving the discussion along and offering…

This week on Grantchat, Becky Jascoviak, aka @NonprofitBecky, from Kids Alive International, leads the GrantChat community through a discussion about data, statistics, and the resources we use to build our case in grant applications and reports.

Question Preview:

 Q1: Would you call yourself a statistician, a numbers storyteller, or a pretty graph kind of person?  #grantchat

Q2: What do you wish…