04 Mar

Posted at 13:56h in Competency Five, Competency Four, Competency Three, Competency Two, Courses, Federal Grants, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, How-To, Julie Assel, Uncategorized

  SESSION 4 of the FEDERAL GRANTS SERIES Price: $150 The fourth session of our half-day, interactive Federal Grants series, designed to support nonprofit professionals before and during their first federal grant. Buy Now     You'll learn:  Best practices for staff time and effort tracking Best practices for procuring materials and...

23 Feb

Posted at 14:16h in Competency Five, Competency Four, Competency Three, Competency Two, Courses, Federal Grants, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, How-To, Julie Assel, Uncategorized

  SESSION 3 of the FEDERAL GRANTS SERIES Price: $150 The third session of our half-day, interactive Federal Grants series, designed to support nonprofit professionals before and during their first federal grant. Buy Now     You'll learn:  When an evaluator must be outside of the program versus outside of the organization ...

09 Feb

Posted at 13:49h in Competency Five, Competency Four, Competency Three, Competency Two, Courses, Federal Grants, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, How-To, Julie Assel, Uncategorized

  The second session of our half-day, interactive Federal Grants series, designed to support nonprofit professionals before and during their first federal grant. Buy Now     You'll learn:  The change from Duns and Bradstreet to Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) How to register for the System for Award Management and...

21 Jan

Posted at 11:16h in Competency Eight, Competency Five, Competency Four, Competency One, Courses, Federal Grants, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, How-To, Julie Assel, Uncategorized

  The first session of our half-day, interactive Federal Grants series, designed to support nonprofit professionals before and during their first federal grant. Buy Now     You'll learn:  How to examine major trends in federal funding and how to find appropriate grant opportunities for your organization as an awardee...

20 Nov

Posted at 18:51h in AGS Staff, Competency Four, Competency Nine, Narrative, Professional Development, Writing
I have worked in grants development for 26 years (boy, time flies when you are having fun!). Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to attend my very first Grant Professionals Association (GPA) annual conference. Many would ask, “Really, you are just now attending the GPA conference after so many years in this business?” I am grateful to have joined the team at Assel Grant Services (AGS), where professional development and GPA involvement are high priorities. I started with AGS in late August, and one of my first assignments was to register for the GPA annual conference. There was no question about whether or not I would attend - it was a given that I would. And I am so glad I got this opportunity. It turns out, as I learned from the conference, you CAN teach a “seasoned” grant writer new tricks – tricks that will not only improve their work, but will shift their thinking, make them a better grant writer, and because of some of the topics that were presented, will just make them a better person overall.

09 Oct

Posted at 19:00h in AGS Staff, Competency Four, Competency Three, Federal Grants, Logic Models, Professional Development
Spooky season is upon us, and at AGS we’ve been thinking about what keeps us up at night when it comes to grants. As grant pros, we are skilled at anticipating challenges and putting controls in place to mitigate negative outcomes in our grant programs. Here are some eerie grant scenarios with suggested actions that’ll have you sleeping like a baby.

24 Sep

Posted at 18:05h in Competency Four, Julie Assel, GPC, Narrative, Writing
One of the most important resources in nonprofit organizations is the staff. They form relationships with the people they serve. They build relationships in the community to find the resources clients need. Without them, the nonprofit programs and services which affect millions of lives would fall silent. While we are advocates of writing grants which describe how the target population is involved in the program, this does not mean that organizations should stop describing the strengths of their staff. Here are four ways to highlight the quality and importance of your staff in your next grant:

16 Sep

Posted at 14:55h in Budgets, Competency Four, Competency Two, Courses, GPC, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, Grants 101, How-To, Julie Assel, Uncategorized

  Grant 101: Common Grant Attachments Session 9 of the Grants 101 Series A grant proposal is only one component of most grant applications. Other components include proof of nonprofit status, a board roster, an organizational budget, a program budget, and financial statements, as well as an annual...

10 Sep

Posted at 00:20h in Budgets, Competency Five, Competency Four, Courses, Federal Grants, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, How-To, Julie Alsup, Julie Alsup, Uncategorized

    Federal Grants: Federal Grant Management - Financial Requirements Session 11 of the Federal Grants Series The most common concerns related to federal grant management are around the financial requirements. These requirements include paying staff, contracting for services, travel, and purchasing materials. This session will discuss the most...

05 Sep

Posted at 19:00h in Competency Four, Competency Seven, Grant Reporting, Grants Management, Organizational Development, Program Development, Thomas Assel, GPC, Tracey Diefenbach, GPC
Are you laboring too much over grants? Grants are great to have, and they’re often crucial to an organization’s mission, but there are only so many hours in the day to apply for and manage those grants. Grant professionals are susceptible to burn out from the heavy responsibility and high-pressure, deadline-driven work, which continues day in and day out in our profession. Grant applications and management can even get in the way of your organization’s mission. I was recently on a call with a client who was looking for help managing their grant portfolio. When I asked why they were seeking support, the client shared a striking comment: “We are so busy trying to get the money that we struggle to actually carry out the work.” I understood completely because I’ve seen this state of affairs before.