Competency Four - Assel Grant Services

20 Nov You Can Teach a “Seasoned” Grant Writer New Tricks by AGS Staff

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 Grants that Go Bump in the Night by AGS Staff

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 Four Ways to Describe Your Quality Staff in Your Grant Applications by Julie Assel, GPC

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 Grants 101: Common Grant Attachments

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 Federal Grants: Federal Grant Management – Financial Requirements

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 Laboring Over Grants: Finding Help in Difficult Times by Tracey Diefenbach, GPC and Thomas Assel, GPC

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.

27 Aug Ethics: Creating Ethical Grant Budgets and Sustainability Plans

Posted at 09:23h in Budgets, Competency Four, Competency Six, Courses, Ethics, Ethics, GPCI Competencies, Grant Readiness, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, How-To, Julie Assel, Julie Assel, GPC, Program Design, Program Development, Sustainability, Uncategorized

Ethics: Creating Ethical Grant Budgets and Sustainability Plans Session 6 of the Ethics Series For many organizations, a federal grant will be a significant expansion to an existing program or the initial funding for a program that does not yet exist. This can make the creation of...

16 Aug Can Data Win the Heart of a Grant Reviewer? Using Data Visualizations in Grant Proposals By Whitney Gray, MA, GPC

Posted at 19:43h in Competency Four, Competency Nine, Whitney Gray, GPC, Writing

Recently, I conducted a pre-submission peer review on several federal grant proposals from organizations located in rural Kansas. The first question each organization had to respond to was, “Describe your geographical/service area.” Each organization named the counties served in their respective service areas and then went on to describe just how ‘rural’ their area is. While each applicant organization had some aspects of serving rural areas of Kansas in common, they each approached the description differently. Some of the descriptions included the total square mileage contained within their service boundaries; others referenced the state’s definitions that place a county on a continuum of ‘frontier’ to ‘urban’; others pointed out the distance in hours to the nearest major city. Ultimately, each applicant described their geographical service area with the purpose of convincing federal reviewers that Organization XYZ was the only provider of important services for its region.

12 Aug Grants 101: Demonstrating Sustainability

Posted at 22:23h in Budgets, Competency Four, Competency One, Competency Two, Courses, GPC, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, Grants 101, How-To, Julie Assel, Sustainability, Uncategorized

Grants 101 - Demonstrating Sustainability Session 8 of the Grants 101 Series A common question on grant applications is “How will you sustain this program after the grant funding is over?” Many grant writers will want to answer glibly, “Write more grants, of course!” But, what should...

12 Aug Higher Education Grant Series: Starting Small and Dreaming Big: Developing Collaborative Grantsmanship at Small Universities

Posted at 22:17h in Competency Four, Competency Seven, Course Industries, Courses, Education, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Higher Education, IHE Series, Whitney Gray

Starting Small and Dreaming Big: Developing Collaborative Grantsmanship at Small Universities Session 2 of the IHE Starting an Office of Sponsored Research Series Starting Small and Dreaming Big will offer key considerations and practical advice for developing a collaborative culture of grantsmanship at small to medium-sized organizations....