24 Jun

Posted at 17:08h in Competency Seven, GPC Credential, Grants Management, Kellie Brunguard, Professional Development, Professionalism
Have you ever stopped to consider the reasons why you sign up for webinars, attain or continue to maintain your grant professional certification (GPC), or set out to learn an entirely new skill set (like project management)? For some, an employer prioritizes professional development and encourages developing a training plan. Perhaps your certification or licensure requires continuing education. Do you ever feel like you are taking action (e.g., attending workshops or reading professional articles) but it’s not adding up? Are you missing a sense of accomplishment? Actions without a bigger picture may seem productive in the short term, but they may not connect with your larger goals or leave you feeling like you haven’t made progress. Identifying your “why” may be the missing piece.

25 May

Posted at 11:15h in Community, Competency Seven, Organizational Development, Professional Development, Professional Development
I attended Laura Cochran’s session, “Work with Your Brain: How to Accommodate Your Neurodiversity,” at GrantSummit 2023 with a minimal understanding of neurodiversity and its relevance in my life. Laura’s opening line was, “If you’re wondering if you should be in this room or if the topic applies to you, you’re probably in the right place!” The room was filled with grant professionals identifying as neurodivergent (someone identifying as being neurodiverse) or exploring the concept. Participants spoke about their professional and workplace challenges, accommodations that have helped their workflow, and the strengths and weaknesses of those identifying as neurodiverse.

29 Apr

Posted at 18:00h in Competency Seven, Kellie Brunguard, Professional Development, Professionalism
If you were to ask grant professionals how they arrived at their current position/role, most would laugh and relate a roundabout journey. Grant Professional is not at the top of the list of jobs to which children, youth, and teens aspire. Many of us find ourselves working as grant professionals by way of degrees in journalism, education, social work, and even the STEM fields. Through our various career paths in nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and social service agencies, grant professionals develop unique skills and have various areas of expertise and specialization that support our grantsmanship work. As a result, there are many professional certifications that benefit the grants profession. Certifications help uplift the profession by establishing a level of knowledge and ethical practices and acknowledging experience and expertise within an industry. Below is an overview of professional credentials related to the grants profession and the requirements for obtaining them.

03 Mar

Posted at 18:00h in Competency Seven, Professionalism, Shauna O'Toole
“For starters, we would like it to be known that it’s International Grant Professionals Day. Many people, even other fundraisers, have not heard of such a day.”  That’s just one of the responses I got when I posed this question to my fellow grant pros - “What do you really want on International Grant Professionals Day? In other words, what could employers and the philanthropic sector do that would really make you take notice?” Their* answers fell into five categories:

18 Feb

Posted at 18:00h in Competency Eight, Competency Seven, Megan Campbell, Relationships, Strategy
Defining Small Nonprofits: Whether a nonprofit or not-for-profit, a charitable organization’s “size” is not determined by its facility, number of staff, or services to the public but by the size of its operating budget. Large organizations have operating budgets in the $10- $50MM range, while organizations with annual budgets of $5MM or less are considered small. Large, nationally affiliated organizations tend to get the lion’s share of public recognition and visibility; however, they are not representative of the U.S. nonprofit sector as a whole. In fact, the National Council of Nonprofits reports that 92% of organizations within the nonprofit sector are small organizations with annual revenue of less than $1MM. Yet the reality is that all charitable organizations depend on public and private support (i.e., government or private grants, individual donations, in-kind gifts, volunteers) to achieve their missions, and small organizations often grapple with how to compete in a market publicly dominated by their larger counterparts.

06 Jan

Posted at 18:00h in Competency Seven, Industry News, Kellie Brunguard, Professionalism
Burnout. That’s another buzzword like quiet quitting or hustle culture, right? Actually, burnout has been around for a long while, recognized in the healthcare and social service industries. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes burnout as an occupational phenomenon (though it’s not recognized as a medical condition). WHO defines burnout as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed. It’s characterized by feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion, increased mental distance from one’s job or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.” In 2020, three grant professionals (Bachman, Planton, and Rodgers) set out to identify the prevalence of burnout among the grant profession. Their findings were published in the Fall 2020 Journal of the Grant Professionals Association, showing a gap in available information as well as initial research indicating more than three in four grant professionals experience physical symptoms, socio-emotional symptoms, or both, of burnout.

13 Nov

Posted at 06:01h in Competency Seven, Professional Development, Professionalism, Shauna O'Toole
“Will I see you at GrantSummit?” This year, for the first time, my answer was “Yes.” In early November 2023, I attended GrantSummit (formerly known as the Grant Professionals Association (GPA) Annual Conference) in Kansas City, Missouri. This multi-day conference is the premier professional development event for grant professionals in the U.S. I have attended this conference before as a virtual attendee, but this year was my first experience traveling to the event. I have three key takeaways from my in-person experience:

30 Oct

Posted at 16:58h in Competency Seven, Kellie Brunguard, Professional Development, Professionalism
Know Before You Go This year, GrantSummit is bringing all the grant pros to our hometown, Kansas City, Missouri! Assel Grant Services (AGS) is based here in the Heartland Chapter with staff spanning Kansas to Virginia and from Ohio down to Kentucky. If this is your first time in Kansas City, keep reading for insider tips on restaurants and things to see.

12 Oct

Posted at 10:47h in Competency Seven, Competency Six, Consulting, Courses, Ethics, Ethics, GPCI Competencies, Grant Training Series, Grant Writing, How-To, Michele Ryan

    Grant Ethics: Grant Ethics for Prospect Research and Funder Relationships Session 2 of the Grant Ethics Series Have you ever been uncomfortable applying to a foundation which didn’t seem to really match your organization’s profile? Many nonprofit professionals are pressured into writing to foundations who don’t match...