01 Mar

Posted at 21:33h in Competency One, Federal Grants, Julie Assel, GPC
Here at Assel Grant Services, we don’t just write many successful federal grants each year. Many of our clients are receiving their first federal grant or their first federal grant in the last five years. One of the reasons so many agencies large and small come to us is because we keep up with the constantly evolving federal government trends. So, what do we look for and how can you keep up on the departments most relevant to you?

01 Mar

Posted at 21:20h in Competency One, Funder Relations, Funding, Hayley Waynick, GPC, Research, Strategy
FindingYourBestMatch.com Determining if a funder is right for your program If you happen to be in the dating “scene” in this highly digital age, it can be hard to determine from just an online profile whether you and a potential mate are going to be compatible. Or perhaps a friend or acquaintance has someone they want you to meet and claims they’d be perfect for you. As a grant writer, you might find yourself in a similar situation when you’ve found a funder online who seems to be a perfect match for the services at your nonprofit organization.

25 Feb

Posted at 23:59h in AGS Staff, Budgets, Competency Two, Federal Grants, Organizational Readiness
During my experience working for and in partnership with nonprofit organizations, one common thread is the perpetuation of a “scarcity mindset.” This mindset is based on the idea that nonprofits exist to help others in need and serve the greater good, therefore, staff and anything they might need to do their jobs (salaries, benefits, training) is often last on the list of funding priorities.

17 Feb

Posted at 17:26h in Competency Two, Evaluation, Organizational Readiness, Thomas Assel, GPC
In a previous post, Julie Alsup, GPC looked at competency 2.2 through a budget lens. For this post, I’ll look at an agency’s readiness to seek project funding through an evaluation lens. Evaluation is crucial to project sustainability, a key factor in grant requests. Carefully considering project evaluation can help an agency obtain grant dollars for a project.

17 Feb

Posted at 16:06h in Budgets, Competency Two, Julie Alsup, GPC, Organizational Readiness
Many seasoned grant reviewers will tell you that they start with the budget. I believe this is why a discussion of GPC competency two, assessing an organization’s readiness to obtain funding to implement specific projects, should also begin with a discussion of budget. A deep understanding of the budget is necessary to communicate need to potential funders. The grant writer can help assess and advance readiness in the following ways.

22 Jan

Posted at 18:23h in Grants in Action, Industry News, Success Stories
YMCA of Greater Kansas City was recently awarded a $150,000 grant, over 3 years from the Best Buy Teen Tech Center to launch a Best Buy Teen Tech Center and offer programming designed for teenagers to learn in a non-traditional way, with training in Music, Multimedia, Video, Graphics, Digital Photography, Engineering and Animation. Teens will leverage technology to develop projects based on their own interests such as creating art; producing music and animations; designing their own science simulations and mobile applications; writing and illustrating interactive poetry, stories and films; building kinetic sculptures and robotic constructions; and designing their own 3D worlds and games. These interactive learning spaces will help teens explore technology to discover new interests, collaborate with one another and prepare for the future.

10 Jan

Posted at 22:45h in Grants in Action, Industry News, Success Stories
Wichita Children’s Home (WCH) was recently awarded a $150,000 grant from the Department Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Street Outreach Program to provide prevention and intervention services to runaway, homeless, and street youth who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, and severe forms of trafficking in persons.

02 Jan

Posted at 22:46h in Grants in Action, Industry News, Success Stories
Truman Heritage Habitat for Humanity (THHFH) recently received a grant for $100,000 from the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Habitat for Humanity International Capacity Grant to support a new, full-time Aging In Place (AIP) Coordinator. THHFH will hire a new, full-time Aging In Place (AIP) Coordinator to assist with increasing the portfolio of family services available and help relieve some of the administrative burden of the construction team (intake, paperwork, contracts, assessments, and other reporting). The position will not have any construction duties, only administrative and home assessment duties. This new position is critical to increasing operational efficiency, expanding needed services for our clients, and capitalizing on partnership opportunities.