#GPAConf16 & Silent Auction in Atlanta Nov. 9-12, 2016

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Congratulations again to all those who won a scholarship from the Grant Professionals Foundation (GPF) to attend the national Grant Professionals Association (GPA) conference in Atlanta from Nov. 9-12, 2016! Here are some comments from our fabulous #GPAConf16 scholars who are so excited to learn from, network with, and have fun with their fellow grant pros from around the world. All these Scholars will be volunteering at our annual Silent Auction at the conference, so stop by, congratulate them, and bid on some fantastic items and trips: http://bit.ly/2dRpRds. See you soon!

Debra Burns (Waynesboro, VA), Susan Kemp Memorial Scholarship: “Attending the GPA Conference will help me become a stronger grant writer who helps strong programs build even stronger communities.”

Nancy Ellis (Oro Valley, AZ), Arizona Founding Chapter Scholarship: “The GPF scholarship will help expand my education, absorb new ideas and network with other grant professionals in Atlanta!”

Matthew Fornoff (Tucson, AZ), GPF Scholarship: “First GPA Conference. Pumped to meet, network, learn, and improve my grant writing. Couldn’t have done it without a GPF scholarship! Thanks!”

Linda Maddox (Atlanta, GA), Peach State Scholarship: “Looking forward to attending the conference for the first time and actually meeting others who do what I do, which until I joined GPA was a pretty big challenge.”

Liz Ratchford (Factoryville, PA), Susan Kemp Memorial Scholarship: “The Grant Professionals Foundation scholarship will allow me to attend my first-ever grant conference and expand my grant skills! I am so excited to be attending the Grant Professionals Association conference, after 18 years I get to attend my first-ever grant conference!”

Laura Scott (Fargo, ND), GPF Scholarship: “The networking and professional development opportunities at #GPAConf16 are essential for #grantpros – so grateful!”

Rachel Smoka-Richardson (Minneapolis, MN), GPF Scholarship: “So grateful for the scholarship to the annual GPA conference – looking forward to learning some advanced grant writing skills.”

Karen Watkins-Watts (Brockton, MA), Chuck Howard Memorial Scholarship: “The GPF scholarship has a tremendous impact for me – allowing me to attend the conference in a tight budget year for my school district.”

Lisa Yalkut (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), South FL Chapter Scholarship: “Feeling humbled and happy and looking forward to honing skills, helpful discussions, hanging with peers, and having a blast in Atlanta! #Grantchat”

Are you a grant pro interested in applying for one of our scholarships in 2017? Find out more here: https://grantprofessionalsfoundation.org/. Many thanks to our compassionate donors and sponsors who make these scholarships possible.

 

GPF Silent Auction: See Your Name in Lights

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See Your Name in Lights!
The GPF Silent Auction is just around the corner! You can bid on some fantastic items to grow your craft, enjoy a night out, find adventure, and satisfy your taste buds.

  • Baskets and selections of food and wine, chocolates, and cheeses, jewelry, sports memorabilia, photography, and handcrafted items
  • Trips far and wide – to the beaches of North Carolina, California wine country, cabins in the Smokey Mountains, a condo in Cabo, a villa in France, an African safari, and more
  • Step up your grant game with GPA conference registrations, memberships, GPCI exam credits, books, webinars, and other grant resources to help you grow your skills as a grants professional beyond the conference

There are items perfect for gifting and things you’ll want to keep for yourself. Take a sneak peek at all your favorite items. Then, get ready to bid, bid, bid!

The Grant Professionals Foundation looks forward to seeing you in Atlanta!

Thank you GPF!

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The Grant Professionals Foundation Board received the following thank you letter. The author preferred to remain anonymous, but agreed to let us share it on our blog.

Dear Kimberly and the Board of the Grant Professionals Foundation,

After 15 months of working as the full-time grant writer for my organization, I am only just beginning to self-identify as a grant writer. To me – and I expect many others – grant writing is about developing and designing programs, which I’ve studied and done professionally. I’m learning that grant writers are an eclectic group with a wide variety of background stories and entry points into the profession.

My organization has a strong history of successful grant funding from public and private entities. This has provided an excellent learning opportunity that I expect will continue with my membership in the Grant Professionals Association. I love learning and improving my craft, especially when I can apply those skills in an organization and for a cause I truly believe in.

This is all my way of saying that I’m extremely excited to rub shoulders with other new and experienced grant writers and program planners, and I offer my sincerest thanks to the Grant Professionals Foundation for offering and awarding a scholarship to attend the upcoming annual conference in November.

Giving Back and the Ultimate Transaction

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Nancy BBy Nancy Battersby

2015 Leadership Member Scholar, St. Louis Chapter

Early in my career, a mentor surprised me by referring to our agency’s work with our clients as the “ultimate transaction”. As employees, many of us thought we were performing selfless work that benefited others. My mentor pointed out that we were receiving unsuspected rewards from our work, probably in greater quantity than what we had given. Our participants were teaching us and enriching our lives.

After that conversation I began seeing such transactions in other parts of my life: my service club, volunteer projects and in my professional associations. In these I received much more than I gave. GPA is one of these.

Throughout my years as a member I have been continually grateful for the ways GPA has fostered my professional development through training events, conferences, advice from colleagues, publications, and resources that are constantly useful. More importantly, however, I realized that each time I invested my time or talents, value came back to me.

I “retired” from non-profit work a few years ago, intending to be a consultant and write grants part-time. However, as they say, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Shortly after beginning this new chapter in my life, my husband’s company unexpectedly closed, dramatically reducing our household income. Fortunately though, my grant business began to take off. While my business was building, watching our budget was crucial. When I heard about the availability of scholarships to renew my GPA membership, I gratefully applied.

I was pleased and relieved to have a membership scholarship awarded to me. I was also even more committed to giving back and to helping build the field.

I serve on our chapter’s board, as a chapter officer and a committee chair. I provide communications and newsletters to our chapter members and act as registrar for our events. Recently I also presented one of our chapter’s monthly program seminars.

In good “ultimate transaction” fashion though, the Grant Professionals Association provided much more in return. It has given me mentors and guides, inspiration, heights to aspire to, training, information, and a network of support.

Through studying for the GPC exam and the certification process, GPA increased my confidence in my abilities and helped me see the value of my skills. It has urged me on and motivated me to resist my insecurities (like fear of public speaking) and provided new friends.

I owe a great deal of my success and my satisfaction in my work to my relationship with GPA. I encourage others to think about their own GPA relationship and recognize both sides of this transaction in our professional lives. Whatever we invest in our organization comes back to us many times over.