Grant Professionals Foundation Scholarship
While this year has presented its fair share of
challenges, one particular highlight was my attendance at the 2020 GPA National
Conference. Like most members of the nonprofit sector, the past few months have
forced me to be flexible, resilient, and almost completely alter my original
grants pipeline I had developed back in September of 2019. Working in the world
of hunger relief, we have certainly experienced an unprecedented increase in
local food insecurity rates, with the state of Indiana being no exception. Consequently,
my organization has been busier than even trying to make our food output
meeting the growing need in our service area. With all of this going on at the
same time, it was such a gift to spend three days this past November learning
from fellow grant professionals, growing in my field, and gathering best
practices that I can use to help improve my own work for years to come.
I originally became involved with my local GPA chapter
back in 2018 when I began my first position as a grant professional. I
thoroughly enjoyed getting to know my fellow colleagues and talking about the
things that only a grant writer would understand. I am sure I speak for a lot
of people when I say that most of my friends and family are not familiar with
the minutia that comes with writing/managing a grant department. After
attending monthly meetings on a regular basis, I became the board member in
charge of programming for the Indiana Chapter starting in January of 2020. At
the time, we had no idea how drastically we would have to switch up our
schedule of events to provide more virtual opportunities, but it has been a
great experience nonetheless. Not only have I been able to participate in
professional development sessions, but I have also been able to connect to a wide
network of brilliant leaders throughout the nonprofit sector. Maintaining such
a great experience just throughout the state level, I knew I would benefit from
connecting with fantastic professionals dedicated to their craft across the entire
country. It came as no surprise, but I experienced that same level of
connection with the national conference this year.
I was a little skeptical about how the switch to a
virtual model would affect our ability to network with other colleagues,
particularly since this would be my first time attending the conference. While
I certainly missed connecting with people in person (not to mention traveling
to Denver for a mini-getaway), I thought the Pathable platform was an excellent
method for inspiring togetherness even when we were not in the same room. It was
even more accessible for those that are typically unable to travel but could
attend a conference from the comfort of their own living room! I was able to
interact with several online text threads, contribute to chat messages, and
even participate in one on one meetings with fellow attendees I met throughout
various other sessions. I loved the ability to earn points and track your
progress along with the contest leadership board – a healthy level of
competition is always an inspiring motivator! Because we were able to view
where each grant professional worked, I reached out to several food bank
colleagues to hear about their experience writing grants in the realm of
charitable hunger relief. I am not often able to connect with other members in
the food bank industry, especially those whose roles parallel my own. While I
loved hearing and learning about the work of grant professionals in other
businesses like arts organizations, advocacy groups, etc., I thoroughly enjoyed
getting to hear from colleagues that experience similar challenges and
expectations as I do (a little commiseration is always welcome). I have even
been able to host virtual meetings with colleagues over the past few weeks
since the conference has ended. With this being my first time attending, I can
only imagine how many connections I will continue to make each year.
The congeniality and overall amiable quality of the
conference was heightened by the model leadership exemplified by Mike
Chamberlain, Amanda Day, and of course the witty, motivational style of Jess
Pettitt. Their level of care toward the conference and GPA members was evident
in their professionality and poise as they kicked off every morning with a
healthy dose of optimism. While we were unable to share a meal together in
person, I appreciate the availability of virtual lunch break assemblies, with
topics ranging from the wide variety of interests displayed by attendees. I
myself enjoyed conversations had while participating in the Human Services and
Grant Management breakrooms. One could also tell the conference was planned by
people who truly understood the needs of those that work in the grant profession,
because all of the sessions provided extremely relevant topics to a wide
variety of different organizations and a range of experiences from early career
members all the way to professionals who have been working with grants for
decades. I found myself having a difficult time deciding which ones to pick at
certain points during the week, which is why I plan on checking out session
recordings while they are still available!
In my field, I particularly enjoy topics surrounding
data collection and usage. My own organization is currently in the process of
trying to collect more client-centric data, ensuring we utilize this
information to inform our programming and best serve the people that need it most.
In the past, we typically have concentrated on the number of pounds distributed
and individuals served. However, as we focus more on nutrition and the effect
of healthy foods on chronic conditions related to hunger, we are intent on
measuring factors related to a client’s understanding of a balanced diet, the
number of clients experiencing heart disease, hypertension, or diabetes, and
access to the nearest healthy food retailer. Since hunger disproportionately
affects disadvantaged populations like rural communities, seniors, and People
of Color (POC), we are increasingly interested in collecting data relevant to
these demographics. As such, I attended quite a few sessions regarding data and
evaluation, gleaning valuable information that I can use to help my
organization cater to the specific needs of the clients we serve.
We are also embarking on a campaign over the next
several years, so I was grateful for sessions related to this topic –
especially considering how new I still am to the field. Another relevant subject
to my work includes integrating a grants team strategy into organizational
goals. In early 2019, we launched a 5-year strategic plan intended to outline
our role in closing the meal gap for central and southern Indiana while
convening with local social service organizations to develop holistic solutions
for Hoosiers living in poverty. I was grateful to attend session relevant to strategic
plans, which will help me strengthen our grant team’s role over the next few
years in accomplishing long-term objectives. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed
every session I attended, having put a lot of thought into the ones I would
most enjoy in a live setting. I am also grateful for the continued professional
development I will receive as I watch other sessions I was unable to observe during
the conference.
I am so incredibly grateful to the Grant Professionals Foundation for providing me with a scholarship to attend my very first conference. Without this funding, I would most likely not have been able to join, thereby missing out on a great community and a wealth of knowledge. Every colleague I had spoken to prior to the conference that had attended in previous years spoke quite highly of this resource and attested to its positive effect on long-term professional outcomes. I can assuredly say that my experience lived up to the high expectations established by my peers. My organization has quite a few large-scale projects coming up over the next few years, requiring an increasingly sophisticated and capable advancement team needed to raise funds for these plans. With the tools and best practices learned throughout the course of this conference, I feel more confident as a grant writer and fundraiser in my ability to effectively communicate our case for support, utilize data to highlight the need for our services, and help establish strategic solutions that truly cater to the people we serve. Thank you to GPF as well as everyone involved in planning the 2020 GPA National Conference for an experience that I will remember throughout my entire career.
More information about Conference Scholarships, including application dates and eligibility criteria, is available here.