Tag Archive for: International Grant Professionals Day!

International Grant Professionals Day 2018

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PRESS RELEASE

International Grant Professionals Day – March 9, 2018

Overland Park, KS: The Grant Professionals Association (GPA) announces the fourth annual International Grant Professionals Day to be held on March 9, 2018. International Grant Professionals Day increases awareness internationally of the work grant professionals perform as well as celebrates the work of grant professionals, who serve as administrators, consultants, managers, grant-makers, and writers.

Every day, grant professionals work diligently, usually behind the scenes, to seek grant opportunities, administer projects and implement important programs for the benefit of society’s disadvantaged and underserved people. These talented professionals are dedicated to providing the highest standard of ethics, quality program development, thoughtful project implementation and wise financial stewardship. Often, those standards extend beyond the mere financial and include capacity support, long-term solutions to challenges, fundraising assistance, expert project management, sustainable programming and so much more.

“Please join me in celebrating International Grant Professionals Day. Grant professionals are actively involved in making things happen in our society, from public works to helping the less fortunate. All of us are impacted by the hard work that grant professionals accomplish to make our communities better. Please take some time to thank a grant professional today.” stated Jo Miller, GPC-President of GPA.

Events planned for March 9, 2018 encourage grant professionals and their organizations to celebrate themselves, the profession and highlight important issues faced by grant professionals.

GPA is a professional organization that builds and supports a community of grant professionals committed to serving the greater public good. We have partnered in this effort with GPCI, the grant profession’s organization that is dedicated to promoting competency and ethical practices within the field of grantsmanship, and the Grant Professionals Foundation (GPF), the fundraising partner ensuring that resources are available to train, credential and advocate for all grant professionals.

For more information, visit the International Grant Professionals Week web page at www.grantprofessionals.org/igpd.

For Immediate Release Contact:

Kelli Romero, Membership & Marketing Director

Grant Professionals Association

kelli@grantprofessionals.org

(913) 788-3000

Developing International Relationships for International Grants

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By Pat Christian – Executive Director

Caleb Missionary Relief Services in Decatur GA
info@calebmissionaryrelief.org

 

This blog brought to you as part of International Grant Professionals Week, when we focus on how grant professionals “make the world a better place, one grant at a time“.

 

For two decades, I’ve worked in the humanitarian educational sector globally. I’ve had the privilege of being the founder and executive director of a small international nonprofit organization that has impacted thousands of children in Haiti through education. I’ve also served as the grants administrator/writer and successfully obtained grants to improve the quality of education of children in Haiti. These grants built a new school after the earthquake, provided clean drinking water, decreased learning gaps, and established a hunger response program.

 

The guidelines for writing an international grant are similar to a domestic grant, but the grant process is different. Eighteen years ago, I attended a PVO Partnership workshop in Virginia hosted by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that provided pertinent information on their grant programs for the upcoming fiscal year. One consistent point of discussion among the smaller NGOs at the workshop was their ability to compete against the larger NGOs for USAID grant funds. USAID recommended the small NGOs form collaborative partnerships with the large NGOs with organizational capacity to manage USAID grants. This strategy provided access for me to secure international grant awards and brought new investment to our mission.

 

Many large international NGOs have local offices in host countries. These country offices are responsible for the management of grant-funded programs. Also, large NGOs will collaborate with other NGOs to implement their program initiatives. Developing relationships must take place with the NGOs’ Country Offices and Country Directors. This focus on relationships works: I have successfully done so, submitted a grant, and then received a portion to implement the initiative. It’s a win-win-win!

 

The importance of relationships was critical after the earthquake in Haiti and resulted in prioritized funds. This disaster caused collapsed school buildings and deaths. Afterward, the government required school buildings to be more earthquake proof during post reconstruction. The school our organization sponsors was thankfully not in an area affected by the quake, but it was poorly constructed and created a health risk for students. The needs assessment addressed several structural building violations and created a sense of urgency that resulted in a grant eights month later but obtaining this grant was based on several key factors such as:

  • Submitting a well-written grant proposal to the corporate NGO office in the US
  • Developing a relationship with the country office
  • Traveling by car on a bumpy road for eight hours to another section in Haiti to develop a relationship with the NGO grant manager
  • Developing relationships with people in the corporate office in the US
  • Documenting every expenditure

 

The grant was awarded in four phases and took almost an entire year to receive full funding. After each stage of the award, the NGO grant manager would inspect the project. All funds had to be accounted for prior to receiving the next phase of the grant. This type of distribution in not uncommon when working cross-culturally with nationals where there is a lack of accountability in the leadership of the host country.

 

In closing, building effective international relationships can tap significant resources for development and humanitarian response and make the process easier to secure funding.

 

March 14-18, 2016 International Grant Professionals Week – Let’s Celebrate!

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March 14-18, 2016 is an important week for many reasons to grant professionals. International Grant Professionals Week and Day is an annual celebration to recognize and show appreciation for the work done by all grant professionals. It is one week out of the year we turn our attention to our field, our colleagues, and our “reason for being”. We encourage you to celebrate administrators, consultants, managers, grantmakers, and grant proposal developers.

 

Grant professionals work in full-time and part-time positions. We are CEOs and program directors and development professionals. We work as consultants, volunteers, and program officers. Grant pros do it all! But regardless of your role, International Grant Professionals Week (#IGPD/W) is all about you!

 

We have lots planned for the week and many ways for you to get involved.

  • Monday, March 14: via our social media channels, we explain grants and the importance of grant profession.
  • Tuesday, March 15: GPA Chapters across the country will host community events. Some will offer free professional development sessions.
  • Wednesday, March 16: via Blab the international community will entertain, engage, and share stories on our LIVE All Things Grant channel.
  • Thursday, March 17: our corporate and nonprofit community partners will wow us with their products, and services. You will want to see what our partners have cooked up for you!
  • Friday, March 18: our day to shine! We’ll honor and recognize grant pros around the world, and we’ll celebrate the more than $700B we raise every year. Follow and engage in the celebrations on social media!

 

GPA Chapters, community organization, and government agencies: celebrate and show your appreciation with the #IGPD toolkit, created just for you!

 

Businesses, municipalities, universities, and nonprofits: join us in this effort and become a #IGPW partner for free!

 

If you know or love a grant professional, acknowledge the work they do to “Make the world a better place, one grant at a time.” Join in the celebrations for #IGPW 2016!

 

How Does Earning Your GPC Demonstrate Appreciation for Grant Professionals?

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Charlisa Garg, GPC

Principal Consultant, Middle Branch Consulting

charli@middlebranchconsulting.com

March, 2015

March is a busy month for grants professionals!

In addition to dealing with our typical high-octane workloads (is anyone else as grateful to the caffeine gods as I am?), this week we are excited to celebrate the first annual International Grants Professionals Week (#IGPW) March 16-20, 2015. #IGPW is an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the impact of grant professionals, administrators, consultants, managers, grant makers, and grant writers around the world. Simultaneously, the Grant Professionals Certification Institute is celebrating #31Days of GPC during the whole month of March to highlight the benefits of earning the GPC credential. It’s a good week and month to be a grant pro!

I have eagerly awaited each new installment of the #31DaysofGPC YouTube videos to learn why these grant professionals, some with more than 40 years of experience, chose to get credentialed and how they felt the process has benefitted them and the profession. It made me reflect upon my personal decision to sit for the GPC exam and on how becoming a GPC has helped both my professional development and the growth and reputation of my consulting practice. After a first career in advocacy and legislative affairs, a volunteer assignment at my community hospital opened my eyes to a new field that allowed me to utilize my writing and analytical skills while helping various nonprofits fund their missions. In my efforts to learn more and provide the highest quality services to my growing roster of clients, I discovered and joined GPA. I learned about the GPC and thought that earning that credential would be a way not only prove to myself (and my clients) that I was a proficient and skilled grants professional but also a way to differentiate myself from other consultants. Preparing for the exam pushed me outside of my normal scope-of-practice to learn more about the federal grants process and program evaluation while reinforcing my skills in program planning and budgeting. As a nonprofit consultant with a limited (read: non-existent) marketing budget, the GPC is a professional “seal of approval” (as stated in one of the #31Days videos). I feel it was and remains well worth its cost in time and fees to attain.

Watching the #31Days videos also made me consider how earning my GPC dovetails with the goals of #IGPW: to enhance the prestige of our profession and to celebrate and recognize the impact of grant professionals worldwide. What better way to achieve this than to strive for more and more grant professionals to gain their GPC credential?

Must a grant professional hold the credential to be successful and good at their job? No, but the GPC raises the credibility of the grants profession as a whole, and the more GPCs there are, the better the field is for all grant professionals. What’s more –

  • I RECOGNIZE the value of my GPC on a personal and professional level.
  • I APPRECIATE the thought and hard work of the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI) that went into planning and establishing the GPC in the first place.
  • GPCI’s continued efforts to attract more applicants and to take the GPC credential to next level by exploring accreditation through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies will further ENHANCE the visibility of the GPC as a broadly recognized, objective and current benchmark of ethical grants professionalism.

As #IGPW comes to a close on Friday (International Grant Professionals Day!), I want to thank each and every grant pro reading this blog. I recognize what you do, and the impact you make every day. Your work is both powerful and priceless because you change the world one grant at a time. If you are not a GPC already, I urge you to consider sitting for the exam. If you are on the fence, or unsure of the benefit of earning your GPC, watch the #31DaysofGPC videos or send me an email. Let’s keep this conversation going.

Happy International Grant Professionals Week!