Grant Professionals and Project Champions Collaborative Strategy Session
Future of Toledo Project Champions, Coordinators, and Grant Writing Professionals came together on May 8, 2013 for the Future of Toledo Initiative’s Grant Readiness Summit. There was an amazing energy amongst everyone in the room as they learned how we can move the 15 project teams to the next level (http://tinyurl.com/CoT2013Strategy).
The day kicked off with a wonderful presentation on grant basics by Diane Leonard of DH Leonard Consulting. The presentation stressed the need for preparation and collaboration to make the funding search as successful as possible.
Grant Readiness Summit Presentation: http://tinyurl.com/FoTGrantSlides0508
Diane stressed the need for solid data because “the best way to paint a picture of Toledo for people who don’t live here is through statistics.” Significant research has to be done before a grant application can be put together. The teams need to gather and assemble the appropriate data to move forward.
First DRAFT Grant Readiness Report: http://tinyurl.com/FoTGrantDraftReport0508
Diane Leonard, along with her supporting partner Heather Stombaugh of Just-Write Solutions, spent a large amount of time discussing how to build a relationship with funders and how the application process works. Diane said that there is a lot that goes into being grant ready. There is a process of careful planning to get to a solid grant application.
There were many questions. Diane and Heather answered some questions, and encouraged the participants to write additional questions on flip charts. All the questions were compiled along with the answers, and can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/FoTGrantQA0508
To conclude the morning session, Diane provided examples of funder information that various groups might be qualified to seek. She divided the room into groups to mimic possible collaborative teams around those examples. These smaller groups discussed how they would go about applying to a particular funder, why they would apply to that funder, and how they could collaborate with each other to write a strong application.
The afternoon was set aside for a strategy session with the grant writing professionals. Diane Leonard led the group through a conversation that began the journey of designing a grant application process.
As the Future of Toledo Initiative moves into the funding stage, the project teams need to work together to make each grant application as strong as possible. To achieve this, the Future of Toledo Initiative is reaching out to the design team, and grant writing professionals willing to volunteer their time, to begin designing the grant application process. After the initial design is completed, the process will be presented to the whole group for additional feedback, and tested by guiding a few teams through the application process. Once the process is tested and complete, we will be ready to move forward with the rest of the projects as they become ready, as well as any future projects.
Overall, the day was highly productive for everyone involved. There are clear steps laid out that will truly help take the FoT Initiative to the next level.
- Morning Session Meeting Minutes: http://tinyurl.com/FoTGrantMorng0508
- Afternoon Session Meeting Minutes: http://tinyurl.com/FoTGrantAftrn0508
