LEAD Panel Discussion reveals tips to
successful grant writing for businesses
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[July 24, 2023]
A
grant writing seminar, hosted by LEAD (Lincoln Economic Advancement
and Development) and the Small Business Coalition, was held at
Flossie & Delzena’s Thursday evening. The seminar was for people
looking to apply for grant money to support their small businesses.
LEAD CEO and Executive Director Andrea Runge gathered a panel of
four local experts on grant writing. The first of these experts was
Tremont First National Bank President/Chief Executive Officer June
Kidd. The second was Lincoln Memorial Hospital Director of Community
Health Angela Stoltzenburg. Lincoln Park District Executive Director
Becky Strait. The last expert was Millikin University Associate
Professor of Professional Writing Julie Collins Bates, PhD.
The way the seminar was organized, Andrea asked the panelists
questions to which they provided an answer. This was the majority of
the seminar but provided a large amount of very useful information.
One of the questions Andrea asked involved what percentage of grants
that are written get funded. The answer to this question varied from
less than 50 percent to almost all of them. It entirely depends on
the type of grant you are looking for. One of the panelists stated
she had luck applying for smaller grants in the range of one to five
thousand dollars. The overall message, however, was to not get
discouraged if your grant applications are denied.
Another question involved whether one should apply
for grants before they have all the details of the project they are
trying to get funded, or vice versa. The panelists agreed having
your idea fleshed out before applying is important, but grants can
be flexible in what they cover. As the evening progressed, the
audience learned more about this topic. Some grants are for
extremely specific businesses or ideas, and the panelists encouraged
the audience to search for these, as they may not realize they
qualify for certain grants. Another panelist urged a member of the
audience to make sure they knew exactly what their grant was going
toward. If changes needed to be made to the way the money was to be
spent, make sure to reach out to the program that offered the grant
and request that change be approved before spending the money.
Another interesting question asked by Andrea involved balancing the
amount of data (dollar amounts, number of customers, etc.) and
storytelling (how your business has impacted the community) when
writing a grant. The answers to this question varied, as all of the
panelists agreed both were just as important. The data is what is
going to help someone make the case that the money is going to be
spent wisely. On the other hand, the storytelling aspect shows what
the business has provided the community and why the community needs
it.
The last ten minutes of the seminar were set aside
for the members of the audience to ask the panel questions. A
question was asked regarding where grants can be found to apply for.
Andrea provided everyone a resource sheet. A few of the links on the
sheet were websites where you can search for grants.
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L to R: Angela Stoltzenburg,
Dr. Julie Bates,
Becky Strait, June Kidd, and Andrea Runge
Another audience member asked if the grant writing
process gets easier the more you do it, to which the panel said yes.
So much information has to be provided when writing a grant that,
once you have it organized, you don’t have to go searching for it
again once you finish the first grant.
Marcia Cook and Nicole Stevens
Once the presentation was over, several of the people
in attendance stuck around to talk and eat the snacks that were
provided. Two of these attendees, Nicole “Nikki” Stevens of Zinful
Confections, and Marcia Cook of the Lincoln Arts Institute and the
Moksha Center. When asked what she learned from the seminar, Stevens
stated “just that grants are available for a business like mine. I
always think grants are more like a nonprofit or more if you’re
doing something to help the community. I always think that what I
do, oh it’s just food, but it does help the community.” When asked
the same question, Cook said “to apply [for grants] early and to
have multiple people review it.”
The seminar was very informative, and the panel was
very knowledgeable on the topic of grant writing. LEAD will be
putting on another seminar next month on the topic of managing
credit card fees as a business. This seminar will be on August 22nd
at Logan Lanes and will go from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
[Matt Boutcher]
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