LEAD Panel Discussion reveals tips to successful grant writing for businesses

[July 25, 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.

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]