Grant Writing & Funding

D Abshire: 00:11

And welcome to the Grant Writing and Funding podcast and YouTube channel. I am Dee and I'm the guest host today and this episode is being sponsored by the Freelance Grant Writer Academy because we're doing a case study and today I'm welcome welcoming Karen McCall who joined the academy a few months ago and has had some amazing results. Karen, welcome to the show. I'm so glad you're here.

Karen M: 00:33

Thanks Coach Dee. I appreciate being here and being able to be a part.

D Abshire: 00:37

Fun, fun, fun. Well Karen, you know, tell us what you were doing before you joined the Academy and why were you even interested in joining?

Karen M: 00:45

Sure. So, I had been working with nonprofits for, Lord, at least around twenty years maybe. And that's only been two that I was involved with long term, but the last one that I was involved with, I ended up taking over as Executive Director right when COVID started and had a big huge learning curve. One of the people that I would get emails from and follow ended up having Holly Rustic on his program. So that's how I learned about the Freelance Grant Writing Academy.

Karen M: 01:22

She just always had amazing things. So I always put off joining and would get these emails like, I feel like the universe is telling me I need to join. So, as we got through COVID, I decided that we needed to look at our strategic planning and I ended up joining Holly's course thinking, You know what, we're going to move into more grant writing because we didn't do a ton of that with the I did some of it, but not a ton. And then also work on her strategic plan because I really liked how she set it up. Everything that she does is so well organized.

Karen M: 02:02

So, I did work through that with our organization, but that's really when I signed up. And then stayed pretty busy. I had tried to start the master grant application back then and just ran out of time because when you're an ED, you're wearing way too many hats. So, I finally decided to retire from that organization and still want to be able to help nonprofits. I needed to have a more flexible schedule and do some other things, help some family members that have gotten elderly.

Karen M: 02:33

That is why I have continued to be a member and join, because I feel like this is a way I can hopefully sustain myself, but also still have an impact on all these areas like environmental education and conservation, which is where I was working in the nonprofit sector before.

D Abshire: 02:51

Certainly. So that's a big transition moving out of being an ED for an organization and going through COVID. It's another transition. Then moving into, I'm going to do this on my own. Big Oh, life change.

D Abshire: 03:04

So, you know, with that, with all those changes, and that was such an impactful time in all of our lives, was there anything that you were on the fence about before you joined the academy? And, you know, really, you've kind of already told me a little bit about why decided to join, but certainly tell me more about that. What was the impetus behind that?

Karen M: 03:22

Well, I think I felt like I spent so much of my energy and time trying to get us through COVID that it really took a toll on my health and I was really starting to feel burned out and knew I was going to need to probably transition out into something else. Like I said, because I kept getting these emails to join all the time, was like, I feel like this is a sign and I enjoy writing. So, I thought, you know what? This would be a good transition out. So, I went ahead and signed up and again, decided to continue after I left the organization because I felt like I could do this on my own and as a grant writer that is on my own business, but with the help from the Academy because it's just an amazing resource on many levels.

D Abshire: 04:09

Lovely. It's lovely to hear that. I really, I heard now twice that the thing that was that moved you forward and not even necessarily that you were on the fence, the thing that helped move you forward was the emails that you were getting, the communication that you were getting, how and the what, and you can do this kind of suggestions you were getting from Holly. That's lovely. You know, what are some of the specific results that you've gotten from joining, or you've gotten since you've joined and really got busy on your own here?

Karen M: 04:38

Yeah, I think going through the core curriculum on setting up your business and just trying to figure out, I was very aware of mission statements and value statements and all these things from being in the nonprofit, but to try to come up with that on your own. I also do an art business, so what I'm learning in this also translates to that. I was like, Oh, I do need to have a focus, which I can get very scattered. So it really helped me hone in and focus on just picking a few things and putting together just a few packages instead of offering the farm. Her steps to go through that were really clear and they overwhelming.

Karen M: 05:18

But then also the support from you all, from the coaches and also from other Academy members so that you find out you're not the only one in this place and you can get information or tag team with people. And so that is a huge strength of the program too.

D Abshire: 05:35

Yeah, that's lovely. And the community, know y'all love Thank you for speaking to that. Really since joining, what's changed in your business and your life because of those results, because of some of the little wins that you've had through these last several months?

Karen M: 05:51

Well, think it's been good for me to be able to again stay focused and go through some of the self coaching things that you all do to keep going forward when I have my self doubts. I really feel that as I start to get more clients on board that I can really make this happen and prove to myself that I can do it. And so, it's opened up and helped me with my self confidence as well as, Okay, I can do this and I can figure out my schedule and I can still have time to help my mom and do these other things that keep pulling me and do it in such a way that I still can do self care, which is something that was getting really pushed to the side before and is extremely important for everybody's health, but especially mine. So, it's given me that kind of flexibility and again an opportunity to have an impact in a more personal way in more than just one organization or avenue. I can always donate to organizations, but it's different when I can write a grant for something, be it health or be it the environment or conservation or reading or whatever that case may be, you know, programs.

Karen M: 07:14

So it kind of helps me be a little bit more broad ranging and who I can support at a deeper level.

D Abshire: 07:23

Yeah, hear that broad ranging and a mix and a nice balance of the intangibles and the tangibles.

Karen M: 07:30

Yeah, and I think the master grant application and working through all the workshops that we do has really helped kind of especially understand things from a grant reviewers perspective and things that they look for that I felt like I knew, but just really have a better understanding of that too.

D Abshire: 07:49

Wonderful, wonderful. That was going to be my next question, so you just queued me up perfectly here. What are the one to three top features of the program that have been the most helpful for you? So obviously the Master Grant application template.

Karen M: 08:03

Yeah, the coaching calls are great, Being able to have those forums, I mean, really it's hard to just say three, I would say two, I haven't been able to do many of the workshops during the day, but when I have, those have always been really informative. And again, just feeling community and part of a group and understanding that you're not the only one struggling and celebrating each other's wins. I know when my membership was about to expire, was like, well, don't know if I still want to do this and maybe I need to postpone for a while. And I thought, you know, I was I started feeling that sense of loss because I was like, if I do this, I'm not gonna have that community and then I don't feel like I'll still be connected like I need to be. So that was part of my reasoning for re upping and I'm glad that I did that.

Karen M: 08:48

Huge.

D Abshire: 08:48

Yeah, that's huge. The community is such a huge asset beyond all the other tangibles, and there are many. I'm with you. I'd have a hard time narrowing down to three, but the community certainly is one that is right in the forefront. You know, and along with that, is there anything that surprised you in the program, or that's been surprising as you've gone through it these last several months?

Karen M: 09:18

I'm not sure. I've been trying to think about what surprised me. I guess maybe the fact that so many things get added. Like the amount, the bang for your buck, the stuff that y'all do and come up with and just your It's great to see your motivation and that energy because it feeds into the academy and really it's so helpful. I mean, just the amount of things that you're willing to share and the time that you share is just really surprising, I guess I would say, because most of the things you do and it's like, all right, here and we'll do a little bit and now we're done where I don't feel that way with y'all.

D Abshire: 09:58

Well, that is simply lovely to hear. Thank you for sharing that. You know, it kind of brings us to the point now of if you have the opportunity to talk with someone who's unsure about joining, and perhaps they're in the same position that you were in when you joined or before you joined even, what what would you say to someone that's unsure?

Karen M: 10:22

Yeah, I would say that it's definitely worth just taking that leap, because you learn so much, not only about how to set up a business, but what's out there and the new trends of what's going on with grant writing. You get to learn a lot about yourself. So, even if you think, Oh, this is a big investment, I still feel like even if you decide you're not going to do a grant business or whatever, you're like, This isn't for me. You're still learning so many things that you can apply to other parts of your life. Like I said, I've got this art business I've had and I was like, Oh, I can do same thing.

Karen M: 11:00

I can come up with my mission and my vision and free offers or whatever those things are. So, I feel like you can still apply a lot of these as life skills and other things that you pursue.

D Abshire: 11:11

Wonderful, wonderful. Well, thank you so much. We have been listening to Karen McCall of KTM McCall Grant Strategies. So, Karen, tell us where people can find you.

Karen M: 11:21

Yes, so I'm on LinkedIn under that, and then also my email. You can always reach out to me and that's ktmccallconsultinggmail dot com.

D Abshire: 11:30

Wonderful. Thank you so much for being with us today. This has been a lot of fun. Great, I appreciate it. Bet.

D Abshire: 11:37

We will see you in the Academy.

Karen M: 11:38

All right. Bye, Coach D.