As the instructor dove into the complexities of in-kind donations and project research, I began to see light bulbs pop up around the room.
Site leaders with great project ideas began thinking more about the logistics of getting these projects funded and how their plan needed to be fleshed out.
Recently, I sat in as a group of nearly 30 partners of the Capital Area Food Bank which run Weekend Bag and Kids Cafe® programs, participated in a “Proposal Writing and Budgeting Basics” training.
Some site leaders knew how to write grants and proposals and others had little experience, but I know most of them left the course more confident in their ability to write a proposal.
Instructor Patricia Pasqual, director of the Foundation Center, stood in front of the class with a welcoming smile ready to address the fears of the novice proposal writers. She armed them with best practices, research and budgeting.
“I was pleased with the way [the training] was presented. The presenter was excellent and very knowledgeable,” says Jacqueline Dennard, a Kids Cafe site leader. “I’m going to use the information to attempt writing my first grant proposal.”
And then came the good news.
As a part of the PricewaterhouseCoopers-supported Empowerment Program, the Capital Area Food Bank offered our Kids Cafe and Weekend Bag attendees the chance to apply for the 2013 Empowerment Grant. It was their chance to put their newly-learned skills to work!
The Empowerment Grant gives our kids’ sites the ability to fund projects such as:
- summer field trips
- site equipment
- summer interns
- special guests
Volunteer opportunity
We give our site leaders the chance to keep on learning, and work with grant-writing coaches to help them research, write and edit proposals. The one-on-one training with Skilled Volunteers helps our site leaders access larger grants. We are always searching for experienced grant writers to help guide our site leaders through the proposal writing process.
Grant writers help guide others over the phone, via email or through face-to-face meetings with minimal time commitment. If this is a volunteer opportunity that is calling your name please apply here.