2020 Granting Workshops Provide Insight and Community Connections
In June, the Catholic Foundation presented two interactive virtual training webinars on grant writing, which were open to the public. Around 80 attendees from across Michigan gained valuable insight and tips for writing grant proposals of all types, with a special emphasis on the Catholic Foundation’s 2020 competitive grant process. In Zoom breakout rooms, participants had the opportunity to connect with one another and share questions and best practices.
The Catholic Foundation seeks to educate and build up our community through collaborative trainings and workshops. The granting workshops also provide an opportunity for the Foundation to listen to grant seekers and gain valuable insights on the critical work they do.
Collaboration is this year’s theme for the Foundation’s grants, and this was highlighted throughout the workshops. “I appreciated the power of collaboration offered at this workshop. My takeaway is that this group of leaders should get together more often. Imagine what further good we could do in the community as a cohesive unit that shares resources or knows about opportunities,” reflected Leslie Swanson, President of the Ladies of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, Oakland County Association, who participated in the 101 workshop.
New this year was a Grant Writing 201 Workshop, which offered a deeper dive into how to write a successful grant. This training offered insights on diversified funding sources, the state of funders in the current pandemic context, identifying needs and alignment with funders, and additional resources for research and learning.
Participants from the second workshop noted how much they appreciated a focus on being data-driven and evidenced based, and including SMART goals and outcome measurements in the proposal. Another participant noted how meaningful it was to see the variety of people who are connected to the Catholic Foundation.
“I appreciated the power of collaboration offered at this workshop. My takeaway is that this group of leaders should get together more often. Imagine what further good we could do in the community as a cohesive unit that shares resources or knows about opportunities.”
“It is clear that Anthony [Schena, Chair of the Grants and Impact Awards Committee] and Angela [Moloney, President and CEO of the Catholic Foundation] have a heart for each of the ministries who participated, and a desire to help each one succeed,” a participant noted.
Carolyn Wilson, a member of the Catholic Foundation Grants and Impact Awards Committee, is eager to review the grant requests. She says, “As we continue to unleash the Gospel, creating disciples and evangelizing, there is an ever-increasing need for charitable organizations to minister through the gifts they offer. We look forward to blessing organizations with the Foundation’s various grants and impact awards.”
Over the past two years, the Catholic Foundation has awarded nearly $200,000 to 65 ministry programs through competitive grants. With your help, we will give even more this year, when nonprofit organizations, parishes and Catholic schools are seeking additional funding to respond in creative ways to meet unexpected and emergent needs.
The competitive grant process is underway for 2020, and awards will be presented in December.