A few months ago, the Grant Professionals Association’s Heart of America chapter invited me to be the plenary speaker at their regional conference in Kansas City, MO. I was honored and pleased to present to such a respected group!
I spoke about the Top 6 Ways Grantwriters Are Strategic Leaders (whether they know it or not). The 6 are:
- You are passionate about your organization’s story and want to share it
- You plan ahead
- You “rally the troops” while staying calm, cool, and collected
- You ask the right questions and tell it like it is
- You see the big picture AND the devilish details and you polish them all
- You learn from rejection and know your limits
If you are a grant professional, you are perfectly positioned to help your organization plan strategically for its grantseeking future. You are the knowledgeable guide who can lead executive and program staff to design work that is attractive to grantmakers.
During my presentation, we discussed:
- How to make sure everyone is on the same page (with the same purposes)
- What questions to ask to get the information you need
- Examples of strategizing with staff – before , during, or after the grant award
It was great to see people take notes, participate in group exercises, laugh at my jokes (!), and take away ideas they could really use.
Want to watch the 40-minute presentation (in a few segments)? You can do that right here:
By the way, if YOUR organization or association is looking for a customized presentation for an upcoming meeting (in person or online), please check out my work as a speaker HERE.
What a well-done presentation Dalya! Your personal story was a great touch to the presentation. It will be a source of inspiration in my moments of writers block. I love how you compared it to us as grant leaders guiding out the words of our communities similarly the way you had to guide it out of you after your accident. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Thanks for your kind words!