The Ins and Out of Grant Writing for Nonprofits

Let’s talk about grants!

Effective grant writing is essential to nonprofit operations. Well-written grants that clearly communicate your organization’s mission and goals can help secure funding, supporting your nonprofit’s initiatives. From your statement of need to evaluation methods, grant proposals are an opportunity to highlight your organization’s meaningful work.

Join our industry experts in this discussion and learn more about grant writing strategies.

Meet the Panelists

Garrett Hall, The Fundraising Authority

Garrett Hall is the lead fundraiser at The Fundraising Authority and the founder of Fundwriter.ai. Garrett has been helping nonprofits of all kinds to raise money for the last 20 years through numerous successful major gifts, grants, corporate support, and annual giving projects. Garrett has helped advise and train thousands through The Fundraising Authority. He founded Fundwriter.ai to help fundraisers access the powerful benefits of artificial intelligence.

Alice Ruhnke, GrantStation

Alice Ruhnke is the President of GrantStation. Having raised over $45 million from federal, state, and private grantmakers, she knows what it takes to get funded. As a former nonprofit program coordinator and director, and the Founder of The Grant Advantage, Alice has a deep understanding of the challenges that nonprofits face. Over the last 20 years she's worked in the trenches with hundreds of nonprofit organizations to improve their capacity to raise funds.

Bethany Planton, DH Leonard Consulting

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications Studies from Ball State University, Bethany got her start in the grant field as an AmeriCorps VISTA member. Since 2011, Bethany has worked with over 35 different organizations such as arts and culture, after-school youth programming, historic preservation, healthcare, and community centers to secure more than ten million dollars in government and foundation funds. Bethany earned a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Administration from Western Kentucky University in 2015, the Grant Professionals Certification from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute in 2016, Grant Professionals Approved Trainer in 2020, and the Scrum Master and the Product Owner certifications from Scrum, Inc. in 2020. Bethany is a member of the Grant Professionals Association (GPA) and Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL).

Paula Love, GrantsAlert

Known in the industry as the Matchmaker of Funding or the Funding Doctor, these phrases truly capture the essence of Dr. Paula Love. She is a renowned funding expert with decades of experience delivering grant strategies for for-profit and nonprofit organizations, state and local educational agencies, schools, and institutions of higher learning. Without a doubt, Dr. Love knows funding from every perspective, from the classroom to the boardroom. Dr. Love is a highly skilled funding consultant with a wealth of insight to offer to every company and organization she assists, helping improve processes and efficiencies while uncovering new opportunities for financial growth.

What will be discussed?

• Why are grants important for your organization?
• How do you create an actionable grant-seeking strategy?
• What factors should you consider when searching for grant opportunities?
• How can you tailor your proposal to different grants?
• What information should you include in each section of your proposal?
• How do you write a competitive grant proposal?

Who should attend?

While we firmly believe that anyone in the nonprofit sector could benefit from learning and thinking about nonprofit funding, nonprofit grant writers and fundraising professionals will find this panel the most pertinent.

Interested in being a panelist? Let us know via this survey.