Maryn Boess is a 2013 CFRE Approved Provider for Continuing Education. Participation in all eight 90-minute sessions of Successful Grants Stewardship is applicable for 12.0 points in Category 1.B—Education of the CFRE International application for initial certification and/or recertification. Individual sessions are applicable for 1.5 points each.
Maryn Boess, National Nonprofit Trainer & Consultant
Founder, GrantsUSA
No other part of the grant proposal is as important as the issue statement—sometimes called the statement of need or opportunity. The question is: What is the specific need, issue, or opportunity in the community that your proposal addresses? And how you answer the question—the issue statement—is like the engine that drives the rest of the proposal forward. With a weak or ineffective or unclear issue statement, the entire proposal stalls out and ends up going nowhere. One that is strong, clear, compelling, and speaks to the human heart, on the other hand, will propel your proposals forward and position your project for success.
Articulating the most compelling, powerful case possible for why your grant project is vital, significant, and/or valuable is the key to making a solid match with the grantmaker’s philanthropic mission. In this session, you’ll learn the elements and qualities that make an issue statement truly persuasive. We’ll also share several key tools to help you get to the “heart” of the matter and craft an issue statement that can’t miss. Areas of discussion include:
- So you have a good idea . . . so what? Why does that matter?
- Your issue statement: The “engine” of your proposal
- Key questions your issue statement must address and examples of answers that work
- You be the grantmaker: Two issue statements—you choose!
- A diagnostic checklist for effective issue statements
In this session you’ll be introduced to GrantsUSA’s unique Five Why’s exercise (also called Meet Grumpy Grantmaker!)—a fun and powerful process for excavating deep into the heart of what’s most important about your proposal.
About the Presenter
Maryn Boess is a 24-year nonprofit and grants professional with more than $30 million in grant funding to her credit. As founder of GrantsUSA LLC, she created a portfolio of high-quality, low-cost grants information tools, publications, websites, and training curricula. Since October 2006, she has been “on the other side,” managing about $1 million annually in grantmaking for higher education through the Arizona Board of Regents. A resident of Portland since early 2011, Maryn now consults with community-based organizations on program visioning, design, and evaluation with a focus on an exploratory process she developed called Community Change Mapping. She travels nationally to share her highly-regarded workshops and seminar presentations on strategies for public- and social-sector success.
Sneak Preview Videos
Check out these three short video excerpts for quick tips and tricks, and a sneak preview of the grants webinar series:
- It's Not about the Post Hole Digger
- It's 12 12 12...Do You Know What Your Proposal Is up to?
- The Biggest Proposal Budget Bloopers & How to Avoid Them
About the Series
We have built the Successful Grants Stewardship webinar series around the principles, tools, and strategies of grantsmanship essentials. Not to be confused with a beginning granstmanship or Grants 101-type program, these are rigorous, content-rich sessions designed for grants novices and veterans alike. The series will show you a new, powerful way to think about your role in the grants field; new, powerful strategies for organizing and managing a successful grants effort; and new, powerful tools for winning corporation, foundation, and government dollars to support your organization’s work.Price is per connection! Share one connection with your entire development team, Board, and/or staff by projecting the presentation and broadcasting sound via speaker phone. If you plan to share your connection with individuals not directly affiliated with your organization, please contact [email protected] for permission.
Instructions for connecting to the webinar coming soon.
| NAO/INC/WN Members | $49.50 |
| Nonmembers | $55.00 |