Before we could even press record, Jim was singing praises of the Learn Grant Writing learning experience. Thanks, Jim, for the kind words of affirmation! If your organization has been forced to pivot with the pandemic, this is an inspiring story for you.
Winning Non-profit Youth Grants
Kids Around the World is a faith-based nonprofit that services the physical and spiritual needs of kids globally. Jim is the Regional Director of One Meal, a highly nutritious meal kit for kids that are malnourished.
Last year over 7,000 volunteers fundraised and packed 1 million meals in the Pacific Northwest alone. Not only that, but the volunteers fundraised the meal costs before they packed the meals.
But, as Jim so aptly said, “What happened was COVID happened.”
As you can imagine, when COVID-19 hit and groups could no longer meet, Jim’s operations came to a screeching halt. He came up with an ingenious solution, however, and turned to grant writing to fund it.
Getting Creative During COVID-19
Prior to COVID, Jim told his CTO that he was interested in moving into grant writing with his career. Meal packing requires a great deal of physical labor, and he worried about being able to do it for the rest of his life.
And while grant writing can feel like a heavy lift at times, it is only mental lifting! Jim seized the opportunity to learn grant writing to help the organization fund a pivot.
He said that Grant Writing: From Start to Funded was his first online course. He said our training required him to get the lay of the land within his own organization. He was able to create a project plan that can be implemented, even if he had to be let go because of tight budget cuts.
To overcome COVID challenges, 40 families packed meals in their homes instead of in large group settings. This addressed the issue of not being able to meet in person while still providing people a way to give back to their community.
The pilot project was a success, and Jim turned to grant funding to help fund the logistics around this transition in operations. From where we left off during the interview, he had created a Funding Strategy and was narrowing down in his list of grant pursuits. Once he had the list down to 2-5 grants, he was going to get to work applying!
Good luck, Jim. Keep up the amazing work with your organization!
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What Jim Had to Say About Learning With Us
Jim said this was his first online course and that “it has been an amazing experience... so for anyone wondering whether or not they should invest the time or money, I would highly recommend this.”
If you have been curious about grant writing for years or need to fund a transition in your operations, consider getting professionally trained in grant writing. You can get started by taking our free grant writing class on the 7-steps to write winning grants.
