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Your Pathway to Grants
JulieAssel
Posts: 22 ✭✭✭
What is your degree in and what kind of employment did you have before you entered the grant field? Was your transition to the grant field a gradual one - or a career jump?
Julie Assel, GPC
President/CEO
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I have a BA in Literature. After volunteering and then working in programs at several nonprofits, I moved into a program officer role at a community foundation. Having relationships with many of the nonprofits who were seeking grants from the foundation proved very useful because I already had a good level of trust in the community. I also understood being on the grant recipient side and what we could do to better serve our nonprofit applicants. From the time I joined the nonprofit workforce until I moved into grantmaking was about 5 years.
@AshleyHarper - I always love hearing when grant professionals become program officers and then help make it easier for others following in their footsteps! Thanks for all you do!
Julie Assel, GPC
President/CEO
Thanks, @JulieAssel ! It's the perfect background to move into grantmaking. :)
My first jobs out of graduate school (M.Ed. in Community Counseling) were as a Program Manager at a local community foundation funding youth programming and at a statewide AmeriCorps program. From there I eventually flipped to an Annual Giving fundraising position at my undergraduate alma mater, and as a Business Manager at Girl Scouts (primarily grant-writing). A smattering of jobs (including two animal shelters and more grant-writing) later...I found myself supporting continuing education and communities at professional associations. You could say my path has been full of twists and turns!
Kara Adams, M.Ed., CAE (she/her/hers)|Community Manager|kara.adams@foundant.com
Headquartered: Bozeman, MT| Remote Location: Chicago, IL | Direct: 312-802-1374 |www.foundant.com|
I have a BA in Communications. I spent my early career in college access work, running education programs for students and parents. I wrote my first grant to fund a FAFSA completion incentive program where we rewarded students with breakfast burritos for completing their FAFSA. The second grant I wrote was for scholarship funding for my community. This was both a fundee space (with reporting and accounting due to the funder) as well as acting as funder for students (writing, collecting, and evaluating applications and working with schools as payees). My scholarship expertise, nonprofit collaboration, and grant writing experience is was landed me the role as Manager of Grants and Scholarships at the Community Foundation.
Alyse Braaten | Manager of Client Services – Grants & Scholarships | www.foundant.com | Bozeman, MT
alyse.braaten@foundant.com | Direct: 406.922.3376 | Cell: 661.364.1012
I have a BS in Family Studies & Human Development and a MS in Development and NGO Management. I worked mainly in the private/business sector out of college for about 5 years and then after I completed my Masters program, I took a position with a community health nonprofit as a Development Coordinator/Grant Writer. It was a big career jump. Because I had extensive program design and writing experience from courses and having written a dissertation I was able to land the position. My previous Sales experience also provided transferable skills that were similar to fundraising.
Natalie,
Thanks for connecting your skills to your courses and experience. I think that is very helpful to others seeking to make those connections effectively.
Julie Assel, GPC
President/CEO