This grant course is an interactive lesson meant to help grant writers rethink the message they are telling through improved writing and advocacy techniques. Participants will use existing example grant narratives to rethink how to connect with the reviewers through the story of need. They will walk away with a new way to articulate the story of their organization.
Dr. Melanie Hicks
Dr. Hicks is an empathy driven leader with more than two decades of experience in workforce, education and nonprofits. Focused on the areas of human centered leadership, strategic planning, employee engagement and organizational culture, Dr. Hicks has worked with hundreds of clients over the course of her career including small to midsize companies, education institutions and nonprofit organizations.
Dr. Hicks holds a doctorate from the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University, a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Miami and bachelors in Organizational Communications from the University of Central Florida. She is also a SHRM Senior Certified Professional.
In addition to her formal degrees, Dr. Hicks also holds two Diversity, Equity and Inclusion certifications and a lean six sigma yellow belt from the University of South Florida. As well as a Business Analytics certificate from Harvard Business School.
Her awards include the Rod Rose Paper of the year award for the Journal of Research Administration, the Joyce Keller Volunteer of the Year Award, the Florence Bayuk Scholarship for academic excellence; the University of Miami Outstanding Scholastic and Public Service Achievement Award.
Dr. Hicks formerly served as the Vice President, Education Solutions Group at MGT Consulting where she leads business development for PK12, Higher Education and Education Transformation Practice areas. Prior to joining MGT, Dr. Hicks served as Assistant Provost at the University of Tampa where she created UT’s first Office of Sponsored Programs and oversaw the University’s 52 department budgets, and all grants and contracts. She also taught courses in Social Entrepreneurship, Environmental Policy, Public Private Partnerships, among others.
Prior to joining the University of Tampa team, she served as the Director of Research for the Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida, an advocacy organization, and concurrently as the Managing Director of the Florida Independent College Fund, a 501c3 foundation. While at ICUF/FICF she implemented a four‐prong system for federal and state grant funding applications resulting in enhanced collaborative partnerships and led ICUF’s governmental affairs research for advocacy in Tallahassee and Washington, DC.
Dr. Hicks began her career as the Aide to Mayor of Tallahassee, a special projects coordinator with the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability and as an adjunct professor of Public Administration for Florida State University and Barry University.
Dr. Hicks is the author of the upcoming book Incongruent; Travel, Trauma, Transformation. Writing her first book at 10 years old, she has now been published in numerous magazines and websites including Forbes.com, Humanity Wine Co., The District, Doctor’s Life, Journal for Research Administration and Moc Ideja, a grassroots policy manual for lawmakers in Bosnia funded by the US Department of State.
Outside of her professional activities, her hobbies include writing, paddle boarding, biking, hiking, and is a certified yoga instructor. She also enjoys spending time with her husband Randy, stepdaughter, Lauren, and her fur babies, Eva & Molly
This workshop sets aside the misnomer of the term Grant Writing and explores the planning, creative analysis, and strategic positioning necessary to craft, and yes, write, successful proposals and applications to foundations. We will look at best practices in program planning, prospect research, application preparation, communication, and budgeting to maximize your success in securing foundation grants. These concepts may also be applied to all aspects of fundraising, from government grant seeking to direct mail. The workshop is designed for professionals and volunteers, whether new to the field or with several years of experience!
Ann Werner, Nonprofit Grants Management Consultant, c3grants.
We are pleased to offer GrantStation as a member benefit to help your organization find local, statewide, and national funding opportunities!
GrantStation is the premiere suite of online grant research resources. Search their thousands of carefully researched profiles of private, government, and international funding opportunities, in addition to using the variety of grants research, writing, and management tools and resources to enhance your grant writing and development strategies.
GrantStation provides the tools for you to find new grant sources, build a strong grantseeking program, and write winning grant proposals, and Colorado Nonprofit Association members can receive annual access for only $95.00, 86% off the regular price.
This full Membership gives you access to Member Benefits that provide the tools for you to find new grant sources, build a strong grantseeking program, and write winning grant proposals. Click here to watch a tour of this benefit – you won’t want to miss it!
To purchase your GrantStation membership with your Colorado Nonprofit Association discount, please visit https://grantstation.com/product/CNA. For questions about GrantStation, please contact Nancy Vargo at nancy.vargo@grantstation.com.
MindEdge courses in nonprofit management offer a comprehensive training program in topics from volunteer development and grant writing, to fundraising and budgeting.
Running a nonprofit can be a challenge. To be successful, your organization needs talented grant writers, solid financial management, and committed volunteers to bring your mission to the
attention of your community so you can receive the support you need.
Fundraising, board and volunteer development, budgeting, reading financial statements, leadership, marketing, and setting strategic direction are all addressed in our collection of nonprofit
management courses.
Course List:
▸ Certificate in Nonprofit Management
▸ Nonprofit Management (ACE CREDIT®)
▸ Advanced Grant Writing
▸ Capital Campaigns
Find a complete list of courses at https://catalog.mindedge.com/coloradononprofit
Member Savings
Association members receive a 10% discount on MindEdge courses.
Get Started!
After you select the sessions you would like to purchase through the MindEdge website above, enter the discount code CNA10 when prompted to receive your 10% discount.
Colorado Nonprofit Association Members: Get the transactional legal assistance your nonprofit needs for free!
The Colorado Nonprofit Pro Bono Legal Match Program, is an initiative of Colorado Nonprofit Association and the Colorado Lawyers Committee effectively matching nonprofits in need of legal assistance with volunteer lawyers who can help. Volunteer lawyers may only assist in transactional-type issues and it could take up to 2 months to be matched with a volunteer lawyer.
Participating Organization Criteria
Areas of Assistance
Volunteer lawyers may assist in transactional-type issues, including:
Pro Bono Legal Group Requests
Submitting a request through the Pro Bono Legal Group DOES NOT guarantee legal counsel for your organization. We simply make your request available to a lawyer who may decide to assist your organization and timing can take up to two months for a lawyer to contact you once you submit a request. We encourage you to maintain your own efforts to secure needed assistance. Acceptance of each request is dependent upon the professional and personal criteria of the individual attorneys who volunteer their time and expertise.
Pro Bono Legal Group assistance is NOT available for:
Questions? Contact Kennedy Berreckman, Resource Coordinator at kberreckman@coloradononprofits.org.
In partnership with:
Source: Washburn Partners
This is Colorado Nonprofit Association’s sample gift acknowledgement letter. You may use this as a template for your organization. However, this is only one of many templates and suggestions for thank you letters.
Although nonprofits are not required to provide receipts or gift acknowledgements for contributions of less than $250 (unless it is a quid pro quo contribution), it is a best practices to acknowledge all charitable gifts to the organization. Gift acknowledgements should be sent to the donor as soon as possible – typically, within 1 to 2 days of receipt.
Use this worksheet during your organization’s individual prospect research. Using this worksheet can help you identify the best prospects for your organization.
Source: Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
The Donor Bill of Rights was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits. It has been endorsed by numerous organizations.
Online giving continues to increase from year to year. Online giving provides new opportunities for both the organization and donor, but can also create concerns and challenges. View AFP’s eDonor Bill of Rights for additional principles for online giving.
Source: Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP)
Ethical standards and principles are the foundation for maintaining public trust, for every AFP member. AFP provides a self-governed process for addressing ethical concerns.