Hello, and welcome back to our asynchronous workshop series, How to Design a Successful Innovation Grant. The series began in September, and it will end in March 2022, the same month Innovation Grant proposals are due to the Virginia Western Educational Foundation. If you’re just now joining us, and you intend to submit an application this year, then I would advise you block out some significant time to catch up! It’s still possible! Let’s review some of our Lab Lessons so far, including: #1: Grant proposals are not time wasted … even if you FAIL #2: Know the rules of the game #3: Focus on NEEDS first, solutions second #4: Begin with the budget #5 Relationships are the secret sauce #6 Baby steps work So that brings us to Lab Lesson #7: Assume success. This may seem like a small thing, but one of the tips I learned about writing strong grant proposals was to use confident language. Instead of writing: “For this project, I hope to …” or “If funded, we plan to …” Write as if you WILL be funded. “We will do XYZ, and this how.” If you’ve followed all the steps in this series, really thinking… Continue Reading Innovation Grant Lab series: Is this a good investment? (February)Read More
Image by Pixabay Hello, and Happy New Year! If you have followed our asynchronous workshop series, How to Design a Successful Innovation Grant, from the beginning — and have completed most of the “homework” — then this means you have trekked the most difficult part of the journey! It gets easier from here, I promise. The series began in September, and it will end in March 2022, the same month Innovation Grant proposals are due to the Virginia Western Educational Foundation. Hopefully this approach will help you slowly explore your ideas — on your own time, at your convenience — as you continue to juggle your regular to-do list. If you’re just now joining us, it’s OK! You still have plenty of time to catch up. Let’s review some of our Lab Lessons so far, including: #1: Grant proposals are not time wasted … even if you FAIL #2: Know the rules of the game #3: Focus on NEEDS first, solutions second #4: Begin with the budget #5 Relationships are the secret sauce Lab Lesson #6 is what inspired this series: Baby steps work. Haven’t they already? If you have been diligently completing each step of the series since last… Continue Reading Innovation Grant Lab series: What does success look like? (January)Read More
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay Hello, and CONGRATULATIONS! If you have followed our asynchronous workshop series, How to Design a Successful Innovation Grant, from the beginning — and have completed most of the “homework” — then this means you have trekked the most difficult part of the journey! It gets easier from here, I promise. The series began in September, and it will end in March 2022, the same month Innovation Grant proposals are due to the Virginia Western Educational Foundation. Hopefully this approach will help you slowly explore your ideas — on your own time, at your convenience — as you continue to juggle your regular to-do list. If you’re just now joining us, it’s OK! You still have plenty of time to catch up. Let’s review some of our Lab Lessons so far, including: #1: Grant proposals are not time wasted … even if you FAIL #2: Know the rules of the game #3: Focus on NEEDS first, solutions second #4: Begin with the budget Lab Lesson #5 is my favorite: Relationships are the secret sauce. Always. I’ve obsessed about relationships for over a year on this blog, starting with this post. When I left Virginia Western,… Continue Reading Innovation Grant Lab series: Add some secret sauce (December)Read More
About Shelley
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.
Recent Posts
- Have you heard? October 28, 2024
- The Game of Life – Innovation Edition! August 29, 2024
- Why Try An LOI? May 10, 2024
- Grant Nerds Unite! March 12, 2024
- The Power of Collaboration November 17, 2023