Ten years ago, I was working in the tiny back office of a school building we were purchasing to start up our charter school in Riverdale, Utah. We didn’t even have access to the main building yet because the loan had not closed. School was due to start in six weeks and I was hiring teachers, ordering curriculum, interviewing custodians, and planning marketing for our new school, alone, in that tiny office. I didn’t even have an office manager yet!
A difficult lesson learned
As the year progressed, we were under-enrolled and struggling. We couldn’t pay our teachers a competitive wage, we skimped on curriculum resources, and we had no money for facility upgrades or professional development. We had to make difficult decisions about our finances and we all made sacrifices. I didn’t have time to investigate grants, and frankly, I doubted if we would qualify for them anyway. It was a tough first year and a difficult lesson learned. It was also the most rewarding and engaging job I’ve ever had.
Discovering grants
Since then, however, I have discovered grants. It was difficult at first, with few resources and fewer people to talk to about school grants. There are trainings and books and blogs about grants, but not much that focused on school grants and nothing that was designed for school leaders. But thanks to my friends who gave me the chance to try to write grants and the time to learn more, I got to the point where I felt successful. I’ve written a variety of grants and, more important, I’ve come to understand the important role grants can play in a school’s success.
The real win for me, though, has been working with school leaders like you. I get to learn about your schools, develop new programs that will impact your students’ lives, and help you develop your grant-writing skills.
I’m so glad you are reading this post today. I have prepared a special opportunity to help you start your journey to greater impact through grant writing.
You see a need.
You have an idea.
You want to write a grant.
Now, you have a place to start.
Let’s get started!
You can take advantage of what I've learned. You can ask me anything you want to about grants, charter schools, and my experience in leadership. You can tell me about your school and brainstorm any challenges you face with a fellow leader. Or, you can just ask for advice on how to find a grant for a project you have in mind.
Schedule your FREE 30-minute phone consultation with me by August 31, 2019. Do it now, before school starts and other priorities take over.
I promise I won’t try to “sell” you anything. I’m here to help and I want to build relationships with school leaders like you. This is a limited time offer, entirely free and without obligation for any future purchases. Why? Because I want to help school leaders like you. I want to learn more about your schools and the challenges you face. I want to better understand your questions and concerns regarding grants so that I can provide the resources you need.
Email me today to schedule your free 30-minute phone consultation at peggydowns@gmail.com.
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FREE WEBINAR sponsored by Charter.Support
A shared vision; learn how to partner with donors to make a difference. This session will change the way you think about grants. Find out how to see your grant proposal from the funder’s perspective. Learn how to craft your message to meet their needs, and then develop your program, find your grant donor, and write a proposal that works. Developed by a grant writer who was a charter school director for 8 years and who has spent that last 6 months researching and evaluating grants, this session provides the answers you need to write a successful grant proposal.
Peggy Downs works with school leaders who want to leverage grants to dramatically increase funding, impact, and credibility for their schools. More info and a ton of free resources are waiting for you at:
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