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Marissa Lewis is experienced in non-profit management as both grantmaker and grantseeker, including fundraising, strategy, grant/grantee management, and board development in staff, consultant, and volunteer/Board capacities. She is a strong administrator with a talent for building and strengthening organizational culture, along with the necessary systems and frameworks. Her 20-year career has been anchored in ensuring individuals, communities, and organizations have access to all the tools they need to succeed. Marissa is a graduate of Binghamton University in New York and did graduate work at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

As a consultant to mission-based organizations for nearly two decades, Molly Penn has deep experience working across many aspects of the nonprofit sector - including community development, education, human service, social justice and the arts - to help organizations become stronger and have a greater impact. She began her professional life in development roles at a large NYC arts nonprofit as well as held senior development staff positions at various smaller organizations. She has an MBA in Management from Fordham University, a Masters from Columbia University and a BA from Bard College. She is certified in Appreciative Inquiry change management, Lean process analysis, Hogan personality inventory, and trained as a professional coach. Molly serves on the board of the Alliance for Nonprofit Management and on the selection committee for Nonprofit New York’s Nonprofit Excellence Awards.

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Grantwriting Workbook

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Grantwriting Curriculum

Introduction & Overview

Research

Relationship Building

Overview of grant proposal structure

Describe the need

Why your organization?

How to define and monitor success

Budgets and Budget Narratives (and other attachments)

Letters of Inquiry

Grant Stewardship

Relationship Management

Context

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Describe the need in positive language

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Asset-based language

Describes the people you are serving with respect and dignity
They are whole but they may face barriers
Turns the attention away from them as the “problem” and towards the systems as the issue

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Personalize your protagonists

What makes them relatable – what do they hope for?

What is the major conflict they face?

How will your approach help them overcome that conflict?

How will you know you’ve succeeded?

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