Twenty one people from the Chewelah and Addy communities have a set of new skills thanks to a 2-day workshop in April. They joined 156 people from the tri-county area to learn how to write grants for their creative ideas.This Horizons sponsored Grant Writing Workshop was free to all who attended because of the financial support from the Northwest Area Foundation and WSU Extension. The Horizon programs are in our communities to create leadership and reduce poverty.
The presenter, Susan Howlett, has consulted, trained and spoken to hundreds of non-profits nationally over the last 20 years made the following statement about the training, “It gives me hope and spirit to work with people like you who are doing the right things for the right reasons.”
Several people commented that it changed their thinking about grants and the foundations that fund them.. “Funders don’t ‘give’ us money because we need it, we need to find funders who’s goals align with ours – consider the giver first,” said one participant.
“This workshop was very informative, interactive. Best part, you made it available to all citizens, regardless of their financial ability. In a rural community like ours, even a class fee of $50.00 can be too hard on family budgets. So many thanks to those who made this opportunity at no charge,” stated one participant.
The goal of the workshop was to increase grant writing skills for community members. Of the 177 that attended, 116 have never written a grant before.
“We hope that the increased capacity and enthusiasm will result in many grants being written – and many also being funded,” said WSU Extension director Debra Kollock. “There are many opportunities to find money, and now we have 177 people with more skills and knowledge.”
