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Nonprofit Strategist Teresa Huff on the Business of Grant Writing · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Daily Writer Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_01: For more resources, including your free Daily Writer Starter Kit, visit DailyWriterLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: As a writer, you can use your skills to create content in an endless number of ways, including books, articles, social media, speeches, lessons, advertising, copying, and so much more.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: But did you also know that you can use your writing skills to help secure funding for nonprofit organizations?
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: It's not only a great way to serve organizations that are making a difference in the world, it can also be a fantastic career.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: My guest today is Teresa Huff.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_01: Teresa is the host of the Grant Writing Simplified podcast, a TEDx speaker, and the go-to expert in nonprofit strategy.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: Her goal is to help nonprofits increase their funding and maximize their impact.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: After winning over$7 million for schools and nonprofits, she now teaches nonprofits the strategies they need to develop millions in sustainable funding.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_01: Teresa's podcast has been downloaded in over a hundred countries across six continents.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Thousands of students worldwide have completed her online grant writing programs.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Teresa uses her master's in education and over 20 years of experience in writing, special education, and business to help nonprofit leaders take their skills to the next level.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: She mentors grant writers through her interactive Fast Track to Grant Writer VIP program, which is available for university level credit.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_01: You can learn more and listen to the Grant Writing Simplified podcast at Teresahuff.com.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: In our conversation today, Teresa clarifies what grant writing is and how it works.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: She also talks about her experience in making a career out of grant writing and what kind of skills you need if you want to pursue that as a possible career path.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_01: So if you're looking for a great way to make a huge impact as a writer, this can be a really fantastic option.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: In addition, you will come to appreciate the amazing work that grant writers do and the important role they play in helping fund all kinds of nonprofit organizations.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_01: This was a really informative, inspiring, and fascinating conversation, and I know you're going to enjoy it as much as I did.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: So here's my interview with Teresa Huff.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_01: Teresa, I'm so glad to have you on the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: You are, I think, the first guest that we've had talking about grant writing, an area that I'm really intrigued by and interested in.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: So thanks for making time to be on the show.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm curious to dig into your brain on this topic because you are a bona fide expert.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: So welcome.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, thank you.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to chat with you.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: And it's always good to talk to fellow writers, and I know we'll have a fun conversation.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: So I guess the first place to start with this is can you explain to us what grant writing is to begin with?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I know everybody probably knows about grants and what they do and and how they work, but just for those who aren't really in the know about this whole process, give us a basic rundown of what it is that you do and why grants are important.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, an easy comparison is if you think of like the scholarship process for trying to get into college and get a scholarship.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: You probably aren't going to apply for every single scholarship out there, but you know there's money out there.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you fill out the applications and go through the process, you might be able to get some.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's competitive, it's usually limited, and it's usually somewhat specific, whether it's we fund this high school or this type of career field or this type of demographic.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: So grants are similar in that it's usually competitive, it's funding available, and typically for nonprofits or government entities like schools or public libraries, and there is an application process and guidelines to follow.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: And each grant maker sets up their own set of guidelines.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of them are similar and want similar information.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: What's your organization's background?
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us about the programs, tell us your demographics and the people you serve, the population, what's your what are your services like?
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: How do you fulfill the needs?
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: What do you need the funding for and how would you use it?
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so you outline your use of funds and budget and all the documentation.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: So it's essentially taking all those different parts and weaving them into a compelling story and showing that we have the capacity to handle this money and steward it well.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: And there is this need to expand our programs.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so, just like with a scholarship, they're not going to just award it blind.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: They're not going to award grants blindly either.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: They want to see that you have the capacity, that you have the track record of success and of working in your nonprofit, building your programs, and making a difference already in the community.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: And so they want to come alongside you and help supplement that.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that totally makes sense.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: And that is a really, I can tell you've you've you've answered this question probably a million times before.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: That was just I've just done it so long.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's so articulate, and that that really gives us a good handle on what it is that grant writing is all about.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_01: Now, let me back up a second.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_01: And this is I feel like this is a really elementary, maybe even a juvenile kind of question.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: But who are these organizations that are giving away all this money and why are they giving it away for free?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe that's maybe that's kind of a silly question, but I'm super curious about that.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you asked because a lot of people have some misconceptions around what grants are.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm really glad that you asked it that way, because I like to a big piece of what I do is educating and helping people understand more strategically how to go about getting grants.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Who's giving them how do we get it?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: How do we, instead of thinking it's like ATM machines, let's just go withdraw money.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot more strategic and it's a lot more about building relationships around it.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so there are different types of grant makers or funders, whatever you want to call them.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: And some are family foundations, corporate foundations, different philanthropy type groups, maybe even rotary clubs, or um, you know, larger community foundations.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: So there are different aspects like that.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: Those are more of the either smaller grants or more niche specific.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Then there could be government grants, which can be anywhere from state level, local government to federal grants.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And those are much more ambitious and competitive and very time intensive to go after those, as opposed to most foundation grants.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're still competitive, but usually not quite so many hours and hoops to jump through.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: And so there are different types of grants along that whole spectrum and everything in between.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of companies, even just around your neighborhood, will have grants available and corporate giving programs that they want to invest in the communities.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: And so in the business world, investors are looking for an ROI before they invest in a business, a return on investment.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: In the nonprofit world, grantmakers are looking for the same thing, but I refer to it as more of a return on impact instead of investment.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: They're not going to get their money back, but they're looking at where can we invest these funds to make the most impact in the community.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: So they're looking for who can steward the funds well, who has the programs in place that are making a difference, and where can we invest to help maximize that impact.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: And so along those lines, with my TEDx talk that we were talking about, I talked about the return on impact.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then I have an ROI framework that, in looking at nonprofits over the years, the ones who have been the most successful that I've worked with have built this framework.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: And at the time I didn't know I was helping them do it, but after looking back and identifying the pieces that they had in common, it's really comes down to being relevant, optimizing their operations, and interacting authentically and meaningfully.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: So the relevance, making sure you're finding funders whose mission matches yours as the nonprofit who are looking to do the same types of work in the community and not twisting your mission out of shape just to chase dollars, but actually making sure it's relevant and then finding relevant research and data that these programs work and we're tracking the impact to show that it's making a difference and it's relevant to the mission you're wanting to influence in the community.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: So making sure it's a good fit and then optimizing your operations, making sure you're not a hot mess behind the scenes, but you actually are exactly many are, and they're not a good investment on the funders' part because they're mismatched, or maybe they have three board members and that's all, or they just don't have their things together, they don't have bylaws, all the pieces.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: And then making sure that they are interacting, building relationships and have other types of support too, and other community members, partners, collaborators supporting their cause so that it's not just going after one grant thinking that's going to rescue them.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Grant funders don't want to be your first dollar or your only dollar, so it's important to build all three pieces of those in order to maximize that and get show that you can make a return on impact that they're looking for.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, wow, that's a lot really to unpack there.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: But it's so helpful to understand all this.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: I I want to explore for a minute, if we can, your journey into this type of work because it's really, really fascinating.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_01: Before we do that though, if you can permit me to permit me, I can't.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I'm a professional podcaster, ladies and gentlemen.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: I can talk, I can pronounce words, just not today.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_01: So if you can let me take a tiny little rabbit trail, help us understand.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_01: By the way, when I say help us understand, I really mean help me understand.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm not, I don't want to admit that I don't know something.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we all my listeners understand what I really mean is I don't know something.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious if you can give us some insight into the differences between for-profit and non-profit, because the perception is that for profit means they're only concerned about making money, that nonprofit is only concerned about doing good and that there's no profit involved, or no really there's no big money involved.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_01: And those things aren't really true, are they?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: That there's a lot of there's a lot of overlap there, and the differences maybe are not quite as big as everybody thinks that they are.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: Is that accurate to say?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: You're so you're asking such good questions, and I'm so glad you're bringing these up.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I guess right, yeah.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Well, yeah, you're absolutely right.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: In the for-profit world, the focus usually is on building the business and the income and making sure that you can turn a profit with the business.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And in the nonprofit world, the perception is that it should be all about the mission, operate on a shoestring budget, which is actually couldn't be further from the truth.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's where actually I just hosted a roundtable to discuss this, to hash out like, is overhead important?
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_00: Why, how can we shift the conversations around it?
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: How can we educate people better?
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Because it takes money to do good and it takes investing in people and programs.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_00: And an investment in staff doesn't mean it's a bad thing to have that overhead because sometimes your staff is the program.
• 11:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a counselor or a therapist or an intake person working directly with your clients coming in, that is a part of your program.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's not overhead and it's not at a frivolous expense.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: And we need to take good care of our people so that we don't have all the turnover and burnout, and then the program goes downhill and falls apart.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm really glad you asked that because it does take funding and investing in the programs to make them as good as possible, because ultimately it's about it affecting the mission and carrying that out as well as we possibly can.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: So we do need to pull in some business skills, some argument along those lines, but then also having that mission focus and remembering as a whole, what is our vision, what is our world-changing thing we're working after, and always keeping that at the forefront, but understanding we need to invest in building this program and doing it well in order to carry out that mission.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, that that makes a lot of sense.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: I think it is helpful to understand some of the nuances between nonprofit and for-profit and how they're structured differently.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I know that's that's a whole nother ball of wax to some degree, but that that is helpful.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_01: So I appreciate you um giving us some insight into that.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people say nonprofit is a tax status, it's not a business model.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so we should not assume we need to have this nonprofit business model of making no money.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: You can make money.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: The money needs to go back into the programs in the organization.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: It means your board members aren't going to get a profit distribution like a for-profit would.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: But the money goes back into the organization as a whole to help build capacity and sustainability and the longevity of those programs.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: Because there are for-profit companies that go broke.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, that happens every day.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: You know, hundreds of thousands of companies go out of business every day, they don't make a profit, but there are a lot of nonprofits that actually have a ton of cash, correct?
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: They can.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: And if they're smart, they can build that up over time and help build a more sustainable nonprofit that will continue and they're setting themselves up for that long-term success.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you if you're just bare bones living month to month on that shoestring, a grant funder is not going to see you as a good investment.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: But if you do have other sources of funding, you have maybe an endowment or funding saved up as you know, for your building program or future things you're trying to do, you're a lot more solid investment.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're seen as a good steward of the funding, you're worth investing in because others see that, hey, there's something worthwhile going on here that we want to be a part of too.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: So it's thinking more strategically about how you can actually build that up.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: So, how did you get into this line of work?
• 14:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because it's not every day you run into somebody who does grant writing or who's really in this world.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm curious if you can take us on a little journey about how did you wind up in this line of work and why is this so exciting to you?
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I didn't mean to, like a lot of grant writers.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't my intention.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_01: It was like ghostwriters.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, probably.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: It was something that I had thought always sounded kind of interesting, but I didn't know where to learn about it.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: And this was back before Google, before you could just look up anything online.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: We didn't have that option yet.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I um I was a special education teacher, and we did a lot of paperwork, a lot of describing our students, the programs, setting up strategic goals to help them meet some of their objectives in their education plans.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so the writing piece, I really enjoyed that part.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: Some other some of my colleagues were like, Oh, I have to go do my IEPs.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, Yay, I get to do my IEPs and write up about all the kids.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I loved that.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it was.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: And so I thought, well, I've heard of grant writing.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_00: That might be something I'd enjoy.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: It's a way to get money for schools, and that's all I knew about it, really.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: So then I heard about a lady who did grant writing that lived nearby, and I asked if she would meet for coffee.
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: And she graciously did and answered a million questions.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_00: And by the end of our conversation, she said, you know, I'm looking to add a couple people to my team if you'd be interested.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: I jumped at the chance to work with her.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: She wrote the big federal grants.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_00: So it was diving right into the deep end of the ocean.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I worked with her team for a couple of years and learned a ton from her.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_00: And she was such a wonderful, brilliant mentor, wonderful writer.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: So it was a great way to just dive in and get used to it right away.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then when we moved away, I branched out on my own and started consulting.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: But then I ran into the ins and outs of oh, how do I handle this with a client?
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_00: How do I set up a contract?
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: How much do I charge?
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: How do I, all these different things that consultants run into that we didn't have texting and I couldn't just call her up and bugger with every little question and how to.
• 16:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I navigated a lot of that on my own of trying to figure out, but really, you know, meeting a couple of strategic people helped a lot.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: And um, like one of one lady I became acquainted with was a paralegal at a law firm.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: So sometimes they would have nonprofits come in looking for legal help.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then she became a really good referral source.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: And just word of mouth was really the best way that I got into it on my own and started doing that from there.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_00: And then over time, like I said, I saw certain patterns that were more successful, made a lot of mistakes on my own and did things the hard way.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: So then I decided to start teaching some of that to help close the gap for people starting out of things I wish I had had access to or somebody to guide and teach me when I started out, the things I would have wanted to know.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then now I'm shifting to more of that strategic approach of saying, look, these are the key stones that you need to have in place for your foundation before you start grant writing.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: And so helping nonprofits with those, it's kind of like strategic planning, but really laser focused on the grant process and helping them set up for success and to be much more competitive long-term with their grant writing.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: We'll get back to the interview in just a moment, but first, a word from today's sponsor.
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• 19:31
  SPEAKER_01: And now back to our interview with Teresa Huff.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_01: What kind of skills are involved in in grant writing?
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_01: Now you and I we've had several conversations previous to this.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the things that we both noticed was that ghostwriting and grant writing are almost like cousins in the sense of a lot of the same skills are involved.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: But for those who aren't really familiar with the whole world of grant writing, what kinds of skills do you need to have as a writer or as a thinker or a business person to be successful with this?
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: Well, the obvious it helps if you're a good writer, or at least enjoy writing to some degree.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: But that's surprisingly only a small piece of it because you also need to be able to think strategically to understand the bigger picture, what's the nonprofit trying to accomplish here?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then how can we help them get there?
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes being able to think creatively of okay, which grants are going to work, which grants may work as long as we take this segment of the program and match it up with that grant.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe not the whole program, but maybe different parts.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's a lot of creative problem solving, it's a lot of helping clients understand the importance of the different aspects.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of project coordination and details and tracking all the ins and outs.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, really a big piece is reading the guidelines and following the instructions to AT, which is harder than it sounds like.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's like a basic thing.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: It does.
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: It really does.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: It seems so obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people miss little things, or in all the guidelines, there may be some little thing buried.
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like I was reading through one last time on one, and it was a grant I had written like three or four years in a row, very routine and very straightforward, not a huge grant.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so I thought, okay, I'm just gonna read through the guidelines one last time before I send it in.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_00: And then buried in there, they had added one new question that year.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: And if I hadn't gone back one more time, I would have missed that number 11 and wouldn't have put it in the application.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: So you just never know, but it really comes down to a lot of the detail.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's helpful if you can at least navigate and understand basic budgeting to know like, okay, if we're requesting, say,$50,000, how can we lay out a plan for the budget?
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: What categories are going to make sense?
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: So you know, a lot of writers that I talk To say, oh, I'm allergic to numbers, but you don't have to be like an accounting expert, right?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: You just need to be functional and be able to make sure or have access to an accountant that can run the reports you need and pull the information for the finances that you need to show.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then, um, yeah, just sometimes too is being able to play devil's advocate with a client or with the nonprofit and saying, okay, look, if we ask for these funds and the funder is going to say, but wait a minute, you have that, or your director just retired, or you've had this thing happen, that could be a red flag.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so being able to think about that proactively and saying, okay, wait, how can we address this?
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not a red flag, or what if the funder says that?
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's knowing when to bring those questions up, but from a place of, hey, I want what's best for you.
• 22:54
  SPEAKER_00: Let's think strategically about this.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_01: One of the things that that I know we talked about a couple of weeks ago was the challenge of having different constituents that are part of this process.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to be able to look at the look at what you're doing from each of their perspectives and think about what they want from this whole process.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: And it's really, really similar with ghostwriting, particularly when you're working with a publisher.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I I think that's that's kind of an interesting puzzle piece.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: Do you enjoy that process of thinking through all the details and trying to look at look at the grant writing process from each of those people's perspectives?
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it's kind of like putting a puzzle together.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: And it seems like the way that you think, Teresa, you really enjoy the the detail-oriented nature of this and just trying to figure out a way that everybody can really come out of this with something cool, with something joyful, and that really is meaningful.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: Is that an accurate way to say that?
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think so.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's looking at it strategically, and I naturally do gravitate towards considering all the angles of a problem before I make a decision, which can drive my husband crazy sometimes, but he's learned to appreciate it.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_00: That so it's I'm not arguing with you, I'm just thinking about, but what if this and what if that and what if that?
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: And should we do this?
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: But that's just how my brain works, and that's where I go before I'm like, okay, yeah, I agree we should do this.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: And so with a grant, I think it is similar of making sure it's a win-win.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: And one of my business mentors recently had said he never does a business deal unless it's a three-way win.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: And I really liked that approach.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I thought, you know, that could apply to the grant writing process too.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_00: It needs to be a win for the nonprofit and for the grant maker that's a good match.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: And it also needs to be a win for ultimately the clients that they're serving or the population, whatever it is, if it's dogs or you know, whatever their end mission, it's it needs to be a win all around.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: So looking for that really solid combination, it is like a puzzle and putting together the pieces, and you want as many pieces as possible complete in the whole process.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_01: Now I know that you offer some different ways for people to get uh to get some help or some some knowledge or education if they want to get into great writing.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: Can you talk about some of the things that you offer to people who want to explore this, maybe as a part-time or even a full-time career option?
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: And this is one of the most favorite parts of what I do.
• 25:27
  SPEAKER_00: I love the teaching of it.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_00: And so I have some online video courses that are just straight out go at your own pace and take you through the basics of what you really need to know to have some context before you get started as a grant writer.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then I have the fast track to grant writer that's an interactive mentoring program.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_00: It's a 90-day more intensive.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you're making a career out of this thing, you're serious and you really want to understand like some pro-advanced strategies around grant writing and to really shorten that learning curve time, then that's a more intense program as a small group.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_00: So we have the community involvement there too, which is a lot of fun.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: And um, I like to make things super practical.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: And so I'm working on incorporating more ways to help get real-world experience with nonprofits and so that you walk out of that with actual experience in hand.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_00: And both of those programs have digital certification and also an option for university credit, which has been a fun addition.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool to incorporate.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: I'm curious how you how do you set that up with a uh with a university?
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: Like, is this a specific school or a specific number of schools that you have this set up with?
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_00: So far, there are, I believe, three specific schools, and we're talking with another one to get that set up with.
• 26:52
  SPEAKER_00: So um, yeah, it's in progress.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then I'll I'm working to continue building that option just to help get more visibility out there because a lot of schools either don't have much in the nonprofit training space or very limited on the grant writing options, or it's just kind of an afterthought, take this little weekend extracurricular type course, as opposed to this is a huge part of our sector.
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: Let's train people to be prepared for the nonprofit world and to help nonprofits because some people are really drawn to that and want to help with that.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: But almost everybody I talk to answers when I say, How did you get into nonprofit work?
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: They almost all say, I just kind of fell into it sideways.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_01: Or same with ghost training.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: Almost always.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like, why don't we start actually preparing them and training them and giving them practical experience in that so they feel confident in helping nonprofits?
• 27:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then on the other side, a lot of people start nonprofits because they are so passionate about this cause, this mission, this thing they want to make a difference in in the world, but they have no idea how to run a nonprofit, what it takes, how to put together a board of directors, any of the pieces.
• 28:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like we need to provide better support, better resources and education around it.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: And then we can, as a whole, improve and lift up that sector together.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really um, first of all, I'm really just really impressed with what you put together.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's really, really cool.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_01: But also, I'm super intrigued by the the connection with universities.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_01: I have thought about.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I have the Daily Writer Club, which is a membership community, and um obviously I do client work on some different levels, but I've considered doing something like uh some type of academy or something like that, where people go through a prescribed series of courses and get some kind of a certification or something like that, because I was a professor for a long time.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: I very much still have a heart of teacher.
• 28:54
  SPEAKER_01: So that's really interesting to me.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: We'll have to talk some more about that offline.
• 28:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm really curious about that.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: Sure, we can dig in.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: I think you'd be natural at that piece of it with your background and the work you're already doing.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: It would fit right in.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_01: My one rule, if I ever do that though, will be that faculty meetings will be infrequent and they will be short.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Correct all the things I didn't like about being a college professor.
• 29:17
  SPEAKER_00: No, they're that's the beauty of your own business.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can make the rules.
• 29:21
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I enjoy teaching grant writing because it could sound a little bit snooze, like, oh boy, grant writing, but actually I like to make it fun and interactive.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_00: And hey, let's, you know, let's make this super practical and challenging and think through like problem solving and how would you do this or that and more real world so that you walk away at least having some framework of how to use the tools.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: But isn't it also kind of fun being a grant writer or or doing things that are similar to that in the sense of it's it's kind of a lever.
• 29:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's I'm not sure what how I'm trying to say this, and I won't say it very well, I'm sure.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_01: But it's like a small lever that moves a vast amount of resources, potentially.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: You know, because grant writers, you're kind of like the the missing piece in in the in the puzzle that that funds a lot of nonprofits.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_01: So you you help sometimes big and small organizations that have money that they want to give away.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_01: You help them achieve their mission and do a lot of good in the world.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_01: And you're also helping nonprofits get funding and do a lot of good in the world.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_01: So you're like a really, really critical part of that process, and it wouldn't happen without you and people who were like you doing the kind of work that you do.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_01: That has to feel really, really cool.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: It does.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: And when I got into it, I did not expect that.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: I was just looking for a way I could work from home and use my education degrees and still help supplement our family's income.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: So that at first was my driving factor.
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_00: But over time I realized, wait a minute, I really enjoy being behind the scenes.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_00: I was not especially, I mean, it's ironic now that I have a podcast, but I was am not a limelight center of attention kind of person.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not like a megaphone for a nonprofit, so I wouldn't make a good executive director, but I loved working with them behind the scenes to put all those pieces together and think strategically and then have this powerful force to help them fulfill their missions and to help them get the funding they needed.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, like a food pantry I worked for, we got pulled in half a million dollars that was going to help them get so much better food and so much better programs over a three-year span, or some very rural impoverished school districts that, I mean, their libraries were so outdated.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: The kids were in poverty, they just didn't have a lot of funding for their schools.
• 31:50
  SPEAKER_00: But we got partnered a couple of them together and got a couple of federal grants.
• 31:54
  SPEAKER_00: So they got half a million dollars for their school libraries to bring all the technology up to speed, smartboards, iPads, new books, all kinds of resources for these libraries in these little rural school districts that would not have had that kind of funding otherwise.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_00: And so, I mean, I was doing this at the time with my young kids at home.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: I was just there with my laptop keeping up with them and you know, all the things.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: And so, really, nobody needed to know, nobody knew about it.
• 32:25
  SPEAKER_00: I could just do my thing and see this huge impact on an entire community and see that ripple effect, and that years later they're still using some of those supplies and equipment or whatever it was that I helped be a part of.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's one of the most fulfilling and rewarding things about it.
• 32:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like I can be a force for good, but also it fit very well with my personality of just wanting to lay low, do my thing, think strategically, and not be out and about in a busy office all day, but could really pull in my natural skills.
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_01: Gosh, that is we could do a whole podcast or a series of podcast episodes on just this observation that you mentioned is doing something that fits your personality, doing a type of work or a type of writing that aligns with who you are and how you want to operate, how you want to show up in the world, the kinds of things that you want to do.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I feel like that is a really, really critical lesson.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: That I feel like it's taken me a really long time to learn that.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: Me too.
• 33:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that's why I enjoy bringing it up and talking about it and that piece of my story.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because I feel like a lot of writers are probably in that same place, or we feel like we should be.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: We should on ourselves like, oh, I should be more outgoing.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_00: I should talk about my services more, I should do that.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: When should we, or should we find things to do and ways to do it that are true to who we are and not try to fit some other mold?
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh, that is that is such a vital piece of this whole thing.
• 33:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because a lot of writers, you know, they want to make a career, full-time or part-time career, making some money with their writing skills, but a lot of times we get into these kinds of we get into these types of work that we don't really enjoy and they don't really fit our personality.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like one of the things that I wrestled with for a long time was I've got a lot of friends who love speaking.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_01: Speaking can be great, but as an introvert, speaking can also be draining.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I felt guilty for a long time that I didn't aspire to like be some speaker who flies all over the place, doing all these trainings and talks and everything.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, that sounds like an absolute nightmare to me.
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_01: It really does.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, speaking once in a while, I think is is fantastic, but doing that as like a big chunk of your career does not fit my personality.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: But doing something that brings you joy and brings you energy, I think is really important.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes admitting to yourself, hey, this type of thing is not, it doesn't align with how I'm wired.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's really, really empowering.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: And realizing that, okay, just because that works for somebody else doesn't mean it has to work for me the exact same way, and I don't need to feel guilty about it.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: And part of my decision too was in conjunction with my husband, we felt like with his job being a little bit unpredictable schedule, that one of us needed to be more of the stable present parent.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, sometimes he'll be home for a spam, but then other times he might be gone quite a bit in the evenings or out of town for a couple of days.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: And so we really both felt like it was good to have just some stability for the kids of keeping things running smoothly.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: And so something flexible in that regard, where I could adjust around his schedule and adjust my workload was what we needed for our family in that season.
• 35:48
  SPEAKER_00: And especially as our kids were growing up.
• 35:50
  SPEAKER_00: They're a little bit older now and more self-sufficient, but that was our decision that we felt like was the right thing.
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: And so this has allowed me that flexibility in addition to, like you mentioned, making sure it aligns with our personality.
• 36:05
  SPEAKER_00: I've had some writers say to me, like, yeah, I've done blog writing or I've done this kind of contract or sales page writing, copywriting, and it just doesn't feel meaningful or authentic to me.
• 36:17
  SPEAKER_00: It just doesn't feel good.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: I want something where I can use my writing skills to make a difference and to do good.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so that's where they feel like, oh, grant writing could really be a good fit for me, especially when they find a nonprofit where they are just on fire for their mission.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I try to make sure I do that and take on clients where I'm just like, oh, I love what you're doing, because then that inspires me in my work, like, okay, I want them to win.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: I want to help them do well with this.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: So it really just becomes this continuous cycle of energy and helping fuel the fire for the work they're doing.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_00: And it becomes, you know, continuous improvement, but also being okay with failure and knowing that's part of the process.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: And you have to fail on the way to the wins.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't want to paint this picture of like, oh, it's so easy and perfect.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_00: It's a process, it's a learning curve, but it's really worthwhile.
• 37:14
  SPEAKER_01: That is great.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_01: That is great.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad that we connected a while back.
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_01: In fact, I don't remember how we're connecting.
• 37:20
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody introduced us, I think, or maybe, or maybe I heard you on another podcast and discovered yours.
• 37:26
  SPEAKER_00: I don't remember, but I'm glad we've been tanked in somehow or something.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, probably.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: But I but something that well, one of the things that I've that I've learned from you lately, Teresa, is and I'm kind of joking, but I'm kind of not that I think I said before, you know, if my ghostwriting business tanks, I'm probably gonna shift to grant writing.
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_01: Not that I expect it to tank, but you know, you just I always like to have a plan B and plan C and plan D and plan A.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_01: Just in case.
• 37:51
  SPEAKER_01: So so that this to me is really exciting because grant writing, I think, especially for the person who comes from uh maybe the worlds of education or ministry or some other kinds of nonprofit or nonprofit adjacent worlds, yes, and likes writing, and maybe they're a little introverted, uh, they're a detailed person.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_01: So grant writing could really be a really, really excellent direction for them to go.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I actually created a quiz on my site.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have what it takes to be a grant writer?
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: With just some quick questions of like, are you good at this?
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: How do you like doing that?
• 38:27
  SPEAKER_00: And do you have a knack for certain skills?
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it just helps people think through.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people don't realize the skills they're sitting on.
• 38:35
  SPEAKER_00: Just like you, when we started talking, and I was like, everything you're telling me, you would be a fabulous grant writer because of your skill set, your background, you've worked with nonprofits and ministries.
• 38:47
  SPEAKER_00: It would be a perfect slide over into that lane.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of people don't realize how many skills they already have.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_00: Just like when I was teaching special ed, and then I started grant writing, I was like, oh, I know how to write goals and objectives.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_00: I know how to describe a program.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_00: I can do a lot of this.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, I still had to figure out some extra pieces and strategies, but I was definitely not starting from scratch.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: So, particularly for people who come from the world of education where they're thinking about curriculum and object learning objectives and building out things that are very logical in a sequence.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_01: Grant writing does seem like that could be a fantastic field, particularly you know, for education people.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_00: I agree.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, you do have to think through like how does this program align?
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_00: How are we thinking long term about this planning and how's it going to fit?
• 39:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then also being able to match that up with what the funder is doing and making sure that it's a good fit.
• 39:42
  SPEAKER_00: It's very similar skills and the problem solving, the juggling different pieces and deadlines and conversations and keeping the projects moving, the research behind it.
• 39:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's a great fit.
• 39:54
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of just the coursework I did in my education program, the research projects and knowing how to dig up and then pull out the important pieces that are gonna support what you're writing about.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_00: So some of those skills apply too.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_01: I love this.
• 40:09
  SPEAKER_01: Well, if if you're ghostwriting, or if you're ghostwriting, if you're grant writing business tanks, you could easily get into ghostwriting.
• 40:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's always it's always kind of good to know.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_01: Good to know.
• 40:18
  SPEAKER_01: Probably the same skill set, you know.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 40:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're probably sitting there thinking, yeah, I do that with ghostwriting.
• 40:24
  SPEAKER_00: I do that.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, all these.
• 40:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and really it's the same, it's a lot of the same types of things.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, for sure.
• 40:30
  SPEAKER_01: Well, this has been a blast.
• 40:32
  SPEAKER_01: I've learned a ton and I've actually took a lot of notes.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um this has been really, really fun.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one thing I wanted to ask you before we kind of wrap up here, actually, two quick things, is can you share with us any specific habits or routines that you have as a writer or I guess as a grant writer that really are helpful to you, any writing rituals, routines, habits, any of that type of thing?
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, I do have some that I are really helpful.
• 40:59
  SPEAKER_00: And then just full transparency in some ways.
• 41:01
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like I am scattered and some days, like, oh, I'd rather just take a nap than to follow my habit.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_00: So if I can say that out loud and just be perfectly real.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_01: This is an honest podcast.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: But no, one thing that I've started doing the last couple of years that it's I mean, maybe this is not a routine or a good thing, but it's been helpful to me.
• 41:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's just I have an old notebook that first thing in the morning I get my coffee and I just start brain dumping and brainstorming and problem solving.
• 41:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it ends up being different each day.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: Like sometimes I'll think of a podcast episode idea and I'll just jot down a few notes.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: Or other times it'll be like, oh, that's the missing piece to that program I've been trying to put together or that problem I'm trying to solve.
• 41:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I really like having that before the day starts, before I start in on the computer or anything, just having that notebook and that time to just kind of let my brain wander and brainstorm and think through ideas and problems.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's been a fun habit, especially now that I'm trying to build more of this type of business and helping nonprofits strategically.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_00: That's been a lot of fun, really.
• 42:18
  SPEAKER_00: And or thinking through looking back through notes I've taken or things I've learned recently, and sometimes connecting the dots of, oh, they gave that advice.
• 42:27
  SPEAKER_00: That would help me with this piece of what I'm trying to work on.
• 42:32
  SPEAKER_00: So that's been one thing.
• 42:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then also it's really helped me to have systems, whether that's maybe a checklist.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: If I notice I do something over and over, then it's probably time for a checklist.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: And then that helps offload the details to my brain from my brain to the checklist.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then I know that okay, each time I submit a grant, did I check for signatures?
• 42:54
  SPEAKER_00: Did I put the date?
• 42:55
  SPEAKER_00: Did I attach all the files?
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: Did I do this?
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then I can run through the checklist quickly instead of every single time thinking, okay, starting all over, what have I forgotten?
• 43:05
  SPEAKER_00: So looking for those patterns in my work and thinking through and where can I create checklists to help streamline and avoid as many mistakes as possible.
• 43:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, mistakes are bound to happen, but the more you can help set up the systems that have got your back, so to speak, then the more you can focus on some of the higher level thinking and the higher level problem solving because you know that, okay, my checklist has got me covered for that phase.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_00: Or when I started working with the client, I covered all these steps.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_00: I got our contract, I got this in place, I got the invoice.
• 43:40
  SPEAKER_00: And having that ready to go, knowing that, oh, I'm still missing this piece, then the rest of it's done.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_00: It just helps streamline the whole thing so then you can focus on the more strategic pieces.
• 43:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 43:53
  SPEAKER_01: That's great.
• 43:54
  SPEAKER_01: I love that.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_01: Well, Teresa, this has been an absolute blast.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for making time to be a guest.
• 43:58
  SPEAKER_01: I've learned a ton and hope that this is well, I know that this has been inspiring to listeners because they've learned a lot about grant writing and the process of doing it.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_01: You've learned about your journey.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_01: And for maybe some listeners, they're considering this as maybe a direction to go with their writing career.
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, and they can find everything at Teresahuff.com, correct?
• 44:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, correct.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: Everything's there.
• 44:20
  SPEAKER_00: The podcast is on any podcast player, grant writing simplified.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_00: And it, you know, we talk about a lot of strategies, a lot of basics, how to get started, some leadership and nonprofit skills as well.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, and I love connecting.
• 44:34
  SPEAKER_00: I love hearing what other people are doing out in the world.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_00: So feel free to message me or connect on LinkedIn and keep the conversation going.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you so much.
• 44:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a blast.
• 44:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, thank you.
• 44:45
  SPEAKER_00: I knew it would be a lot of fun talking to you as always.
• 44:47
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks for having me.
• 44:49
  SPEAKER_01: Well, my friend, I hope you took a lot of notes listening to this conversation because it was not just informative and inspiring.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_01: I also came away with a whole new appreciation for people who do grant writing.
• 45:01
  SPEAKER_01: Think about all the organizations that you've been involved with over your lifetime.
• 45:05
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of those organizations have been recipients of grants.
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: And there are people who had to be behind writing those grants.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_01: So I hope that as you listen to this conversation with my good friend Teresa, you came to appreciate all the behind-the-scenes work that you probably never even knew was there.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_01: And for some of you listening, it may go beyond simple interest and fascination into the realm of, hey, maybe I want to make this a part-time or even a full-time career.
• 45:30
  SPEAKER_01: And if so, I want to strongly encourage you to go to Teresa's website, which is teresahuff.com.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_01: There's a link in the show notes, and check out all the cool things that she has to offer.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: She's got a podcast, she's got a YouTube channel, and she has lots of other resources to help you in your career as a burgeoning grant writer.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_01: So make sure and check that out.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_01: This could be the exact opportunity you're looking for as a prospective grant writer.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I want to thank my friend Teresa Huff for making the time to be a guest on today's episode.
• 45:57
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, I want to thank you, the listener, for tuning in to this conversation.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_01: Hope it's been valuable and beneficial for you as it was for me.
• 46:05
  SPEAKER_01: As always, thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.