Live Seminar Reviews Revealed
- First Live Grant Writing Seminar in the books!
- Highlights from the day and next steps
- Detailed feedback forms revealed
Earlier this year I made a change.
Let me back up a minute.
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There is grant money waiting for YOU! BUT if you step in a “grant trap,” your application is a NO! Learn the FIVE most common errors to AVOID in government grants! Get the 5 Grant Gotchas now to save you countless hours.
When I decided to open my business back in 2012, I wanted to help a lot of people.
Billions of dollars exist in grants, and I wanted to help people win.
Here was the problem: I can only write so many grants.
And writing grants is a lot of work, so many organizations cannot afford to hire grant writers.
Many non-profit executive directors and small business owners must write their grants – at the opportunity cost of not building relationships with customers, investors, board members, and grant agencies. Ouch.
TURNING POINT
On my way back from Calgary earlier this spring, I called one of my entrepreneurial friends in Nova Scotia. He encouraged me to offer lower-priced items with high value to more people, so I decided to put on the Live Grant Writing Seminar.
CLASS
Although I have taught political science students at four Canadian universities, I have not taught an actual class since 2010. I was nervous.
By the time I got all my client work done, I had four days to prepare for this one-day Live Grant Writing Seminar.
I HAD NO IDEA HOW MUCH WORK GOES INTO PUTTING ON A LIVE SEMINAR!!
From Saturday to Tuesday I worked 12-hour days. I was exhausted.
The outline of the seminar followed a strategic structure:
OUTLINE
Section One: Government and Grants 101.
Section Two: Top 10 Grant Writing Tips.
Section Three: Write Your Draft Application
THE BIG DAY
I showed up early for class at 7:50am, and we had three students there already!
Thank goodness one of the students was a friend of mine and helped me get ready quickly.
The event was held at the Microbusiness Training Centre, and my awesome business coach Deborah Cox helped with room set. Microbusiness sponsored the day, and we had an awesome light lunch and snacks.
Thanks Deb!
START OF CLASS
As soon as the introductions started, the energy was great. The room was full of really smart people from a diverse audience, so it was really cool. We had fun, but I was hoping that my material would resonate with them.
Thankfully I have a diverse range of winning grant and business award applications:
GRANTS
Over $2.8 million in grant winning applications for these grants:
- IRAP
- Alberta Innovates Product Demonstration Program
- Alberta Innovates r&D Associates Program
- Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency
- CanExport (2x)
- Alberta Export Support Fund
- Status of Women
- Employment and Social Development Canada
- Family and Community Support Services
- Summer Temporary Employment Program
- We have also coached winning applications for several others
Here are some of the business awards.
AWARDS
We wrote the winning applications for these awards:
- Innovation of the Year
- Alberta Order of Excellence
- Canada’s Top 100 Employers
- Alberta’s Premier Award of Distinction
- Alberta’s Small Business Award of Distinction
- Alberta’s Export Award of Distinction (2x)
- Food in Canada’s Leadership Awards
- Business in Edmonton Leaders
- Business in Calgary Leaders
- Morinville Medium Business of the Year
- Paul Krauskopf Community Spirit Award Recipient
- Alberta Export Award – Agriculture and Consumer Products
Download Now! Five Grant Gotchas
There is grant money waiting for YOU! BUT if you step in a “grant trap,” your application is a NO! Learn the FIVE most common errors to AVOID in government grants! Get the 5 Grant Gotchas now to save you countless hours.
HOW THE DAY UNFOLDED
GRANTS 101
In this section we reviewed how grants work and governments make decisions. This section went longer than I expected, but it was fun and important.
TOP 10 GRANT WRITING TIPS
This next section focused on the top 10 writing tips for grants. We were running out of time, so I had to go over them quickly.
DRAFTING APPLICATION
Students worked on their grant applications, and I went around the room helping students get unstuck.
COMPETITION
We did my first “Grant Tank” exercise at the end of the day! It was so cool, and I had the class pick the winner. She walked away with $100 and a big smile! Loved it!
Highlights of the Day
- The government 101 section and mock Question Period
- Helping students craft their messages
- The grant competition at the end of the day.
- The students meeting each other and making connections
- The energy in the room was great
- The venue at Micro Business was awesome
Lessons Learned:
- Create finding grant packages on site – i.e. help students get all their grants there
- Expand the grant writing tips sections
- Minimum two-day course next time
- I think I’ll keep the class this size (15 students) for now; it seemed to work
- I have a whole pile of other lessons learned, but these points are the big ones.
LIVE SEMINAR REVIEWS REVEALED
Given that this event was my first, I wanted detailed feedback. I asked the student to please hold NOTHING BACK. I wanted to know the good and bad, so that I can make the next SEMINAR EVEN BETTER!
Those were my instructions, so I handed out the feedback forms. I didn’t want their name or anything; I just wanted the truth.
For your reading convenience, I am posting them here. For the record, I had someone give me all sevens, but I can’t find the form for the life of me. Just want to be totally transparent. Hey, I can’t please everyone!
Sign up for the next seminar here: https://albertabusinessgrants.ca/grant-writing/
Have a great week!
David Kincade
Phone: 780.297.6177
Download Now! Five Grant Gotchas
There is grant money waiting for YOU! BUT if you step in a “grant trap,” your application is a NO! Learn the FIVE most common errors to AVOID in government grants! Get the 5 Grant Gotchas now to save you countless hours.
