This episode is truly special as we delve into the incredible journey of Alex Schubert, a passionate grant writer and consultant who managed to 10X her investment in the Freelance Grant Writer Academy within just seven months.
Alex joins us to discuss the transformative power of a supportive community, the importance of clear service offerings, and the mindset strategies that drove her business growth. Whether you’re a seasoned grant writer or just starting out, this episode offers practical advice, inspirational stories, and actionable tips to help you maximize your potential and achieve sustainable success. Stay tuned as we uncover how Alex leveraged the Academy’s resources to build a thriving consultancy that not only meets but exceeds her financial and professional goals.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
- Community Support.
- Enhanced Service Offerings.
- Mindset Coaching.
- Detailed Contracts and Policies.
- Return on Investment (ROI).
About Alex Schuppert
Alexandra founded Lighthouse Nonprofit Consulting in 2022 to leverage her 25+ years of experience in the nonprofit sector to assist nonprofit organizations in advancing their missions. Before launching Lighthouse, Alex spent five years in a dual role as a grant writing consultant and Vice President of Organizational Practices with a Colorado-based nonprofit consulting firm. There, she provided grant writing services, grant strategy and funder cultivation consult, and grants management to clients with various mission types, including workforce development, disabilities, older adults, healthcare, youth development, education, community development, mental health, substance abuse and recovery, the environment, LGBTQ+, and more. During this time, Alex successfully wrote grants that collectively raised more than $7.5 million of funding from private foundations and government entities for her clients.
Prior to becoming a consultant, Alex spent more than 20 years at nonprofit organizations that provided direct services within the areas of early education, out-of-school time, child welfare, and mental health. As the Director of Programming and Evaluation at a settlement house in Somerville, Massachusetts that delivers early education and out-of-school time programs, she provided oversight for all the programs, developed new programming initiatives, designed and implemented program evaluation systems, wrote grants, and built partnerships with other local nonprofits and schools. Before that, she was the Director of Programs and Operations at a youth services organization in New York City where she oversaw all programs and operations including human resources, finance, policy and regulations, fundraising, and the organization’s contracts with the City of New York. During her time there, she developed a new policy manual, shored up finances by vetting and hiring a new accounting firm, and greatly improved compliance and billing of its city contracts. Her first management-level position was overseeing the program evaluation and outcomes measurement team for a large child welfare agency in Boston, Massachusetts.
Alex received her MBA in Nonprofit Management from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. She also has a Master’s in Psychology from Boston University and graduated magna cum laude with a BA in Psychology from Hamilton College.
In her spare time, Alex enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, skiing, and on romps with her rescue pup, a lovable senior pit-mix.
Connect with Alexandra:
Quotables:
“Realizing the Gap Between Perception and Reality when Starting a Business. The more I tried to launch my business, the more I learned that I didn’t know as much as I thought I knew about the business side of things.” – Alexandra Schuppert
“Why I Chose Consulting Over Nonprofits. I set my sights on consulting largely for that reason, just sort of the nature of the job is so different than working at nonprofits. Being able to work with different clients really appealed to me, different missions. I was ready to kind of broaden my horizons in that respect.” – Alexandra Schuppert
“The Importance of Detailed Contracts for Solopreneurs. It’s those little details that I didn’t realize when I started my own business that I’ve learned through the academy. Like, you really need to think through all those little details of how to make things viable and sustainable as a solopreneur and spell that all out in your contracts, spell that out in your policies.” – Alexandra Schuppert
“Grant Writing Mastery. Part of my unique industry concept is, now that I have my own business, that I can do as much as I want with my clients.” – Alexandra Schuppert
Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
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