Welcome to another exciting episode of Grant Writing & Funding! In this episode, we have the pleasure of interviewing the talented and experienced Kim Collier, who has worked with numerous nonprofits organizations as a grant writing consultant. Kim believes in providing a high level of service to clients, guiding them to better understand their impact. 

In this episode, Kim shares valuable insights on aligning your business with your values, the benefits of marketing to specific audiences, and how saying no to certain opportunities can actually lead to more lucrative results. We dive into the importance of being mission-aligned with the organizations we work with and how having a self-created compass helps in making the right decisions.

Kim’s expertise in grant writing shines through as they discuss the tips for success, including narrowing down grant opportunities and being intentional in the process. She shares her experience on submitting a federal grant and shares how to navigate the dynamics between federal, state, and local government grant applications, along with the value of building relationships with government officials.

We also delve into the importance of having effective processes and systems in place to achieve peace and success in business. Kim emphasizes the financial benefits of participating in the Grant Professional Mentorship and shares the impact of the Grant Professional Mentorship on her career, including the confidence to charge what she’s worth.

Join us in this episode as we learn from Kim’s accidental journey into grant writing, the passion she discovered, and the strategies that have led to her continued success. So, grab your notepads and get ready to dive into the world of grant writing and funding with our amazing guest, Kim Collier!

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Benefits of aligning a grant writing business with values
• Saying no to certain opportunities attracts the right clients and can be more lucrative in the long run
• Marketing to specific audiences increases financial abundance
• Applying the principle of values alignment to helping nonprofits find their purpose
• Working on submitting a federal grant
• Importance of being mission-aligned with organizations and avoiding opportunities that don’t align with values
• Having a self-created compass to guide decision-making
• Making decisions about working with others in the past year
• Importance of having processes and systems in place for peace and success in business
• Benefits of participating in a program and increasing revenue through rate raises or other means
• Being part of community coalitions and gaining expertise in specific nonprofit areas
• Dynamics between federal, state, and local government grant applications
• Speaker’s confidence in charging what they’re worth and transitioning to project-based work

About Kim Collier

Helping nonprofits experience growth through new and increased grant funding has been Kim’s passion for over 20 years. During that time, she’s used her love for “all things grant” to secure over $35 million in government and foundation awards for nonprofits of all sizes.

Kim specializes in the areas of housing and homelessness, and these days mostly focuses on government funding. The Department of Housing and Urban Development programs many people dread when it comes to grant seeking (HOME, anyone?) are among some of her favorites!

Kim Collier is a member of the Grant Professionals Association and holds a Master of Nonprofit Management, M.A. in Communications, and a B.S. in English Education.

Connect with Kim Collier:

• Connect on LinkedIn
• Email Kim at kim@comosolutions.com
• Hire Kim

Quotables:

• The importance of staying true to yourself: “But if you have that compass that you create for yourself, it’s easy to say no. I choose to structure my business and it has actually made this last year easier for deciding whether or not to pursue working with somebody.”
• Confidence and Mentorship: “Just having the confidence to charge what I’m worth.  It’s one thing to know and it’s another thing to believe. And through the mentorship program, finally being able to know and believe together, it’s a wonderful thing.”
• Writing Government Grants: “I personally think a government grant is the easiest grant in the world to write…they want you to succeed…I know that I’m sparing the review committee some grief because I was able to actually have those conversations with a project officer.”

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Grant Professional Mentorship
• Webinar

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