Holly Rustick is a world-renowned grant writing expert and Amazon bestselling author.
Holly has been coaching grant writers how to run successful 5-6 figure businesses since 2017.
With two decades of grant writing and nonprofit experience, Holly is a popular keynote speaker for events all over the world, podcast host of the Top-Ranked Grant Writing podcast, a former university instructor, and is past president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce. She is constantly booked out to run trainings to help grant writers grow capacity, increase funding, and advance mission.
Welcome to another episode of “Grant Writing & Funding”! In this week’s episode, we have a very special guest joining us: Alejandra Salazar, a seasoned grant writer and business owner. Alejandra has been in the grant writing space for over 20 years, working closely with founders on various projects. Today, she shares with us her valuable insights and experiences in managing multiple projects and teams within a non-profit organization.
Alejandra emphasizes the importance of being strategic and authentic in grant applications, cautioning against making promises that cannot be kept to funding sources. She advises against chasing every opportunity, highlighting the need to focus and build expertise in order to increase success and position oneself as an expert in the field.
Furthermore, Alejandra shares her passion for conservation and her journey in the environmental sector, discussing the difference between being a grant writer within an organization and being a freelance grant writer consultant. She opens up about the challenges she faced in finding a job in the environmental sector and her decision to pursue a master’s degree in natural resources management. Alejandra also shares her experiences working with NGOs in Latin America and Central America, highlighting the limited funds and challenges faced by smaller organizations.
We delve into the impact of grant writing on the conservation field, and Alejandra’s company, the Social Environmental Design Project, which aims to help NGOs increase funding and impact. She also discusses her personal growth as a business owner and the importance of setting higher prices to achieve financial stability and invest in oneself.
She also shares how she has been able to get clear about her business within the Grant Professional Mentorship, and that she now has joy and freedom in her business and life!
You won’t want to miss this insightful conversation with Alejandra as she shares her expertise as a grant writer and the lessons she has learned along the way. So, sit back, relax, and let’s dive into this episode of “Grant Writing & Funding”!
Alejandra is a certified grant writer and funding expert, with a passion for helping civil society organizations increase their funding and impact. She has 19 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector on biodiversity conservation, climate change, and sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean. She holds a degree in international relations (2000) and a master’s degree in environmental legislation (2004). She has been a freelance certified grant writer for nonprofits since 2019. In 2022 she launched her signature company “Diseño de proyectos socioambientales”, serving clients in Mexico, Central America, Germany, and the United States of America.
During her career, she has co-developed and implemented on ecosystem-based adaptation, environmental education, environmental policy, community forest management, forest conservation, green finances, mainstreaming biodiversity in agriculture, migratory bird conservation, protected areas effective management, REDD+, resilient cities, sustainable fisheries, voluntary forest carbon markets, wetland conservation, among others. She has worked with private, public, and social sectors, helping secure millions of dollars from international and national funding sources.
She lives in Mexico City with her husband, two kids, a dog, and a cat.
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