This episode, DeaRonda Harrison explains how nonprofits can get funding, build relationships, and grow their business. 

DeaRonda Harrison is a grant writing specialist who works with nonprofits to help them win grants. 

DeaRonda joins us to discuss the funding options for small nonprofits, how nonprofits can build relationships with funding boards, and get past grant funding gatekeepers. 

She also talks about the business aspect of nonprofits, how to put together a grant plan, and what to do if your grant applications are unsuccessful. 

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• New and emerging grant opportunities for small nonprofits.
• How to put together a grant plan. 
• What it’s like being a nonprofit startup. 
• Ways nonprofits can start to get funding.  
• What to do if you’re not having success in your grant applications. 
• How to build a relationship with funding boards. 
• Different systems to get grant funders. 
• The gatekeepers involved in getting grant funding. 
• The business aspect of nonprofits. 
• How nonprofits can demonstrate they have experience with money management. 

About DeaRonda Harrison

DeaRonda Harrison is the founder and President of June First Firm, a grant writing firm specializing in assisting nonprofits under new leadership transform their organization. She works to onboard and train their new grants team reducing burnout, turnover, and lack of support. DeaRonda knows and understands too well why quality grant professionals are leaving nonprofits in droves and wants to be a support system to properly train and onboard those new to the industry as well as more seasoned professionals. DeaRonda has worked at and consulted with numerous leading nonprofits as a grant professional and has 10 years of experience as a grant writer winning awards totaling $35M over the course of her career. Her nonprofit specialty are those that focus on human services, K-12 education, workforce development, housing, and healthcare services. 

DeaRonda is a member of the Grant Professionals Association (GPA) where she served as Georgia Chapter President for two years. She obtained her Master of Business Administration from Ashford University and Bachelor of Science degree from the prestigious Tuskegee University.    

Connect with DeaRonda:

• Website 
• LinkedIn

Quotables:

• “Putting numbers to everything they were doing really helped them take their programs to another level because of the structure.”
• “An important step is cultivation. My most successful clients develop relationships with funders, they introduce them to the organization so when they get the application it’s not the first time they’ve heard of the organization.”
• “Instead of just asking for money, date those funders.”

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Train Up Your Grant Writer
• How Your Nonprofit Can Stand Out in the Funder’s Eyes Charity Navigator
• 4 Steps Executive Directors of Nonprofits Can Lead with Confidence
• Improving the communication between grant funders and nonprofits
• Top 10 Responsibilities of a Nonprofit Executive Director

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