Mastering The Grants: Non-Profits & Business Growth! ft. Ashleigh Steele | Bankedoutt Radio Show | Music and Business Talk

WEBVTT

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All right, y 'all welcome back to the show Today

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we are diving deep into the intersection of creativity

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infrastructure and capital So many independent

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musicians producers and creative entrepreneurs

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try to survive on pure talent alone with prayers

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But talent alone does not pay for production

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marketing or tours Our guest today is a master

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architect of funding and business growth. She

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is a powerhouse entrepreneur a high -level corporate

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strategist and a mastermind behind the, I'm hoping

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I'm saying this correctly, but the Opia Designs

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Company and the Black Woman -Made Corporation.

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She has dedicated her career to moving organizations

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away from survival mode and transforming them

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into grid -ready powerhouses. Please welcome

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the incredible grid writer and strategic growth

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facilitator, Ashley Steele. Ashley welcome to

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the show So much that was an amazing introduction.

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Well, thank you, you know I've been having a

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lot of practice lately. Did I pronounce the company

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name correctly? Yeah, Opia Designs Company. All

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right, so I'm going to get into it on one I see

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that on your website that you've gotten what

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is like over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars

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in funding for a company Yeah, that's just in

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the past six months though. So in the past six

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months, which is the achievement in itself, how

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much would you say overall you've gotten company

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that you could give like a ballpark figure? I

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mean, I've been doing this since 2017. So I would

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say upwards of like close to seven figures. Okay.

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What made you realize there was a market for

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that? I think it's like so funny how I started

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my company. I have always been like a multi -hyphenated

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person. The pod page connects straight from your

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RSS feed. The exact second you finish your audio

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export, it automatically generates a search engine

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optimization landing page, imports your show

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notes, and formulates a pristine mobile audio

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player that never freezes or lags. If you want

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to transition your show from an expensive hobby

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into a high utility media enterprise, for zero

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down, comment platform below. I'll slide a direct

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network optimization engine straight into your

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DMs. I remember it was like a couple months before

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I graduated with my undergrad degree and I was

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telling my professor what I wanted to do and

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she was like yeah you can't do that. It was like

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so wild and she was like yeah you need to choose

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one thing and stick to it and I was like that's

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never going to be like my ministry. Like I'm

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never just going to be a photographer or just

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going to be a writer. And so I literally started

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my company as photography and then I just built

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it as time went on. I noticed that black women

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are the fastest growing businessmen in the state.

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But you receive like the least amount of funding

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across the board. And so I was like, okay, so

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after I graduated, a couple of weeks later, I

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took a grant writing class. And I was like, oh,

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this isn't hard, but it's just really meticulous.

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But I have a Type A personality and I have ADHD,

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so whenever I can actually focus on something,

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it's like amazing. And so, yeah, that's what

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really got me into it, just like, moving people

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wrong. And also knowing that I needed funding,

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and so I just started applying where I learned

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in class. And I was able to get myself funding,

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so I figured out people might need it. So you

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were your first client? Absolutely. How was that

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process for you? I think it's interesting because

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my mentor apparently told me the other day that

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you always have to put on your own life vest.

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And so it was really, it was good for me. It

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taught me a lot. I was able, I think my very

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first grant that I won was like a Comcast grant.

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And so after I won my first one, I was like,

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that was do it. And so I was just like, what's

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the end of that? And so I started applying. I

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started taking more classes. I started watching

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YouTube videos. I started following people on

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social media that were dealing with the same

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things that I wanted to do. And then my friends

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started believing in me. I think it's interesting

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because a lot of times people don't really want

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to invest in you unless they see some kind of

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factor first. So after I started living and talking

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about my successes, people were just like, I'm

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still a bit boring. Who was your first client

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outside of your network then? Honestly, all of

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my clients have come from referrals or they saw

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my work online. Even when I speak at conferences

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or when I travel for events or something. they'll

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be like, where can I see your work at? And I'll

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be like, you can just leave my name or my company.

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And like, this is like in the pudding. So I think

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the first client that didn't come from us, bro,

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was maybe like a co -living company up north.

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So they had like came across your work. Yeah,

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on TikTok, actually, now that I think about it.

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They're in Colorado. Mm -hmm. And they have,

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like, co -living houses there. So that was, like,

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the very first one that I got, and that was a

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couple years ago. But outside of that, all of

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my clients have come from... When people reach

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out to you do they have the Correct mindset to

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be able to work for you because I know that I've

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talked with other writers in the past and it's

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people's goals sometimes are not realistic for

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what they want, and they don't understand the

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process thoroughly. What has been your experience

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with it? I think that sometimes people just don't

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understand how it works. So I just give them

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knowledge, I give them statistics, I give them

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facts. I tell them that one in six to one in

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eight grants are awarded. to companies. And so

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I tell them like, it's really like a numbers

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game. But you also can't just blindly like apply

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and be like, oh, I hope I get this one. And then

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just cross your fingers and just sit there. So

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I tell them that there's a strategy. I give them

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numbers about their age of three, about their

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exact age of three. I tell them about their geographical

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conditions. I tell them about opportunities that

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align with their mission. I also tell them that

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it's about finding branchers that align with

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their goals. So I would say that I have a non

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-profit that is all about like the mental balance

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awareness. It wouldn't make sense to apply for

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a grant where like their history has been like

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educational institutions. So it's about research,

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and it's about creating a relationship with the

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grantors. And it's also about having a diverse

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funding portfolio. Like, only applying for grants

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is never going to be the coolest thing. And so

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I just make sure that I employ my education as

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best as possible. And then they're usually more

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open for like less. How long is that process

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of working with them for when, you know, they're

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getting them into the right mental space, they're

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applying for grants and then the probabilities

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of being awarded? Is it like, you know what I'm

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saying, three months, six months, could it take

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up to a year? Yes, sometimes it takes up to a

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year. It only really depends on like their funding

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amount and their funding portfolio and their

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business structure or their nonprofit structure.

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And so sometimes I can just like dive right in

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and start applying for funding. But sometimes

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they're not funding ready. They're not grant

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ready. Like they don't have their business registration.

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They don't have their EIN. They don't have a

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website. They're not creating traction anywhere.

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They haven't even started doing the work sometimes.

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And so it's really just like building from the

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ground up. But sometimes organizations come or

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businesses come and they have everything that

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I need. And even if I'm helping them with, like,

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their, like, government contracts, they even

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have, like, their capability statement, or they

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have their own Easter code. And so it just depends

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on the readiness of the organization and their

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discipline. So is your work primarily based in

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nonprofit world, or you dabble in between nonprofit

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and nonprofit world? I dabble in between both.

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What's a misconception that you find in both

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of them? Like the thing that runs across your

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desk all the time? Yeah, there's a couple actually.

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A lot of people don't know that they're spending

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for for -profit businesses. They think it's just

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for nonprofit organizations. Or people think

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that they can just apply and win the first one

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that they apply for, which is possible. Like

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nothing is impossible. But it's not likely. Another

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one is that they don't know the difference between

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restricted and unrestricted. How is it like once

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they are awarded, are you still working with

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them after that? Let's say if someone gets a

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$50 ,000 grant for a particular program they

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want to initiate in the community. Does your

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service stop after that or does it help you know

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with the actual? Requirements of the grant like

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you know they have to keep certain data so they

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can report it Make sure that you know funds are

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spent in the manner that they were proposed to

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be spent in Yeah, I do work with them after they're

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awarded if they would like And so what is caught

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is like a principal investigator and so they

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help manage the grant And so a lot of times,

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if someone's awarded like a 50 ,000 dollar grant,

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I tell them that in their business account to

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get like a separate account for it. So that if

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the funding institution or the grantor wants

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to report, it's just easy to pull that report.

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Instead of like, having all the funds together,

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I'm like, the one part. I think it's easier if

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they have a separate second account that all

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that particular grid. Are they very receptive

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to that type of information or? Yeah, it depends.

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Everyone's different, but for the most part,

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as long as I have like statistics and information

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and like fact -based data, they tend to, you

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know, listen to what I say. So, for corporate

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scaling, how would you help accumulate, let's

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say, $75 ,000 in funding, and what would a funding

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board look for in particular? Okay, so what a

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funding board looks like would be based on that

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funding application. So, like, each entity is

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different, but they would Generally, a couple

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things they would want is they would want you

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to have some kind of factor in the community

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to show that you are who you say you are and

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you're doing the community engagement that you

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say you are in your application. So a lot of

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times people don't know that they can just have

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a newsletter to build their community engagement

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to let people know what's going on. Or they can

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have a wait list. for an event that's coming

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up. And those are really great ways to know and

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see your ROI. But if I were going to help an

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organization with $75 ,000, I would create a

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funding plan. I would find grants applicable

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to that organization, but I will also encourage

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other forms of bringing in funds. So like a sponsor

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feedback. a crowdfunding campaign, perhaps, depending

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on the goals of the organization. I would also

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include maybe like an online type of fundraiser.

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And so that way we can set the goal like extremely

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achievable, but also have like very specific

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KPIs. And so if we're looking for 75 ,000, we're

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not only going to apply for 75 ,000. We're probably

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going to apply for like, four or five times that

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and include different revenue streams in that

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plan as well. So like programs, like you said,

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like sponsorship kits and other types of programs.

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What would be the main difference in how a company

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would utilize those programs as opposed to, you

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know, going up the ranks? Can you say that one

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more time? So you mentioned the other funding

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sources, right? Like sponsorship type programs

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and I imagine those are used differently the

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way that you go about and implement strategy

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with them. So what would be like some of the

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main differences that a business could utilize

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those as opposed to, you know, just applying

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for, you know, the corporate grant funding programs.

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Yeah. So I think you're asking me like what other

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strategies and how to implement them. Yeah. So

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like, you know, the sponsorship is different

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than, you know, just writing for grants, right?

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That has already has its set parameters. I think

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that it's really just the same process. you would

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still create a quote unquote, like application

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for lack of better terms. And so for like a sponsorship

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that I usually make like a presentation that

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the nonprofit or the business puts it out. And

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then I pair that with like a letter. And then

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like we also include their social media account,

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their website, their contact information, all

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of that. So it's still like, but like you're

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still keeping track of it. So in my practices,

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I love transfusions. So like I haven't felt like

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two different columns and it's like a building

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document. So the client can always see like the

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funding you can see things that I'm applying

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for like the name of the grant, the funding you

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can see the date it shows us, the date I applied

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and you can make an impact. So we also have an

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Excel spreadsheet for like the process that we're

00:17:00.970 --> 00:17:04.029
reaching out to, or the communities that we're

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connecting with, or the funders that we're facilitating

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conversations with. So I think it's the same

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kind of process. You know, you still have to

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be prepared. You still have to make sure your

00:17:17.910 --> 00:17:20.670
documents are in order. You still have to make

00:17:20.670 --> 00:17:24.190
sure that you're showing up in spaces that you

00:17:24.190 --> 00:17:29.559
want to impact. What do you think about organizations

00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:33.579
focusing also on just general grant fundraising?

00:17:35.299 --> 00:17:38.460
Because you know grants come in seasons and then

00:17:38.460 --> 00:17:43.779
on top of that sometimes environments change

00:17:43.779 --> 00:17:46.880
as far as like beliefs and causes and what people

00:17:46.880 --> 00:17:51.000
are willing to put money towards as far as whether

00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:54.259
it be sponsorships or just grants in general.

00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:01.700
So I would just say like research. Like there's

00:18:01.700 --> 00:18:03.519
like for instance there's this other organization

00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:07.400
that we're working with right now and I have

00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:12.160
subscribed to all of the donors or funding institutions

00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:15.160
that they want to receive funding from and so

00:18:15.160 --> 00:18:17.900
we sign up for their newsletters. We attend their

00:18:17.900 --> 00:18:20.420
events virtually if they're not in like the same

00:18:20.420 --> 00:18:23.099
city as us or if they are the same city like

00:18:23.099 --> 00:18:28.670
we attend them. So it's just all about staying

00:18:28.670 --> 00:18:32.730
abreast to the knowledge and information that

00:18:32.730 --> 00:18:36.329
the organization is sending out. And that way

00:18:36.329 --> 00:18:39.769
you can stay up to date on their impact report.

00:18:40.150 --> 00:18:44.069
You can stay up to date on if their causes change,

00:18:45.109 --> 00:18:47.930
if the leadership changes, and you can make a

00:18:47.930 --> 00:18:51.720
new connection. if you need to reach out to the

00:18:51.720 --> 00:18:54.299
executive director and like welcome them because

00:18:54.299 --> 00:18:59.000
they just need one board or if they need volunteers

00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.859
and you want to you know fill up and show them

00:19:01.859 --> 00:19:04.559
that you're there for them as well or just you

00:19:04.559 --> 00:19:09.859
depend. So I've seen a lot of people you know

00:19:09.859 --> 00:19:13.940
want to find grant writers and those who goes

00:19:13.940 --> 00:19:17.099
in know how to do their jobs right. What would

00:19:17.099 --> 00:19:22.730
it be like three main things that a person looking

00:19:22.730 --> 00:19:26.390
for or a company looking for a great writer would

00:19:26.390 --> 00:19:31.589
need to look for? Definitely testimonials. You

00:19:31.589 --> 00:19:34.809
would want to find testimonials. You also want

00:19:34.809 --> 00:19:38.190
to put your eyes on the person. If you're only

00:19:38.190 --> 00:19:43.069
communicating through email, probably not a good

00:19:43.069 --> 00:19:47.019
thing. You want to be able to put your eyes on

00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:49.960
them, even if it's like a Zoom call, and ask

00:19:49.960 --> 00:19:52.339
them questions. You want to look into their company,

00:19:52.680 --> 00:19:55.319
see how long they've been established. You want

00:19:55.319 --> 00:19:57.900
to look at their social media and see how long

00:19:57.900 --> 00:20:00.460
their accounts have been created. You want to

00:20:00.460 --> 00:20:03.240
be able to find the person that's writing these

00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:07.599
for you on social media platforms as well, like

00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:09.880
LinkedIn. You want to see if they have a Google

00:20:09.880 --> 00:20:16.869
Business page. You want to You want to ask them

00:20:16.869 --> 00:20:23.309
about their educational backing, if they have

00:20:23.309 --> 00:20:25.670
any certifications, if they went to school for

00:20:25.670 --> 00:20:28.369
this. So there's a lot of things you can look

00:20:28.369 --> 00:20:34.789
forward to. What are typical fees or percentage?

00:20:36.029 --> 00:20:38.309
I've had people reach out to me about different

00:20:38.309 --> 00:20:41.440
grant riders and stuff like that. I've seen it

00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:43.720
where some grant writers charge fees upfront,

00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:46.140
they do the work, they hand it over to their

00:20:46.140 --> 00:20:48.819
particular client, and it's like a map, strategy

00:20:48.819 --> 00:20:51.660
map for them to go and pursue themselves. There

00:20:51.660 --> 00:20:53.380
are others who actually get like, you know, 10

00:20:53.380 --> 00:20:57.920
% of what's awarded. Whereas being, because you

00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:01.319
do this day to day, what's like an industry standard?

00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:08.039
For me specifically, we charge for hours. But

00:21:08.039 --> 00:21:10.980
also, if we're written into the grant, so we

00:21:10.980 --> 00:21:14.039
don't do, okay, if we win, we get this percentage.

00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:17.920
That's not how it works at all. We charge upfront,

00:21:18.259 --> 00:21:21.019
however, we can also do written into the grant,

00:21:21.079 --> 00:21:26.200
so like the back end management at the PI. So

00:21:26.200 --> 00:21:31.599
let's say that there's a $100 ,000 grant. And

00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.759
in order to manage it, we request five decisions.

00:21:34.859 --> 00:21:38.160
Like, will you write that into this grant? Or

00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:41.559
the institution can know that, like, we're going

00:21:41.559 --> 00:21:46.519
to be the one with these decisions. What's some

00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:50.079
of the typical institutions or businesses, organizations

00:21:50.079 --> 00:21:52.940
that you work with? Do you normally work with

00:21:52.940 --> 00:21:55.779
just the, like, nonprofits? Or is it more in,

00:21:55.779 --> 00:22:01.299
like, an education sector? So those are... like

00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:04.980
small to mid -sized businesses. But we have worked

00:22:04.980 --> 00:22:07.160
with like of course like non -profits in the

00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:09.660
past. I mean we have a couple that we're working

00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:13.839
with now. But for the most part it's like right

00:22:13.839 --> 00:22:16.960
now our main clientele base are like small to

00:22:16.960 --> 00:22:21.259
mid -sized businesses. So what are some of the

00:22:21.259 --> 00:22:23.380
industry paying points that you're experiencing

00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:26.180
on your end is you know running your business

00:22:26.180 --> 00:22:29.039
and getting to the goals that you want to get

00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:36.750
to? I think right now it's finding a good assistant

00:22:36.750 --> 00:22:42.130
that's willing to grow with the company. I think

00:22:42.130 --> 00:22:47.349
that with the kind of time we're in, I guess

00:22:47.349 --> 00:22:50.009
for lack of better words, people just like want

00:22:50.009 --> 00:22:52.309
to come in and like think, say, boom, hop. And

00:22:52.309 --> 00:22:53.789
we're just like, no, that's not how it works.

00:22:54.250 --> 00:22:57.759
We've got to come in. You have to learn. Yes,

00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.599
you have experience in other fields, but people

00:23:00.599 --> 00:23:04.579
rarely have experience in strategic growth. So

00:23:04.579 --> 00:23:07.140
they usually have experience in business development,

00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:12.500
or marketing, or funding, but it's not a mixture

00:23:12.500 --> 00:23:16.160
of all of these things that we handle. And so

00:23:16.160 --> 00:23:19.920
I think that's one point. Another point is just

00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:26.500
getting people to believe in the company. Sometimes

00:23:26.500 --> 00:23:29.599
because there are a lot of like we're in like

00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:33.980
the season of coaches like everybody's a coach.

00:23:34.759 --> 00:23:38.000
Everybody's a mentor but they haven't even like

00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:41.059
been in the game like 15. So I'm just like okay.

00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:45.160
So I think that in like the creative industry

00:23:45.160 --> 00:23:47.400
a lot of things are getting like watered down

00:23:47.400 --> 00:23:50.380
because like so many people are screaming that

00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:54.259
they do certain things and they just don't. And

00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:57.539
so I think that's another challenge. But we're

00:23:57.539 --> 00:24:00.660
showing up very strong, and we have a plan that

00:24:00.660 --> 00:24:02.440
we're going to start executing in like quarter

00:24:02.440 --> 00:24:06.480
four. So we're really excited about that. And

00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:10.180
I think another challenge that we're facing is,

00:24:10.180 --> 00:24:17.380
I don't know, I think like breaking into like

00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:23.849
different communities. How is AI affected y 'all's

00:24:23.849 --> 00:24:31.190
industry if anything at all? Someone literally

00:24:31.190 --> 00:24:34.589
told me a couple weeks ago They had a consultation

00:24:34.589 --> 00:24:38.430
with me and they were just like Whatever. I'll

00:24:38.430 --> 00:24:42.309
just get AI to do it and I was like, okay Like

00:24:42.309 --> 00:24:45.130
there's like nothing I can really say to that

00:24:45.130 --> 00:24:49.670
I think that AI can't build the relationships

00:24:50.039 --> 00:24:54.000
Yeah, it can't build a relationship. And as great

00:24:54.000 --> 00:24:57.980
as like AI is in some capacity and like in some

00:24:57.980 --> 00:25:01.599
form, it's lacking like human characteristics.

00:25:03.099 --> 00:25:05.859
Like, yes, it can talk to you. Yes, it can tell

00:25:05.859 --> 00:25:09.319
you to good morning. But like, it's not a person.

00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:13.980
They don't have like human touch. And I think

00:25:13.980 --> 00:25:16.980
that some people kind of like fall out of like

00:25:16.980 --> 00:25:21.230
this little reality with that. And so when people

00:25:21.230 --> 00:25:23.809
tell me that, I just say, okay. Like I'm not

00:25:23.809 --> 00:25:27.410
in the era of arguing. I'm not in the era of

00:25:27.410 --> 00:25:31.269
putting anyone wrong in that capacity. And so

00:25:31.269 --> 00:25:34.089
I just say, okay. And if you like to work together

00:25:34.089 --> 00:25:37.910
in the future, we're here for you. But I think

00:25:37.910 --> 00:25:42.569
AI is great when it comes to research. I think

00:25:42.569 --> 00:25:47.049
it's great when it comes to seeing what others

00:25:47.049 --> 00:25:50.589
are doing. when it comes to you know broadening

00:25:50.589 --> 00:25:54.369
like your knowledge like if you want to say hey

00:25:54.369 --> 00:25:58.430
what are the top five creators on the web right

00:25:58.430 --> 00:26:00.490
now for grant writing i think it's like that

00:26:00.490 --> 00:26:05.230
kind of thing but for like the the practical

00:26:05.230 --> 00:26:11.059
application it's like 50 to 70 people Yeah, I

00:26:11.059 --> 00:26:13.059
definitely agree with that. I told people in

00:26:13.059 --> 00:26:16.160
the past, one, AI is a great tool and that's

00:26:16.160 --> 00:26:18.920
why it should be just utilized as a tool. Because

00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:21.380
at the end of the day, people do business with

00:26:21.380 --> 00:26:25.019
who they like. You can have all the best bells

00:26:25.019 --> 00:26:28.400
and whistles in a document, piece of paper, and

00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:31.880
it could be the best thing on paper. But it doesn't

00:26:31.880 --> 00:26:33.259
mean that you're still going to get awarded.

00:26:33.480 --> 00:26:37.009
I'm like, I've actually... written this conversation

00:26:37.009 --> 00:26:39.109
to several people and told them that like, you

00:26:39.109 --> 00:26:43.130
know, first of all, you're looking from my experience

00:26:43.130 --> 00:26:46.690
and what I've seen others be awarded with funding

00:26:46.690 --> 00:26:50.049
grants and programs like that, it's proof of

00:26:50.049 --> 00:26:53.569
concept. And they want to see that, like you

00:26:53.569 --> 00:26:55.970
said earlier, the work has been out there. And

00:26:55.970 --> 00:26:59.509
I've seen it directly and indirectly as well,

00:27:00.390 --> 00:27:03.309
where, you know, you start out small and you

00:27:03.309 --> 00:27:05.599
keep working your way up. is you've proven that

00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:08.240
you can handle like a thousand dollars. Now you

00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:10.940
get like five thousand, ten dollars, ten thousand,

00:27:11.059 --> 00:27:13.440
twenty thousand, whatever the case may be. It

00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:16.019
is a stepping stone, and you're building, like

00:27:16.019 --> 00:27:19.500
you said, credibility in the community. And the

00:27:19.500 --> 00:27:22.059
community recognizes what you're doing, they

00:27:22.059 --> 00:27:24.920
believe in the mission, so therefore they participate

00:27:24.920 --> 00:27:29.460
as well. That's also seen where people that first

00:27:29.460 --> 00:27:33.309
try twenty thousand dollars award funding within

00:27:33.309 --> 00:27:36.390
there not to be heard two years later, but nowhere

00:27:36.390 --> 00:27:39.329
to be around. I've seen some with even more in

00:27:39.329 --> 00:27:41.950
the hundreds of thousands, nowhere to be found

00:27:41.950 --> 00:27:46.049
anymore. And those services are not being done

00:27:46.049 --> 00:27:50.450
or provided for for the community. What do you

00:27:50.450 --> 00:27:54.490
see this industry growing or gearing towards

00:27:54.490 --> 00:27:58.130
in the next, you know, three to five years? Oh,

00:27:58.150 --> 00:28:01.519
I think that there may be like a steady faced

00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:05.559
in a sense. Like you said, how people, you know,

00:28:05.740 --> 00:28:09.099
win like 20, $30 ,000 and then they're like gone.

00:28:09.579 --> 00:28:16.480
I think that a lot of the surface level, people

00:28:16.480 --> 00:28:19.480
will like phase out. And then the people who

00:28:19.480 --> 00:28:21.759
are like really doing the work, really getting

00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:26.660
the results, really making an impact and not

00:28:26.660 --> 00:28:30.319
just like at a money grab. But like our ingenuity,

00:28:30.339 --> 00:28:36.259
like their craft, I think most of them do. Do

00:28:36.259 --> 00:28:39.680
you ever have a consensus where you like, you

00:28:39.680 --> 00:28:43.160
know what, everyone doesn't need to do this regardless

00:28:43.160 --> 00:28:46.579
of where their heart may be because they don't

00:28:46.579 --> 00:28:50.059
necessarily have the skill set or the strategy

00:28:50.059 --> 00:28:53.440
or mission to be able to execute and the other

00:28:53.440 --> 00:28:56.579
someone else will probably be able to, you know.

00:28:56.829 --> 00:29:03.390
serve the community better. I think that people

00:29:03.390 --> 00:29:08.269
should follow their heart. But I also think that

00:29:08.269 --> 00:29:11.970
people should be practical in their application.

00:29:12.430 --> 00:29:17.150
And so I will never tell someone to not do something

00:29:17.150 --> 00:29:19.970
that they want to do. But I think that people

00:29:19.970 --> 00:29:26.140
should do like a self assessment. Yeah, I think

00:29:26.140 --> 00:29:27.740
people should definitely do a self -assessment

00:29:27.740 --> 00:29:29.480
and see like what their strengths and weaknesses

00:29:29.480 --> 00:29:32.140
are. And if it's something that they really really

00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:34.359
want to do, I think that they should focus on

00:29:34.359 --> 00:29:37.019
their strengths and then outsource for their

00:29:37.019 --> 00:29:39.440
weaknesses so that they can build a better product.

00:29:42.500 --> 00:29:48.519
Do you see this as your career? Yeah, I mean,

00:29:48.960 --> 00:29:52.859
sure. I say that because I'm always growing.

00:29:53.319 --> 00:29:57.440
I'm always expanding. I'm about to graduate and

00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:00.160
then I'm applying for a PhD program. One day

00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:04.960
I want to be a professor at an higher education

00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:09.059
institution. And so I think that I'll always

00:30:09.059 --> 00:30:12.720
have a heart for grant writing. And I may just

00:30:12.720 --> 00:30:16.599
like join a board of directors in the future

00:30:16.599 --> 00:30:18.839
and be their grant writer. But like for right

00:30:18.839 --> 00:30:25.410
now, this is like what I want to do. Are there

00:30:25.410 --> 00:30:31.269
better cities than others that have resources

00:30:31.269 --> 00:30:34.210
to where people can apply for grants? So let's

00:30:34.210 --> 00:30:38.750
say, is Atlanta a more giving type of community

00:30:38.750 --> 00:30:43.230
than like Memphis or Nashville or Miami? I think

00:30:43.230 --> 00:30:47.089
it depends on the type of business. And so there's

00:30:47.089 --> 00:30:52.839
this organization in Atlanta. It's Blue. I think

00:30:52.839 --> 00:30:56.440
in brand colors, I can't think of the name of

00:30:56.440 --> 00:31:00.700
it, but I can email it over a text to you afterwards.

00:31:01.099 --> 00:31:06.660
But they send out like, all the time. They, they

00:31:06.660 --> 00:31:10.480
focus on creative organizations and community

00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:13.740
development. And so it just depends on, like,

00:31:13.759 --> 00:31:18.740
what the focus of that city is. And so. For instance,

00:31:19.039 --> 00:31:22.079
like L .A. would be probably more inclined to

00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:29.380
creative than Minnesota. Or Miami would be probably

00:31:29.380 --> 00:31:32.400
more inclined to like the health industry than

00:31:32.400 --> 00:31:34.859
like mom and pop soul food restaurants. Does

00:31:34.859 --> 00:31:40.700
that make sense? No, it does. And so New York

00:31:40.700 --> 00:31:42.740
would probably be more inclined to creative as

00:31:42.740 --> 00:31:47.859
well rather than somewhere like Montgomery, Alabama

00:31:47.859 --> 00:31:50.859
or something like that. And so I think it just

00:31:50.859 --> 00:31:55.240
depends on like that particular economic development

00:31:55.240 --> 00:31:58.319
in the city. And so a few things that people

00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:00.740
can do is they can look at their Chamber of Commerce.

00:32:01.259 --> 00:32:06.200
They can look at their economic development organization

00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:14.559
with the city. They can look at the state office,

00:32:14.660 --> 00:32:17.720
like of the mayor. and see like if they have

00:32:17.720 --> 00:32:20.039
any initiatives coming out. Like I know Baltimore,

00:32:21.519 --> 00:32:25.440
their office in there has a lot of like opportunities

00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:28.880
for like housing development there. That's where

00:32:28.880 --> 00:32:32.259
one of our clients are. And so it just depends

00:32:32.259 --> 00:32:35.759
on like the mission of that particular area.

00:32:37.059 --> 00:32:40.259
What's the most creative thing you've seen funded?

00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:52.809
Most creative? I don't know if it's like the

00:32:52.809 --> 00:32:55.609
most creative, but something that does get funding

00:32:55.609 --> 00:33:03.250
is the Savannah Black Heritage Festival. My professor,

00:33:04.049 --> 00:33:06.670
when I took my very first writing class, like

00:33:06.670 --> 00:33:09.369
my very first grant writing class, like that

00:33:09.369 --> 00:33:13.640
was our, what used to be that we wrote for. And

00:33:13.640 --> 00:33:15.259
so I think they have a really great mission.

00:33:15.440 --> 00:33:18.900
They do a lot of really wonderful work. The committee

00:33:18.900 --> 00:33:23.059
is wonderful. And I think that they do amazing.

00:33:23.880 --> 00:33:25.660
And maybe a little biased, because I'm a student

00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:29.140
at State University. But I think it's a really

00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:33.119
great organization. So I work with a lot of different

00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:35.559
artists, independent artists, and people who

00:33:35.559 --> 00:33:39.619
are great. How often do you see them applied

00:33:39.619 --> 00:33:43.069
for grants for their artistic uh creative endeavors

00:33:43.069 --> 00:33:47.750
and what's the probability of those type of people

00:33:47.750 --> 00:33:51.410
being funded um i actually don't see a lot of

00:33:51.410 --> 00:33:54.329
um creatives applying for funding i don't think

00:33:54.329 --> 00:33:59.829
that they know that um there's funding out there

00:33:59.829 --> 00:34:02.470
but there are a couple of organizations that

00:34:02.470 --> 00:34:05.170
i follow on my business account on instagram

00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:09.739
that literally is like dedicated to showing artists

00:34:09.739 --> 00:34:13.139
like funding opportunities for them. And so I

00:34:13.139 --> 00:34:18.300
can also send those over to you as well. And

00:34:18.300 --> 00:34:20.420
then maybe you can send them out to your community

00:34:20.420 --> 00:34:24.179
so they can follow them. Because there are a

00:34:24.179 --> 00:34:27.659
lot of opportunities, but it's not very well

00:34:27.659 --> 00:34:33.039
advertised. And also people probably just don't

00:34:33.039 --> 00:34:37.469
know so it's not in their algorithms. I've been

00:34:37.469 --> 00:34:42.449
saying this for like decades plus For me, you

00:34:42.449 --> 00:34:44.590
know having the business background with a concentration

00:34:44.590 --> 00:34:49.090
in marketing. I Don't ever see it. I'm always

00:34:49.090 --> 00:34:53.389
looking for stuff, right? I'm more than I'm More

00:34:53.389 --> 00:34:55.489
I guess in tuned and just to have a person because

00:34:55.489 --> 00:34:58.829
I'm already researching looking but I don't ever

00:34:58.829 --> 00:35:04.010
see where just Funding opportunities in general

00:35:04.699 --> 00:35:07.460
marketed the way that I think we should be marketed.

00:35:08.579 --> 00:35:11.860
They do their regular traditional things of maybe

00:35:11.860 --> 00:35:16.280
they'll have the program created. Of course,

00:35:16.320 --> 00:35:19.360
it would be housed somewhere. But the way that

00:35:19.360 --> 00:35:21.840
they get the message out so the community can

00:35:21.840 --> 00:35:23.260
still let people know that they can actually

00:35:23.260 --> 00:35:27.099
apply is always through more traditional means,

00:35:28.139 --> 00:35:31.500
more of a grassroots. Type situation, I don't

00:35:31.500 --> 00:35:33.360
think they take advantage of social media like

00:35:33.360 --> 00:35:38.239
they should or create creative campaigns dedicated

00:35:38.239 --> 00:35:40.519
just to getting the word out to me is no more

00:35:40.519 --> 00:35:43.539
than No different than what like the Department

00:35:43.539 --> 00:35:45.800
of Health does when I want to get information

00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:49.800
out. It's always through What they thought worked

00:35:49.800 --> 00:35:54.840
in the past And they get like a very little people

00:35:54.840 --> 00:35:59.429
participating Knowing that you know those particular

00:35:59.429 --> 00:36:03.150
programs can actually benefit way more people

00:36:03.150 --> 00:36:05.670
if they apply different marketing techniques.

00:36:06.190 --> 00:36:07.969
What's been your experience of like how you've

00:36:07.969 --> 00:36:11.630
been seeing just rent opportunities being pushed

00:36:11.630 --> 00:36:14.730
into the community from a marketing perspective?

00:36:15.429 --> 00:36:18.869
That's a really good perspective. A lot of people,

00:36:19.210 --> 00:36:21.489
or I'm not going to say a lot because I don't

00:36:21.489 --> 00:36:25.909
know those members, but I in my experience have

00:36:25.909 --> 00:36:30.880
come across people who are reluctant to like

00:36:30.880 --> 00:36:34.820
change sometimes, but they just don't know, or

00:36:34.820 --> 00:36:39.679
it's like the same people from like 50 years

00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:41.960
ago are still sitting in the same seat. So they're

00:36:41.960 --> 00:36:46.019
doing things that were years ago, not in 2026.

00:36:46.719 --> 00:36:52.559
And so looking just like looking at my, like

00:36:52.559 --> 00:36:57.539
there's just so many ways that I follow on here.

00:36:57.840 --> 00:37:03.880
And so even for someone who wants to find grant

00:37:03.880 --> 00:37:07.119
opportunities on Instagram, you just literally

00:37:07.119 --> 00:37:13.619
type in grant. And like on your, like where the

00:37:13.619 --> 00:37:16.559
magnifying glass is, there are like so many grants

00:37:16.559 --> 00:37:19.039
that just pop up. But I've researched it so much

00:37:19.039 --> 00:37:21.019
to where I don't even have to type in grants.

00:37:21.659 --> 00:37:23.619
And they're just like clear on the screen when

00:37:23.619 --> 00:37:29.170
I go to my like explore page. And so I think

00:37:29.170 --> 00:37:33.690
that looking out for the organizations, expressing

00:37:33.690 --> 00:37:38.230
your thoughts is really beneficial. And sometimes

00:37:38.230 --> 00:37:40.530
people are really receptive to it. They're like,

00:37:40.550 --> 00:37:43.269
oh, I didn't even think about that. Or I didn't

00:37:43.269 --> 00:37:45.230
even think to show up in the space in that meeting.

00:37:45.889 --> 00:37:48.190
But also when you tell them like your thoughts

00:37:48.190 --> 00:37:52.829
and ideas, like help them, you're also like towards

00:37:52.829 --> 00:37:58.190
that relationship with them. But actually, anybody

00:37:58.190 --> 00:38:00.829
out there who wants to get in contact with you

00:38:00.829 --> 00:38:03.489
wants to check out social media to learn more

00:38:03.489 --> 00:38:05.730
about grant funding opportunities. We're going

00:38:05.730 --> 00:38:14.510
to need to go. But I also have a website at the

00:38:14.510 --> 00:38:19.449
opiate design company dot com, but also I'm on

00:38:19.449 --> 00:38:23.590
Instagram that actually Pandora era or a building

00:38:23.590 --> 00:38:29.679
with a few. Yeah, I can send over all of my contact

00:38:29.679 --> 00:38:37.059
information So yeah, I can send over all of that

00:38:37.059 --> 00:38:39.659
and you can get any show notes if you like no

00:38:39.659 --> 00:38:45.360
pressure I Put pretty much a lot of stuff at

00:38:45.360 --> 00:38:48.940
show notes. That's actually one of my marketing

00:38:48.940 --> 00:38:52.980
tools that I tell people when you do broadcasting

00:38:53.550 --> 00:38:56.710
Most people think, oh, I do a podcast interview

00:38:56.710 --> 00:38:59.030
and just leave it at that. And I'm like, no,

00:38:59.090 --> 00:39:01.789
you actually get indexed by Google because it's

00:39:01.789 --> 00:39:07.010
words. And that's what helps it climb the charts.

00:39:07.769 --> 00:39:12.530
And I've shown people where the name is typed

00:39:12.530 --> 00:39:14.809
in, their location is typed in, they're the second

00:39:14.809 --> 00:39:17.730
thing to pop up. And it's an interview with them.

00:39:18.130 --> 00:39:19.929
And I was like, that's due to the fact you have

00:39:19.929 --> 00:39:25.000
your own page. It's indexed with all the keywords

00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:28.179
and stuff. So when people are searching that

00:39:28.179 --> 00:39:31.679
You start to show up and then the more you show

00:39:31.679 --> 00:39:33.960
up and the more you're out there The more people

00:39:33.960 --> 00:39:35.659
are going to see you. I guess a numbers game

00:39:35.659 --> 00:39:39.880
at the end of the day So is there anything that

00:39:39.880 --> 00:39:42.699
we left out that you'd like the people to know?

00:39:43.559 --> 00:39:46.960
Don't give up no matter what don't give up keep

00:39:46.960 --> 00:39:50.139
pressing It doesn't matter if you have that professor

00:39:50.139 --> 00:39:55.039
that doesn't believe in you, or it's just like

00:39:55.039 --> 00:39:57.579
you can't prove yourself wrong, that you can

00:39:57.579 --> 00:39:59.960
actually do anything that you set your mind to.

00:40:00.460 --> 00:40:03.059
Surround yourself with the information that you

00:40:03.059 --> 00:40:07.119
will retain and stick to a schedule and you'll

00:40:07.119 --> 00:40:11.280
succeed. Thank you for your time, thank you for

00:40:11.280 --> 00:40:14.159
your story, the jewels that you dropped. You

00:40:14.159 --> 00:40:15.679
can go and check out the website, it will be

00:40:15.679 --> 00:40:18.070
displayed. as always you can keep following make

00:40:18.070 --> 00:40:21.070
that radio show across social media and if you

00:40:21.070 --> 00:40:23.349
like to subscribe you can do the exclusive that

00:40:23.349 --> 00:40:26.289
we have on apple subscriptions as well under

00:40:26.289 --> 00:40:29.030
music and business talk i'll be a host andres

00:40:29.030 --> 00:40:31.849
and we have giving you another episode