Though this is not the first year of Jame Madison University's Grant Writing class, this is the first year we have been fortunate enough to receive the Learning by Giving Foundation grant. JMU's Social Work Department Head, Lisa McGuire, gave me some insight on how we became grant recipients.
In prior semesters, Dr. McGuire solicited money from her family and friends in order to provide the class with "real money" to give out to local agencies. Each semester she was able to raise approximately $700.00. Though this was great, she decided this past year she would use a GoFundMe page to go about this solicitation process, and advertise it on her Facebook page in hopes of reaching more people. She explained that after she shared the page, one of her friends from the Indiana University School of Social Work commented and stated that there was a foundation that gave out grants for the exact cause for which she was raising money. Thus, the process of becoming a Learning by Giving grant recipient began!
Dr. McGuire researched the foundation and discovered that JMU's Advancement Office would need to contact them to ensure that the university would be able to financially keep the class going after the foundation fronts the cost for a few years. Following this, there was a phone interview where we were informed that several schools had dropped out of the program, and that JMU was a great candidate to fill an opening.
A proposal was submitted, we were awarded the grant on June 21st, 2016, and the rest was history!