New Guest Podcast: Grant writing for Nonprofits with Arlene Siller
On this month’s podcast, you’re hearing from Arlene Siller, an absolute expert in the field of grant writing. I'm talking over 29 years of experience in securing multimillion-dollar grants! Arlene is the founder of Ascend Nonprofit and Business Solutions LLC, a firm helping women and minority owned nonprofits around the country secure essential funding through grants.
Can I tell you a secret?
I LOVE running and scaling my own business just as much as I LOVE teaching organizations how to scale through fundraising. There are so many parallels! This love spills over when I meet another business owner and entrepreneur who I click with! I immediately felt 'that click' when I met Arlene. Our stories are similar in many ways . . . I'll let you listen in for yourself!
When Arlene Siller reached a career crossroads, she knew she had a choice: continue trudging through a field that was no longer aligning with her personal values, or take a leap of faith and apply her skills in a completely new industry. She chose the latter and never looked back, entering the world of grant writing for nonprofits.
Arlene’s research background proved valuable as a grant writer. She had experience securing funds, but now she could help the causes she was passionate about raise the money they needed to fund their mission and strategic vision. She hit the ground running, raising over $35 million in four years for a multi-state organization. In 2019, Arlene expanded her impact by founding Ascend Nonprofit and Business Solutions LLC, helping women and minority owned nonprofits around the country secure essential funding through grants.
Ascend NBS offers so much more than just grant writing services. The group also works with leaders to improve their organizations strategic vision and workflow, allowing the grant writing process to blossom to new heights. Now, Arlene wants to help you secure the grant funding your organization needs to take that next step in your overall growth.
In today's episode of The Business Behind Fundraising Podcast, you'll discover:
✔️We all have transferable skills. Arlene did not start in the nonprofit sector, but her experience researching, writing, and advocating for her work proved vital to her success as a grant writer.
✔️Don’t settle for less-than-ideal clients. If your clients are not as eager to work with you as you are to work with them, there is a strong chance the partnership will not work out. Use these moments as learning opportunities, both for yourself and for the client. This goes the same for funders!!!
✔️ Create and evolve your processes. Everybody needs a plan, and when times get tough, that plan can be crucial to the success or demise of your vision. When Arlene founded Ascend in 2019, she factored in resources and plans to prepare for when times get tough. These processes helped her coast through the 2020 pandemic, with a little tweaking here and there.
✔️ Diversify your revenue streams. Get creative in where you look for grants, and if you feel like you’re hitting a wall, don’t be afraid to partner with and learn from other organizations seeking the same funding. We are all trying to improve our world, and sometimes teamwork is the key to doing that.
🔗Connect with Arlene HERE on LinkedIn or via her website.
👂To listen to the episode on YouTube HERE and for Apple podcasts in its entirety, go HERE.
Whenever you’re ready, here are THREE things you can do next:
👣 Follow me on LinkedIn here where I share the same lessons I teach my clients about attracting larger gen-ops dollars and adding 7-figures + to their bottom line.
🍎 Read my GUIDE! THE TRUTH ABOUT GIVE/GETS :: Top 5 Reasons Your Board’s Give/Get Is Leaving Thousands (Sometimes Millions) on the Table. See how limiting board members to the Give/Get model restricts gifts and keeps your staff from reaching their full fundraising potential. Here to get it.
📈 Work with me to scale your org's revenue by 2-5X and fund your organization’s Strategic Plan // If you’re a business-minded CEO already raising MILLIONS but need to diversify revenue and secure more general-operating dollars to invest in growth, you can apply to work with me here.
