Say hello to @KateLynass, May’s GrantZone Member Spotlight!
Kate is the Grants Manager at Children’s Advocacy Center for North Texas, Inc. located in Lewisville, Texas. Kate has been a member of GPA since 2020. She also a member of the North Texas Chapter of GPA.
I asked Kate a few questions about her experiences, which I’m sharing below so you can get to know them a little better. If you learned something new, liked something about her story, or just want to say hi, please comment below to let Kate know!
Please tell us a little bit about how you got started in the grants profession and what you like most about your role.
I reviewed grant applications submitted for Denton County when I worked for the County Judge and I wrote local grants for various non-profits in Denton, because I belonged to so many boards and groups. I opened my own business of grant management in 2019 after leaving the county and I was hired as the grants manager for CAC North Texas later that year. I celebrated my 2nd anniversary on 9/11/2021!
What is your biggest career highlight to date?
Successful submission of winning a multi-year grant (over $500,000 across 2 years for 2 programs in 2 counties). I had to “herd cats” and our CEO to get it done on time, but we were all so excited to have it awarded at almost full ask. I have successfully submitted several other large award grants and some federal grants to support a new in-house medical program across two counties. Some were successful and some were not, but we received such positive feedback that I’ve applied again this year…for even more funding! We were awarded twice the requested amount ($200,000 over two years) from another funder because of a compelling application narrative and virtual visit. We had built such a good relationship with a regular funder that when our initial program "went south" they trusted us enough to explain the circumstances of our breaking a contract, developing a new in-house program, and request for additional funding (which was granted) to support the new program. We regained a multi-year state funding that was lost previously because the application writing did not demonstrate any knowledge about our mission; comments from CEO and readers of the grant was that they were so impressed with the application they had few suggestions to make (and all of those were on how to expand the award rather than caveats about the application's weaknesses). I had so many successes in my first two and a half years with CACNT that the rejections don't hit as hard and instead make me review how to make the ask even better. “It's for the kids” is the bottom line; the funders are beginning to get that because of my words.
What advice would you give to someone who is new to the grants profession?
Talk to everyone! Ask questions! Read everything you can. Join GPA immediately as the community is so willing to help answer even the dumbest questions, and to do so without any judgement (okay, without apparent judgement).
What do you enjoy most about being a member of GPA?
The community. I read the daily emails of conversations to find out what questions to ask, what info I need, what resources are available, who to contact... It's been a life saver and makes me seem so smart (and competent) to my bosses when I pass on info or have answers to questions they ask simply because I read it on the blogs.
What makes you happy (travel, hobbies, family, pets…whatever makes you smile).
Reading in my chair, with a drink and my dogs at my side. Traveling and meeting new people and seeing the places I've studied (from the US, Europe, to Asia). Working in my rose garden and making a Japanese garden. And just being with my friends and family. I didn’t realize until I couldn’t do it that being social fills me up and helps me continue working hard and giving back to my community.