DIGGING INTO DOLLARS

Grants/Funding to help small business & Nonprofits with start-ups & growth

Karen Wainscott, Community Centric Development /  Business Consultant, East Colorado SBDC
Certified Grants Management Specialist, NGMA / Fund Development & Strategic Planning Professional

This Workshop will offer guidance and ideas for small businesses and nonprofits in any lifecycle stage of their business. We are constantly seeking resources to grow and develop, and many founders are interested in finding grants that do not need to be paid back like a loan. The COVID-19 pandemic recovery funding often took the form of grants, but as we move further into recovery, these opportunities are disappearing and more difficult to find. This presentation will explore non-debt funding options still available for women/minority-owned businesses, and also address grant funding for nonprofit and local government agencies.     

Karen will create a custom resource that she will host on her website and provide the QR code for all Workshop participants in her slides so we do not need to worry about printing costs. Many of you are aware that I am chasing answers for a more functional Web Site to meet our needs. Technology is challenging when the tools don’t work as they should and people’s time adds up and they need to be paid. So I have explored a variety of funding options for Northern Colorado Women in Business.

As an entrepreneur, Karen is just striking out on her own!  She is working hard to build a bigger team to meet the demand for funding and grant seeking services across Colorado and the Mountain West.

She explains, “Our current team of consultants brings decades of experience working with non-debt funding across all sectors, as well as expertise in the areas of strategic planning, program building, and nonprofit development. We are passionate about “teaching a woman to fish” when it comes to seeking funding – and offer many educational services such as workshops, virtual seminars, and custom training solutions.

“We are also extremely passionate about prioritizing clients from rural and disinvested communities and work hard to ensure our pricing is accessible for all businesses, nonprofits and government agencies needing capacity-building support.

Three key points you will gain / take away following this program:

1. Non-debt funding is often connected to a specific population or audience that the funder is looking to support, and luckily, there are many opportunities in this space for women and minority-owned business founders.

2. When it comes to positioning your business, nonprofit or agency for funding, public-private partnerships and your relationship to the “natural allies” in your community are the key to tapping into grant funding.

3. Grants are a special blend of business plan meets research paper meets compelling story-telling, and practice makes perfect so it is important to seek out opportunities to submit applications and refine your narrative as your organization develops.

Karen will address the vast majority of the items members submitted last summer and this summer – during our survey period.

Let’s get to Know our Speaker:

Karen Wainscott is originally from Richmond, Virginia but has been in Northern Colorado since 2012. After beginning her career in large-scale concert promotion on the East Coast, Karen transferred her marketing and communications skills to the nonprofit sector, serving as the development director for a variety of worthy causes here in Colorado.

Most recently, she worked in state government, serving as the Rural Program Manager for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. This role gave her the opportunity to support organizations from all sectors across the entire state. After her grant-funded government position ended in June (oh the irony was not lost on her!), Karen decided to take on her scariest title yet: small business owner!  Many of us can relate – right!

Turning years of grant-writing freelancing into a full-scale funding and grant-writing consulting firm and building a team of funding professionals, is an exciting challenge bringing many new opportunities to “walk the talk” alongside other passionate and brave women doing amazing things in our community. Many Northern Colorado Women in Business should be counted in this brave and passionate group! She considers it a high honor to be asked to share her knowledge and perspective with the sincere hope that it makes a difference for the wonderful women who are part of the NorCoWIB TRIBE!

You can contact Karen and learn more about her and the Creative District at:

Karen Wainscott, Founder/Lead Consultant

Her Business Name Community Centric Development

Web Site www.communitycentricdevelopment.com

Email karen@communitycentricdevelopment.com.

Phone 804-855-4764

Facebook     

LinkedIn  https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-wainscott-a786b360/

Physical Office coming soon!

I have been blessed to work with Karen when she was employed by Envision, Creative Support for People with Developmental Disabilities and we also served on the Board of Weld Women2Women together for more than a decade. I admire her vision and her kind and caring spirit! I’m so grateful attendees will have this opportunity to add to your “tool chest” after hearing Karen’s program!

Please Thank our member Volunteers for helping make this Workshop a powerful experience for YOU!  We all know the importance of having women as mentors – it lifts our confidence, diminishes our stress and raises our happiness, which helps keep us in the “Driver’s seat of our LIFE!” 

WORKSHOP Date:  Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024

Program Title: Digging into Dollars!
Grants/Funding to help Small Business & Nonprofits with start-ups & growth

Speaker: Karen Wainscott, Community Centric Development / Fund Development & Strategic Planning Professional

Location & Catering: The Rush Event Center, 1112 40th St., Evans, CO 80620

Set-up DIVAS 4-5 p.m. Tuesday, 7/2/24 from 3-4 p.m. Ciara Wortley, Envision, Creative Support for People with Developmental Disabilities; Kay Broderius, Weld W2W-Retired; Amie Cieminski, UNC/Youth Empowerment; Anne Masterson, Retired Nurse

Check-in Hostesses: Terri Aden, OsteoStrong; Aiesha Englick, Sistas In Act Cleaning Service

Greeter: Julie Villhumsen, Mary Kay & 60+ RIDE

Speaker’s Gift: Vicki Conley, LaptopLyfe  

7^th Inning Stretch: Kim Parker, High Plains Library District

Clean-up DIVAS: Marie Warren, Marie Warren Homes – Coldwell Banker Realty NOCO / CASA / 60+ Ride; Chris McDermott, Habitat for Humanity; Julie Villumsen, Mary Kay/60+ RIDE; Donna Upton, Nutrition+Frequency=frequense

Your generous participation with our Sister-to-Sister Pay-it-Forward philanthropy will benefit The SBDC – UnStoppable Business Women’s Conference and be coordinated by: Elizabeth Mahoney, Complete Professional Development (who will be hosting a break-out session with Betzy Valdez @ UnStoppable 2024). The SBDC is part of UNC Foundation. Funding for trainings and conferences to help women in business has lots of expenses and moving parts. Just pulling together one Workshop/month for NorCoWIB members adds up quickly. So, we decided so many of us have benefitted from the programming and been featured as speakers…that we wanted to give back. Karen is also working for them part-time.  I hope you will support their work in our community.  Members can share 1 business card + $5 or …3 Biz cards and $15. You decide how passionately you wish to donate in $5 increments, it’s your choice.  TY,  we do have a QR code you can scan to donate now!

Be sure to volunteer for upcoming Workshops to assist with a smooth operation each month and to capture more Networking time to get to know more of our members and Associate-Future Members!

Northern Colorado Women in Business is getting close to wrapping-up our 16th year as a Networking Leader for local women and  we continue to provide collaborative opportunities for our members to shine through! HOW? With:

• Collaborative sponsored events (making it more affordable when sharing the cost)
• Volunteer opportunities to enjoy collaboration and community impact, such as a 2-hour volunteer work session at the Weld Food Bank or a Habitat for Humanity BUILD Day  – which provides additional NETWORKING time.
• Sharing our promotional materials for NewBEE Bags and Speaker Gifts to promote our businesses
• Stepping-up to take the Lead coordinating activities where we want community visibility like Relay for Life, Compete to BEAT {{HUNGER}} or UNC’s annual Women’s Walk to raise scholarship dollars and encouraging community members to support AIMS and UNC events
• Make :30 announcements at the end of the Workshops to spread awareness about things you are hosting or passionate about
• Serve as Enlightening Conversation Leader/ Hostesses …and also accept invitations to be part of these magical small group Master Mind sessions that are a FREE Perk of Membership or cost $10 for Associate – Future Members (or $11 online)
• Sponsor a Training that will enrich your business skills and help members
• Participate with members in CELEBRATING YOUR WINS!