it is finished.

We. are. finally. done.

That's pretty much all I can say (except I have to say more because this is supposed to be a reflection). So what I can say is that I learned quite a bit this semester. Really.

I remember when I was younger. My grandma was a second teacher at the same school I went to and everyday I would walk over to her office at three. One year, she and a couple other ladies were in charge of writing a grant. I don't what it was for or who it was through, but I remember they were seriously stressed. + my junior high self was intimidated. Just the word grant seemed terrifying. So much work. So many technical issues. So much stress. So when I waled into Writing for Change and realized we were going to actually be writing a grant, I kind of wanted to cry.

But I made it through. And here I am on the other side.

I think the thing that interested me most was all of the branding that goes into any aspect or planning that takes place. Whether you are planning a fundraiser or writing a grant or seeking out media attention for your efforts, you must think about how you typically brand yourself and how you want to portray your branding in a specific situation. This understanding is something that businesses of all types have to be aware of so I think it's definitely something I can apply.

I love applicable learning. I'm a nerd. Or maybe just really practical.

I am going to start rambling now. So, to all my fellow classmates, congratulations. And have a wonderful summer.

It's almost here, guys. Almost. The end of the year is almost here.

Unfortunately, this almost means deadlines are almost here, too. A lot of them.

Including this grant project. I must say, though, that I am feeling pretty good about it. The 1,500 character limit has definitely proved to be a challenge. But I feel like I've managed to be concise enough to fit the limit while also letting the company know what The Sewing Machine Project is all about. It's definitely been a hard road getting there what with The Project taking a good chunk of the information about this project off of their site and not emailing me back . . . still. But I made it. Almost.

Since I figure we all have at least a little bit of the end-of-semester blues, here's some acts of kindness to cheer you up:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/erinlarosa/boston-marathon-tragedy-met-with-amazing-acts-of-kindness

i am so grant-ful

Please excuse the title; it has been one of those weeks + it seemed funny when I typed it. + to tell you the truth, I don't think I have time to back + erase it. That would just cut into some major paper writing time.

But, really, I'm so grateful for the 3,000 character limit on my grant. 1,500 for describing my audience and 1,500 for describing my project. Enactus, I applaud you.

I'm not fooled, though. When I was writing these pieces up (the night before peer review, no less) I found it pretty challenging. I want to start with some emotional hook + give you some background on the amazing things this non-profit has done (contacting me is not one of these) + tell you all about the awesome people like Angeles who sold her cow and horse to get this project started a few years ago. But I can't. Because I'm already at 1,000 characters with that. Ugh.

In other news, it's Friday. + I'm going to see George Strait tonight. + I'm not going to think about this grant proposal a single time.

crunch time

So I have been putting off this blog post all week in the hopes of being able to talk to you guys about my grant source. This post will be about no such thing.

Why? Because I am still having issues with finding the right match. Either my mission statement doesn't line up with a particular grant's. Or they want to do work in a particular country with a company that has experience there already. Or, or, or.

I have even tried reworking the specifics of my project to be funded. (Ok, in all honesty I haven't given this as much time as it deserves, but I'm busy. Cut a girl with 18 hours, a job, and an internship some slack.)

Needless to say, today is another one of those Sundays completely dedicated to figuring this stuff out. Wish me luck!

Square One

All the complaining I did about the fundraising project? Yeah, I take it back. This grant writing stuff is already more complicated.

I am amazed at how detailed some grants are when it comes to requirements. I thought I had found the perfect one the very first day we started researching in class . . . turns out, The Sewing Machine Project isn't quilty enough for quilt club (also known as the National Quilting Association). It's true guys; your mission statement is a huge deal.

So I'm back to square one. Got to get gettin' + find a grant that matches perfectly. Wish me luck!

In the meantime, The Awesome Foundation is, well, awesome. They're just a group of anonymous people who grant $1000 dollar grants to a cool idea of their choosing each month. Check it out!

Fertig.

Guys. All I can say is how happy I am to have that fundraising project behind me. I am officially fertig (which is German for finished). I must admit that I ended up enjoying once it was all said + done. + I learned so much more than I thought I would. But let's just say I won't be diving into any major (real) fundraisers anytime soon.

congrats to the rest of the classmates, as well, on finally turning that thing in.

Images

I must say, this fundraising project has been just as daunting as I expected. It has been just as much work as I assumed. It has definitely taken all the time I had set aside for it . . . and then some. My time management skills have definitely come in handy this past week + my new planner did not let me down.

Even with all my planning and big-picture-looking, I still managed to find a few surprises and stumpages. (No, that isn't a word; it should be.) In particular, I found that figuring out the most beneficial way to advertise to be quite the challenge. I can't really place my finger on one particular reason this has been so complicated for me, but I'm pretty sure my indecisive self plays a pretty big part. 

Advertising is such a crucial part of any event. It's not just for getting the word out there; it can make or break your image in some cases. I guess I just want to do The Project justice. + it doesn't help that I don't have a lot to go off of since there just isn't much existing material.

Guess it's time to start looking at this as a blank slate to spill my creative juices onto. Time to get image creating!