In mid-November, nearly a dozen individuals participated in a 5-day intensive grant training in Nome through The Grantsmanship Training Center. The group was comprised of Kawerak employees and Community Development Coordinators from throughout region.
The Grantsmanship course guided participants through the eight major components of a grant proposal and shared resources to search for government, private, and corporate funding opportunities. By the end of the week, participants in self-elected groups were required to draft an eight-page grant proposal and had a chance to critique proposals from the other groups. Although the thought of the proposal could seem daunting, the class allowed the participants to break it down and in the end was very rewarding. Participant Mary Otton from Kouyuk said “I love that we were able to write a grant and get input on it from others and our instructor.”
In addition to the weeklong training, participants were given access to grant writing templates, a six-month subscription to GrantsStation, and an opportunity to work with a grant reviewer for up to one hour. With this support, participants can feel confident and prepared when it comes to grant writing. “This class is definitely worth taking,” confirmed Henry Pungowiyi from Brevig Mission. Mary agrees, “I will utilize what I learned in the work I do for our community. It gives me hope to be able to help my people.”
Sponsoring this training is one way that Kawerak Inc helps to support regional communities with successfully garnering more funds for their local projects. Many times these projects are identified as priorities by the community through their Local Economic Development Plan (LEDP). Community meetings to develop the LEDPs are coordinated by Kawerak’s Community Planning and Development Department. Copies of the community’s plan can be found on the community page of Kawerak’s website under “Our Region”.
Regional Development Coordinators that attended this training included: Amber Atchak of Stebbins, Carolyn Oquilluk of Teller, Mary Otton of Koyuk, Matthew Murray of Elim, Henry Pungowiyi of Brevig Mission, Melanie Campbell of Gambell and Patrick Iyatunguk of Shishmaref.
If you would like to learn more about future grant writing training opportunities, host a training in your community, or would like to apply for Short-term Regional Training Scholarships, please email training@kawerak.org, apply at www.mycache.org or view our training calendar at www.kawerak.org/training. If you have questions don’t hesitate to give us a call, 800-450-4341.
