Getting there...

I have been majorly slacking with this whole posting blogs concept, which explains why my personal diaries when I was a little girl lasted for all of a week. Here is where I stand at this point:
I have my concept and I know what I would like to do for my two papers, my problem is that I am awaiting approval. As I've said before I am exploring grant proposals and I was originally focusing on finding what makes a grant proposal successful by exploring higher education and non-profit, now my direction has shifted. I have volunteered with this not-for-profit organization on a couple of occasions, an organization called Family Connections that is based state wide with satellite locations around South Carolina. One of these satellite locations is in Anderson, SC where Sherry Fields is the Area Coordinator. Sherry and I have been corresponding periodically over the past few weeks and we will finally get to sit down this Friday and discuss some things.

Like I said originally I was going to highlight those things that make a grant successful, now I am looking more towards something that will give me experience writing a grant proposal while doing something beneficial for the organization (or at least that is my hope). This weekend I volunteered at their Fishing Rodeo which basically consisted of an afternoon of the kids eating hotdogs, playing games, and fishing at a pond. It was a lot of fun and the kids has a great time and I have a better idea of the types of things they like to do. With this information and the things that I learn from Sherry on Friday, I hope that I can create a program for the kids that will 1) allow me to create a promotional brochure/pamphlet for the event and 2) give me a chance to try my hand at writing a grant proposal as the event will need to be funded. This is my idea; I have to talk to Sherry to see if this would actually be possible. If worse came to worse, she might be able to provide me with a hypothetical situation, meaning it might not benefit them directly, but it might have potential in the future.

The promotional brochure/pamphlet would be aimed at my lay audience which would be the general public who does not need to know all of the mechanisms behind putting on the event, they just need to know the particulars and feel encouraged to come out and participate. The actual grant proposal will get to the nitty-gritty of what all will be entailed by putting on an event, the costs, the reasons for wanting to put on the event, how the kids and family within the organization will benefit, etc. I am trying to brainstorm ideas to propose to Sherry before Friday, but I feel as though I will have a better idea after we speak in regards to their specific needs and wants.

So, this is where I am at right now. I have been researching ways in which to write a successful grant proposal, looking at several internet and book sources. I have also been looking at the logistics behind not-for-profit organizations and getting a feel for how they function and the different purposes they serve within a community. I am beginning to have a broad understanding, but I will certainly understand the specific details behind all of this upon speaking with Sherry.

I know that I seem sort of at a stand-still because I have not spoken with her, but I need to focus on this one particular satellite office because of convenience purposes. The next closest one is located in Greenville and the state office is located in Columbia. Whereas they could offer me explanations and good information about Family Connections itself, Sherry will enable me to do something specifically for the Anderson community.