Beginning Grantseeking
May 6 @ 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm CDT
Virtual Workshop – Live/Online
Fee: $95 for MCN members / $135 for nonmembers
Where does the grantseeking process start? How do you find funders interested in your organization and your programs? There are proven tactics for finding funders that are a good fit for your organization–and plentiful resources online–many of them free!
In this three-hour live online training, we’ll discuss the best ways to begin grantseeking (which is closer than you think!), explore four good places to start looking, work through a proven process for finding funder information, discover how to “dig deeper” into a foundation’s interests, and determine the best way for you to start capturing what you are learning about your organization and its potential funders. This training is specifically designed to help you gain important grantseeking competencies and skills related to researching, identifying, and matching funding resources to meet specific needs. Through this training, you will:
- Know more about major trends in grant funding
- Apply methods of locating funding sources
- Explore techniques to learn about specific funders
- Determine the right method for maintaining, tracking, and updating information on potential funders
- Identify fundable programs and projects for your organization
- Locate best matches between funders and specific programs
- Interpret grant application request for proposal (RFP) guidelines and requirements to accurately assess funder intent
Workshop participants will receive a digital copy of the Handbook for Successful Grant Writing that covers topics ranging from research and planning to a glossary of commonly used terms. The Handbook is only available to participants and is not otherwise for sale.
This session focuses on the nonprofit funding landscape and the process of seeking grants. The second session in this series is Beginning Grantwriting, which centers around writing grants. There is also an Intermediate Grantwriting session that serves as a writing workshop. We also offer a State Grantwriting 101, which offers an overview of the Minnesota state grantmaking process. Visit MCN’s Event Calendar to register for one or all.
Event Details
This virtual event will take place on the Zoom platform.
Your access link will be emailed to you the day before the event after 12 p.m.
This session will be recorded. The recording will be made available to registrants after the live event.
Captioning is provided automatically through Zoom. For information on requesting CART, ASL, or another accommodation, please visit our Registration Policies page.
To learn more about events, registration, and payment, visit our Event & Registration FAQ page.
Speaker Information
Melia Smith is a community-driven fundraiser with a focus on establishing, analyzing, and overhauling fundraising operations and community-centered funding strategies. Her fundraising praxis is rooted in justice, and she does her best work when she gets opportunities to blend traditional and grassroots fundraising practices to advance equitable philanthropic practices.
Melia graduated from Pepperdine University with a BA in Sociology and a minor in Social Work. Before joining People Serving People in July of 2025, she has worked the spectrum of development roles at a variety of social service nonprofits, including Andre House, a homeless services agency in Phoenix, AZ, and two Feeding America food banks: Three Square in Las Vegas, NV, and United Food Bank in Mesa, AZ.
Melia is an organizer, artist, and community ed enthusiast, and moved to St. Paul from Phoenix, AZ in 2022. In her free time, she enjoys petting every dog she meets, taking long walks along the Mississippi River Trail, and giving unsolicited pop culture commentary.
