Heron's Nest Consulting

Passionate nonprofit professional with 20 years of full-time grant seeking experience. 

Raised over $30M in foundation, corporate and government grants for food banks, environment, economic justice, HIV/AIDS, youth development, nutrition education, policy advocacy, immigrants, and microlending programs. 

Services: 
Grant proposal and report writing, grants management and calendaring, prospect research, grants strategy development, and program development. 

Marketing communications copy writing, including annual reports, brochures, blog posts, newsletter articles, and donor communications.

Clients:
Alameda County Community Food Bank, Refugee & Immigrant Transitions, Sonoma Land Trust, Palo Alto University, Community Financial Resources, and Sempervirens Fund.

Grants Consultant

Opportunity Fund

Oversight of institutional fundraising program for the nation's largest nonprofit microlender, including developing strategies and projections; strengthening existing funding relationships; identifying and cultivating new prospects; overseeing staff and contract grant writers in the production of grant proposals and reports; supervising grant accounting and management; and improving institutional giving workflows and systems.

Achievements include:
* Helped raise over $4.8M annually in foundation, corporate and government grants, exceeding annual goal by 20%
* Responsible for development and submission of over 150 grant proposals, LOIs and reports annually
* Success in securing 6- and 7-figure grant awards

Director, Institutional Giving

California Association of Food Banks

Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations * May 2014 - Oct 2018 * 4 yrs 6 mos
Corporate & Foundation Relations Manager * May 2012 – Apr 2014 * 2 yrs

Responsible for achieving annual $1.8 million grant revenue goal to support statewide advocacy, food distribution and nutrition education programs. Established revenue goals and developed institutional giving strategy; developed strong funder relationships; wrote foundation, corporate and government grant proposals and reports; planned programs and developed budgets; created grants management systems; monitored spend down and ensured all grant deliverables were met; wrote donor communications materials; supervised grants coordinator. 

Accomplishments include:
* Raised entire 2018 grant revenue target by year-end 2017
* Consistently exceeded institutional revenue goals
* Secured several 6-figure, multi-year general operating support grants
* Won multi-year grants to pilot and scale statewide programs, including nutrition education and protein acquisition programs

Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations

SF-Marin Food Bank

Associate Director of Grants * Jul 2008 - Aug 2011 * 3 yrs 1 month
Grants Manager * Jul 2006 – Jun 2008 * 2 yrs 
Grant Writer * Oct 2005 – Jun 2006 * 9 mos

Managed a portfolio of over 100 Bay Area foundation, corporate and government funders to raise $1.5 million annually. Established grants management systems and collaborative workflows with development, accounting and marketing staff. Created annual report, web content, op-eds and marketing collateral. Supervised grant writers and development associates. 

Accomplishments include:
* Increased grants revenue 166% over five years with only a .5 FTE increase in staffing
* Secured funding to replicate a school-based pantry program scaled nationally through Feeding America’s food bank network
* Initiated and led key funding initiatives, including recession response and hybrid truck fleet campaigns

Associate Director of Grants

Marin Interfaith Youth Outreach

Wrote grant proposals for enrichment programs for at-risk youth; consulted with staff on program design and evaluation; reported on outcomes.

Grant Writer (contract)

SAP SuccessFactors

Created performance management and employee development content for HR software start up, including library of over 500 SMART performance goals;  managed project to localize software into five languages.

Content Product Manager

KnowledgePoint

Contract Content Producer Dec 2001 - Nov 2004 * 2 yrs
Web Content Producer * Sep 1999 – Nov 2001 * 2 yrs 3 mos
Content Editor * Mar 1997  – Aug 1999 * 2 yrs 6 mos

Developed content for workforce development software, including job description library and industry-specific competency modules for performance management application (healthcare, IT, K-12 education, law enforcement, etc.). Created employee coaching library with thousands of tips for improving employee performance across multiple professions and competencies. Led design, development and content for leading HR web portal. Wrote marketing collateral, case studies, and training materials.

Content Writer & Editor

AIDS Memorial Quilt 

Education Coordinator * Sep 1993 – Oct 1995 * 2 yrs 2 mos

Designed, piloted and scaled innovative quilt-based HIV prevention program in hundreds of high schools across the country. Developed educational programs and materials for 40 local education chapters nationwide; provided training and technical assistance. Hired evaluation consultants and integrated results into fundraising and marketing materials. Led education conference for over 50 international participants. Wrote successful federal grant proposals to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention for National High School Quilt Program,  International HIV Prevention Conference, and Youth Education Day at national quilt display DC 1995. 

Grant Writer (contract)
 * Nov 1995 – Feb 1997 * 1 yr 4 mos

Wrote proposals for foundation, corporate, and federal government grants.

Education Coordinator & Grant Writer (contract)

San Francisco State University

Taught basic writing, composition and creative writing classes.

Writing Instructor

Vista College

Taught classes and tutored low-income women in reentry program.

English Teaching Assistant and Tutor

Passionate nonprofit professional with 20 years of full-time grantseeking experience. Offering grant writing, grants management, prospect research, program planning, and strategy development. Also copy writing for annual reports, brochures, blog posts, newsletter articles, and donor communications. Experienced in anti-hunger/food banking, environment, microlending, and economic justice.

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