2021 Sessions and Presenters

2021 HoA GPA Conference ScheduleDownload

Keynote Address

Working Effectively and Positively as an Individual and as a Team Member

Presenter: Dr. Susan Harrison. Keynote speaker, award-winning author, corporate trainer, and certified life coach. With disarming transparency and trademark humor, Dr. Harrison shares her struggles and successes in work and personal interactions. She has helped thousands of professionals all over the world develop effective business and life skills. Areas of expertise include communication, customer service and positivity. She has appeared on KCTV5 and FOX 4 Morning News.

Track A
Nuts and Bolts: The How of Grant Writing

Session Title: Using Motivational Interviewing to Bring out the Best in a Grant Writing Team

Presenters: Julie Alsup, GPC and Tracey Diefenbach, GPC

Topic: This workshop will present an orientation to motivational interviewing and its related skills and strategies and the integration of these techniques into project development and design strategies, such as project plans and logic models. Interactive workshop with opportunity to practice common scenarios where grant professionals must use their influence. Participants will learn: a) Definition and guiding principles of Motivational Interviewing; b) Spirit and skills of Motivational Interviewing; c) Applying Motivational Interviewing skills across the grants process; and d) Integration of Motivational Interviewing skills and strategies to facilitate project development and design. Relevant for all skill levels; most relevant to advanced practitioners.

Presenter Information:

  • Julie Alsup, GPC. GPA Approved Trainer and Vice President, Heart of America chapter. Fifteen years’ experience. Has presented at two GPA national conferences as well as numerous chapter, regional and nonprofit trainings and presentations.
  • Tracey Diefenbach, GPC. GPA Approved Trainer. Sixteen years’ experience. Program Committee member for GPA – St. Louis. Has presented at numerous GPA and AFP chapter meetings, GPA national conferences, and GPA webinars.

Competencies Covered:  

  • 3. Knowledge of strategies for effective program and project design and development;
  • 4. Knowledge of how to craft, construct and submit an effective grant application;
  • 7. Knowledge of practices and services that raise the level of professionalism of grant developers.

Session Title: Think Like a CEO and Lead Your Grant Professionals Career

Presenter: Scot Scala, GPC, M.Ed.

Topic: This session details the outcomes of three research studies on the successful thinking & doing habits of CEOs, and how they translate to elevating your career as a grant professional to new heights. To develop a solid vision for your own success, you must consistently engage in strategic high-level activities that develop and advance how you think, work, and approach your career as a whole. Learning objectives include understanding how to: take control of your work without being controlling; develop your professional brand; communicate at a high level; participate in the grant professionals sector, in the right way; track your successes and grow from your failures; develop your plan of action to be a leader in the industry; know where and when to seek professional support; ensure work/life balance; and know that sharing your knowledge is essential to other grant professionals and the sector. Skills level targeted are early-career and mid-career.

Presenter Information:

  • Scot Scala, GPC, M.Ed. GPA Approved Trainer. Grants and fund development professional since 1990. President and Senior Consultant of Scala & Associates, a consulting firm specializing in providing services to nonprofit organizations. Expertise in grant funding research and proposal design, board training and education, fund development planning, and capacity building. Has presented at each of the past 11 GPA annual conferences and for GPA chapter, AFP regional and AFP state conferences. Also co-presenter for the monthly GPA Next Level webinar training series.

Competencies Covered:

  • 7. Knowledge of practices and services that raise the level of professionalism of grant developers.

Session Title: Preventing Panic:  Putting Together Post-Award Grant Management Processes that Stop the Stress Cycle

Presenters: Catherine Hooper and Andrea Lombard

Topic: Attendees will build knowledge about (1) successful post-award grant management elements and (2) a framework for setting up and/or improving agency procedures and tools to manage grants post-award. This interactive online session’s learning objectives are to: 1) clearly define the philosophy inherent within and value created by a robust grant management process, 2) outline the core milestones within a functional cycle of post-award grant management, and 3) send participants home with a straightforward, flexible toolkit to launch awards and ensure transparent accountability throughout the award year. Tool examples will include a sample workplan for launching new grants and templates for gathering and sharing data for outcome and financial accountability check-ins.  Best for early- and mid-career grant professionals.

Presenter Information:

  • Catherine Hooper. Skilled nonprofit strategist, grant program manager, and degreed technical communicator. Experienced project manager who excels at helping nonprofit teams design effective and sustainable programs focusing on client-centered, outcome-driven interventions. She has helped agencies obtain more than $20 million in diverse grant funding since 2008. Catherine has actively supported the GPA HOA programming committee since 2018, including planning and facilitating bi-monthly educational events for members.
  • Andrea Lombard. Nine years of experience writing and/or managing grants for nonprofit agencies. Since 2018, has helped pilot post-award management processes and tools to help diverse agencies better oversee grant portfolios to ensure outcome attainment and transparency. Has fund development background and is a Licensed Scrum Master contributing insight into implementing agile project management in nonprofit settings, including grant management.

Competencies Covered:

  • 5. Knowledge of post-award grant management practices sufficient to inform effective grant design and development.
  • 8. Knowledge of methods and strategies that cultivate and maintain relationships between fund-seeking and recipient organizations and funders.

Track B
Social Challenges and Impacts:
The Why of Grant Writing

Session Title: Don’t tell me stories! The role of grant professionals in results-oriented funding and explaining ROI

Presenters: Dr. Bruce Eddy, Theresa Reyes-Cummings, MPA, GPC, Mike Othic

Topic: Health care is undergoing rapid and dramatic change. Funding decisions are part of the change. Instead of covering costs for existing programs, payers are moving to incentivize effective practices and tie funding to performance. Funding mental health care for un- and underinsured people is part of this change.  This panel presentation was prepared by a mental health payer that grants over $10 million annually.  Panelists will provide an overview of important topics from funder and agency perspectives; including:

• Investment is different than grant making. This is a major change in how to apply for funding

• Return on Investment (ROI): an evolving concept with risks and benefits

• Value-based payment: what it is and how it is revolutionizing mental health and social services

• Grant professionals: communicating to get the right data, then explain it.

The session will also explain risk sharing, key performance indicators, and the essential role of data. Examples of ROI statements will be discussed, with what is behind them conceptually. All skills levels. Panel format.

Presenter Information:

  • Bruce Eddy, PhD. Bruce serves as executive director of the Community Mental Health Fund. Hs has been in that role since 2005. The Fund is a public payer for mental health services for 15,000 uninsured residents of Jackson County Missouri. Services are provided by 35 contract agencies including Swope Health, TMC Behavioral Health, Hope House, The Children’s Place, and many others. Bruce’s responsibilities include development and oversight of healthcare contracts, strategic direction, government relations, budgeting, payment systems, and quality assurance programs.  He also represents public services as a member of the Kansas City Tax Increment Finance Commission. In his prior role, he served as executive director of Resource Development Institute, a non-profit research and evaluation institute.  He received his doctorate in community psychology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  In his post-doctoral work, he directed a national technical assistance program for the Association of University Centers for Excellence on Disability in Washington, DC.
  • Theresa Reyes-Cummings, MPA, GPC (for 9 years). Theresa serves as Deputy Director, Jackson County Community Mental Health Fund. Theresa received her bachelor’s degree in Social Science from Pittsburg State University and her master’s degree in Public Administration from the University of Kansas with emphasis in performance management. Her career spans over 30 years of experience and expertise in the fields of non-profit management, mental health and social service program development, community development and training, criminal justice, and government relations.  Theresa is also certified as a national grant professional (GPC) with experience in grant writing, management, grant making and serves as an external reviewer for federal, national, and local granting agencies.   Theresa is an experienced public speaker with presentations at the national and local levels. In her tenure as a funder, an area of interest and expertise is enhancing the level of cultural competency among mental health service providers to improve care and positively impact the culture of organizations.
  • Mike Othic. Mike is an eight-year grant veteran with a wide variety of experience in proposal development and contract management. As Grant Manager for FosterAdopt Connect, Mike oversees a small department that manages about 35 grants and contracts – and anticipates drawing-down about $7.3 million in revenue from federal, state, county, municipal, and private sources in 2021. Grants have helped FosterAdopt Connect grow from twelve employees in 2012 to over 180 full-time positions at the end of 2020. Mike enjoys working with program managers to create effective program models that advance regional systems of child welfare and has a passion for designing evaluation criteria and logic models for new programs and services. When not managing grants, Mike enjoys going on road trips with his wife and working in his garden.
  • Casey Thomas. Ms. Thomas is Director of Impact and Strategy at The Family Conservancy (TFC), a Metro-based nonprofit specialized in early childhood education systems support, parenting programming, and mental health services. Ms. Thomas has over 12 years of experience in authoring and managing foundation, corporate, and government grants. Prior to joining TFC nearly a decade ago, she worked for the City of Ottawa, Kansas, as a management analyst securing grants for municipal infrastructure. In her current role as the Director of Impact and Strategy, Ms. Thomas leads the development of and supports the use of tools, strategies, and processes to enable data to drive client-centered results and build TFC’s capacity to reach performance targets and create better outcomes for the Kansas City community. Ms. Thomas currently oversees TFC’s grant portfolio which exceeds $5 million dollars in revenue and directly impacts over 87,000 Kansas City Metro children and families.

Competencies Covered:

  • 3. Knowledge of strategies for effective program and project design and development.
  • 4. Knowledge of how to craft, construct and submit an effective grant application.
  • 7. Knowledge of practices and services that raise the level of professionalism of grant developers.

Session Title: From Exploitation to Empathy: Ethical Storytelling in Grant Writing and Beyond

Presenter: Caliopy Glaros

Topic: Many organizations struggle to communicate their impact in a way that authentically represents the issue and preserves those affected by it. This session will explore ways of telling stories that challenge assumptions and inspire empathy. How do we portray our program participants as their own agents of change, while admitting that they also need our help?  How do we emotionally connect our donor to our clients, without simplifying their challenges or minimizing cultural differences?  In a refreshing take on this provocative issue, Caliopy Glaros invites attendees to move beyond shifts in lexicon and imagery and to embrace methods that both challenge assumptions and inspire empathy. All skill levels. Hybrid format – virtual activities and hands-on learning.

Presenter Information:

  • Caliopy Glaros is an independent consultant with expertise in ethical storytelling and donor engagement. Her work is informed by her experience as a front-line fundraiser, cross-cultural trainer, and as a former recipient of nonprofit services. She has worked in nearly 60 countries around the world, and has delivered workshops on ethical storytelling to small volunteer-run organizations as well as large multi-national charities. She has delivered workshops on ethical storytelling at various conferences, including the Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) and to local chapters of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). She also regularly teaches online courses with CharityHowTo. Her mission is to deepen the critical consciousness around ethical storytelling and to provide actionable recommendations that are applicable to organizations of any size, budget, and mission.

Competencies Covered:

  • 6. Knowledge of nationally recognized standards of ethical practice by grant developers;
  • 7. Knowledge of practices and services that raise the level of professionalism of grant developers.

Session Title: Social Impact Champions: The Critical Role of Nonprofits in the Social Impact Sector

Presenters: Shelley Loethen, GPC and Theresa Reyes-Cummings, MPA, GPC

Topic: The rise of the fourth (social enterprise) sector brings unprecedented opportunities for nonprofits with a social impact mindset. Nonprofits embracing this emerging reality will be poised to thrive. Grant professionals can lead the way in establishing a social impact mindset in their organization and help refine their agency’s role in the new economy. Learning objectives include: 1) discovering implications for nonprofits of fourth sector emergence and how to prepare for new opportunities and challenges; 2) learning why social impact is likely to become the new standard of program/agency evaluation creating a new definition of value going beyond outcomes; 3) acquiring knowledge & tools to advocate for a social-impact emphasis in their own organization, grant proposals, and funding communities to help strengthen their agency and the nonprofit sector as a whole. Most appropriate for mid-career and master level participants.

Presenter Information:

  • Shelley Loethen, GPC, has been working in the nonprofit sector as a consultant for more than a decade. Starting out as a solo consultant focusing on grants, she now leads a team of nonprofit professionals with a wide range of experience that includes grants, post-award management, fundraising, marketing & communications, planning, nonprofit leadership, and direct service. She has an unwavering belief in the potential of the nonprofit sector and is committed to helping nonprofits bridge the gap between sustainability and impact. Certified in social impact strategy by the National Institute for Social Impact, she is working to bring an emphasis on social impact to the nonprofit sector and create collaborative frameworks for nonprofits and social enterprises that help both thrive. She has presented at three national GPA conferences, GPA and AFP regional conferences, UMKC and Nonprofit Connect.
  • Theresa Reyes-Cummings, MPA, GPC, has more than 30 years of expertise as a social scientist in fields including nonprofit management, government relations, social service & community development programming, and grantsmanship. In her current role as the deputy director of a community mental health funder, she has led cultural competency initiatives and a transformation of her agency’s grantmaking structure that helps nonprofits better articulate their social return on investment. She recently led implementation of a value-based grant payment structure whereby grantees are given opportunities to secure additional funding by demonstrating their social impact/social return on investment. This is the first phase of transitioning the organization’s nonprofit partners to a new frontier of funding and income generation strategies.

Competencies Covered:

  • 2. Knowledge of organizational development as it pertains to grant seeking.
  • 7. Knowledge of practices and services that raise the level of professionalism of grant developers.
  • 8. Knowledge of methods and strategies that cultivate and maintain relationships between fund-seeking and recipient organizations and funders.

Funders Panel (All Tracks)

Topic: The Funders’ Panel will include representatives from at least four funders including, to date: Health Forward Foundation; Baptist-Trinity Lutheran Legacy Foundation; and Children’s Services Fund of Jackson County. The moderated panel will be asked to particularly discuss changes in funding consistent with the conference theme.

Competencies Covered:

  • 8. Knowledge of methods and strategies that cultivate and maintain relationships between fund-seeking and recipient organizations and funders.