Last week, I received the following email from a faculty member here on campus: I am reaching out to you for direction regarding finding grant opportunities. This is a completely new process for me and I have no idea where to begin! I’m so happy when faculty and staff step forward with this humble question, and I wanted to share most of the response I emailed back, as many more folks might find it helpful. First, I would urge you to begin with grants closest to Virginia Western … I consider them “starter” grants. Your odds at getting funded are better, and they can be good practice for bigger projects. Here are three places to begin: No. 1: The Paul Lee Professional Development Grants through the VCCS Dr. Carrie Halpin, Virginia Western’s Instructional Designer and Technologist, has been awarded a VCCS Paul Lee Workshop Mini-Grant for the past few years … they have funded her successful summer Instructional Technology Mini-Conferences. The grant pays up to $1,500 to host a workshop that involves at least two or more VCCS colleges. The next deadline would be Feb. 1 for projects proposed for the 2018 summer semester. Learn more about these grants (and… Continue Reading Help! I have no idea where to begin with grants!Read More
I’ve been thinking a lot about the “community” part of community college lately. I light up every time I hear community-service ideas in our college forums, like the idea of building a Habitat for Humanity house (heard that one at a strategic planning brainstorm). Or forming a Relay for Life team (Staff Senate). Or establishing a student food pantry (I’m part of a small group working on some version of this right now). I’m still new to Virginia Western, so it’s very likely I’ve missed some excellent examples around campus. So far, these are the most visible community-oriented initiatives I’ve found: Students in our Community College Access Program (CCAP) must complete a 4-hour service learning project each semester. According to the Educational Foundation’s Impact magazine, these students contributed more than 2,800 hours volunteering in the Roanoke Valley in 2015-16. Examples include: Cleaning pens and walking dogs at Angels of Assisi, waiting on customers at the historic Buchanan Theatre, working at the kitchen in the Rescue Mission, and serving LOA Meals on Wheels. (If you know of an organization needing volunteer help, contact CCPA coordinator Carolyn Payne at 540-857-6371 or cpayne@virginiawestern.edu.)Our Dental Hygiene Program partners with many community agencies to provide free… Continue Reading Soft skills and service learning: Can Virginia Western do more?Read More
06
Sep
Last week was a good one for the grants office, as we learned one of our projects was funded by the state. (Yay!) For the second year in a row, we helped secure a $40,000 grant to the college’s Educational Foundation to develop Virginia Western programming at RAMP, the new business accelerator in downtown Roanoke. I will elaborate more about in RAMP in future posts, but today I wanted to spotlight our latest $40,000 award from the state’s Building Entrepreneurial Economies (B.E.E.) grant program AND the woman representing Virginia Western at RAMP: Samantha Steidle. Samantha Steidle Before serving as Virginia Western’s Innovation Officer, Sam taught entrepreneurship, marketing and small business management courses for the college and through Workforce. As an entrepreneur, she founded Virtual Marketing and The Business Lounge, Roanoke’s first coworking space, which later led to CoLab in Grandin Village. Sam earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Radford University in 2004 and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in 2010. “One of my major goals is to elevate the awareness of an entrepreneurial path for students in all programs of study and throughout the community,” she told me by email. Sam was kind enough… Continue Reading Sam Steidle can talk entrepreneurship for hours (and other fun facts about Virginia Western’s Innovation Officer)Read More
About Shelley
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.
Recent Posts
- The Power of Collaboration November 17, 2023
- Time to Innovate October 4, 2023
- How to tackle grant season? August 14, 2023
- Welcome to Grantology February 3, 2023
- Innovation Grant Lab series: Finish line! (March) March 2, 2022