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As I’ve noted before, I do A LOT of reading in the grants office. Today, I wanted to call attention to a few enlightening reports that I spelunked while working on our latest grant proposal, a three-year plan for the Claude Moore Health Professions Academy, which has launched in Roanoke city and Roanoke County high schools this fall. The objective is to build nursing and EMS pathways stretching from the high schools through Virginia Western’s programs and beyond. Understanding our region’s healthcare needs is critical — both for our economy and Virginia Western’s role in that economy. Here are three resources that are rattling around in my brain: 1. You probably know that Carilion Clinic is the largest employer in the Roanoke Valley. But did you know the healthcare sector leads all other sectors with the most job growth in the next five years?: 11% by 2021. That 11% growth number comes from the 2017 Virginia’s Blue Ridge Works Local Workforce Plan, which is still in draft stage. The same report notes a 10% growth rate for jobs in the emerging Life Sciences sector (biosciences, biopharmaceutical, bio-related manufacturing), which was touted in a recent GO Virginia report (more on that in the… Continue Reading 3 reports that could change the way you think about Virginia Western and our healthcare economyRead More
I’ll never forget one of the lessons of “Working Girl.” Tess McGill, played by Melanie Griffith in this 1988 film, weaves a brilliant Wall Street deal because of her reading habits, and *spoiler alert*, she crafts a winning merger based on information she learned from a gossipy entertainment column. I spend most of my time reading in the grants office. Not so much People or Entertainment Weekly … but a wide variety of sources that span industries and disciplines with the hopes that I will make similar creative connections. I might not use all of these ideas immediately … but it plants seeds that could sprout into something later. To help with my daily reading habits, I’ve created a bookmark bar across the top of my Chrome browser. Along with my color-coded Google calendar, I open about 50 tabs all at once every morning, and I’m always adding/subtracting to this dashboard as necessary. So as we start a new academic year, here are at least five sources that you might add to your daily list: 1. Virginia Western’s websites Let’s start at the microscopic level. I want to know what’s happening on this campus — what the students are doing,… Continue Reading 5 reading habits of a creative grant championRead More
I dutifully scribbled down all of the tips from this workshop for Roanoke grant writers, which I attended shortly after starting my “Grant Specialist” job at Virginia Western last year. I was confident about my writing skills — I had been practicing for 15 years at the local newspaper — but I was new to higher education and still learning the grant development process. Marilyn Herbert-Ashton, grant Jedi and founder of Virginia Western’s grants office, had taught me so much already — and she encouraged me to attend this workshop to learn more about what NOT to do with grant proposals. A panel of representatives from local foundations — the folks who decide which proposals get funded — talked about some common mistakes they see on applications. This list included: Vague, unfocused writing … or writing that is too academic.Requests that don’t address a demonstrated need.Too much data.Simply not following the application’s directions. All seemed pretty straightforward. But then, almost as an aside once we got into a meatier discussion, one panelist from a local healthcare foundation bemoaned the lack of innovation. She was tired of seeing the same ideas proposed year after year. That’s when my joy bulb lit up, as I’m alllllllllll… Continue Reading Let’s grow ideas (and grants) together in the Green HouseRead 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
- Welcome to Grantology February 3, 2023
- Innovation Grant Lab series: Finish line! (March) March 2, 2022
- Innovation Grant Lab series: Is this a good investment? (February) February 2, 2022
- Innovation Grant Lab series: What does success look like? (January) January 5, 2022
- Innovation Grant Lab series: Add some secret sauce (December) December 1, 2021