{"id":768,"date":"2019-10-04T13:10:37","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T17:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/notes\/?p=768"},"modified":"2024-08-01T15:26:50","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T19:26:50","slug":"how-to-create-grant-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/grants\/2019\/10\/how-to-create-grant-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make grant magic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"MAGIC<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A couple of weeks ago, I spoke at a conference hosted by the North Carolina Council of Resource Development (NC CORD). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My presentation was titled “How to Make Grant Magic,”<\/strong> and I livened up my slides with photos of the Mill Mountain Star, plenty of Harry Potter references, and a GIF of the bewitching Debbie Reynolds in “Halloweentown.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But most importantly, I framed this hour-long talk around inspiring books (my magical ingredients)… as well as the key drivers of engagement<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was a serendipitous accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the weeks leading up to the conference, I volunteered to serve as facilitator of Virginia Western’s Campus Engagement Workgroup<\/strong>. As part of my research for that role, I stumbled onto a blog post by DecisionWise, a longtime consulting company based in Utah, which recently published the book “Engagement Magic: Five Keys for Engaging People, Leaders, and Organizations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their acronym was absolutely perfect for my presentation theme:
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Meaning:<\/strong> Does your job provide you with a sense of meaning and purpose?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Autonomy:<\/strong> Do you have the freedom to choose how to best perform your job?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

G<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Growth: <\/strong>Are you feeling challenged and stretched in your work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Impact:<\/strong> Does your work have any impact on the success of your company, the people in your community, the world, etc?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

C<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Connection:<\/strong> Do you feel like you belong with your colleagues and your organization? 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their blog post<\/a>, DecisionWise explains these key drivers are based on two decades of research and over 12 million employee survey responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They resonated with my own experience (and were easy to remember), so I aligned my presentation draft with the magical acronym. I gave examples of how the grants office aims to foster these key drivers of engagement, either during the grant development process or through grant awards themselves. In each section, I grounded my anecdotes with book suggestions that have inspired my thinking (many of which I have discussed on this blog). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, when I talked about the grants office’s role in fostering more connections across campus, I suggested reading “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters.” <\/strong>I have found this book by Priya Parker helpful, whether I’m facilitating work meetings or hosting my daughter’s birthday parties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also asked the 20 or so session attendees (almost all of them grant professionals across North Carolina community colleges), to share a book that has inspired their work. Their suggestions included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n