Grant Professionals Association - Annual Conference
November 3, 2022 10:45am - 12:00pm
Louisville, KY (in-person & virtual options)
Presenter: Kristin Raack, CFRE, GPC
Registration: GPA website
Learn to deploy Appreciative Inquiry--an evidence-based, inherently positive, deeply collaborative, and exceptionally flexible tool. This assets-based methodology will strengthen your grants practice.
Strategic plans. Program plans. Fund development plans. Business plans. Program
plans. Data collection and evaluation plans. Nonprofits are always engaged in planning.
Yet, all too often, we dread the planning process. Then, after countless hours of work, we put the plan on the shelf and forget about it.
How can organizations engage in successful planning and avoid common pitfalls?
Appreciative Inquiry is a flexible, dynamic tool that can help nonprofits during any planning process. It presents a strengths-based alternative to traditional problem-solving approaches. It aligns with current best practices about listening to the
communities served and highlighting their capabilities rather than deficits (i.e. Asset-Based Community Development and community asset mapping). Furthermore, it counters the “scarcity mentality” that is often prevalent in the nonprofit sector.
This evidence-based methodology has been linked with greater employee satisfaction, stronger teams, and increased organizational impact.
During the session, participants will:
Learn the 5 key stages of the Appreciative Inquiry methodology.
Explore case studies demonstrating different applications of the methodology (i.e., strategic planning, annual grant strategy
creation, personal career planning, etc.).
Practice using the methodology to create a customized career and professional growth plan.
Receive a downloadable Appreciative Inquiry toolkit to continue their learning.
Grant professionals will benefit significantly from having Appreciative Inquiry in their professional toolkits. This session will align with two specific GPC competencies:
• #2 - Organizational development as it pertains to grant seeking.
• #3 – Strategies for effective program and project design and development.