Bonus Grant Episode: Grant Quest Basics with Lisa Eaves

Most nonprofits don’t lose grants because they “aren’t doing good work” they lose because they aren’t ready to prove it. Grant strategist Lisa Eaves joins us to break down what funders actually look for, why preparation matters more than last-minute writing, and how small organizations can build a real path to sustainable nonprofit funding. 

Lisa shares the story behind her consulting firm, The Grant Liaison, and the idea that grant work is a partnership, not a magic trick you outsource. We talk about the three-way relationship at the heart of every award: the community need, the nonprofit’s capacity, and the funder’s goals. From there, she walks through her “Grant Quest” approach, including grant readiness, targeted grant research, tight compliance with RFP guidelines, and writing applications that feel polished, credible, and specific. 

We also dig into the part leaders often underestimate: what happens after you win. Strong grant management, outcome reporting, and clear evaluation data help you show stewardship and earn the next level of investment. Lisa explains why counting activities is not enough and how nonprofits can shift toward impact-based storytelling that resonates with foundations, corporations, and government funders. 

Finally, we zoom out to community leadership. Lisa makes the case for listening to the community in real ways, showing up consistently, and collaborating instead of competing especially when funding gets tight. If you lead a nonprofit, sit on a board, or support a coalition, this conversation gives you a practical map for smarter grant strategy and stronger community impact. 

Subscribe for more conversations like this, share the episode with a nonprofit leader who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find Community Possibilities. What part of the grant process feels hardest for your organization right now?

Guest Bio

LISA FARRAR EAVES has spent more than 25 years working on every side of the grant process as a grant administrator, grant reviewer, and grant writer in nonprofit and government settings. She understands how grants really work, what funders look for, and where organizations most often get stuck, bringing rare, real-world insight to an often misunderstood process. She is the founder and owner of The Grant Liaison, LLC, a grant services firm based in Atlanta, Georgia, where she helps nonprofits and businesses turn big ideas into fundable, manageable projects. Known for her engaging, down-to-earth teaching style, Lisa makes complex grant concepts feel clear and achievable. She regularly shares her expertise as a speaker and volunteer with organizations such as SCORE, the Atlanta Urban Le

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Music by Zach Price: Zachpricet@gmail.com

Transcript

Ann Price 0:45

Hi, everybody. Welcome back to Community Possibilities. You know, I thought I had wrapped up my series on grant professionals, and then I found out that today's guest had just written a new book. I know Lisa from my work a few years ago at the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities. We did some evaluation strategy and planning work with them. We did some evaluation capacity workshops. You know, I love workshops and facilitation. And uh Lisa Eaves was the grants manager there at the time at GCDD. Lisa is so bright, so accomplished, and oh my gosh, so smart. So now Lisa has her own consulting firm. She is the owner of the Grant Lay Us On. She's based in Atlanta, Georgia, and she specializes in grant writing, grants management, and nonprofit program development. Lisa has over two decades of experience in nonprofit and government sectors, and she is dedicated to empowering organizations to expand their resources, strengthen their infrastructure, and ensure compliance with state and federal regulations. Lisa's new book is called The Grant Quest, a nonprofit's guide to funding success. And she's going to tell you about her book and why she named her firm The Grant Liaison. I was very curious about that. You know, people are very thoughtful about why they name their companies the way they do. And also this idea of the quest. Hmm, there might be a few star reference, Star Wars references uh in the podcast today. All right, so no, no hating on me if I didn't get uh all the what is my my kids call the canon. Yeah, the Star Wars canon. Anyway, uh so Lisa is on the show today to talk about grants, all things grants, and what you need to know to be successful in your grant quest. So thank you, Lisa, for joining me on the show. Let's jump right in. Hi, everybody. Welcome to Community Possibilities. Today we have a bonus grant pro session for you. If you've been listening, you know I've interviewed four grant professionals. And um, just for jollies, I've invited my friend Lisa Eve on the show. So hey, Lisa. Hey Anne. I'm so excited to see you again. It's been a skinny minute since we've seen each other, like virtually or in real life. Yes, yes, yes. So your life has changed, but before we get into all of that and what you're up to now, I just want to share how you and I got to know each other. So a couple of years ago, you were with the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities and Community Evaluation Solutions uh bid and won a contract with GCDD to develop evaluation tools, uh, so evaluation planning, and we did some evaluation capacity building with the staff. So you were uh an you know on the leadership team at GCDD. That's how you and I got to know each other. You were actually the grants manager, the amazing taskmaster that kept us on track the whole time. And now you're not doing that.

Lisa Eaves 4:11

So now I'm not doing that.

Ann Price 4:12

Now you're not doing that. Um, so today is a great day for us to get caught up and for you to tell everybody what you're up to. And before we do that, though, why don't you just start by telling us who you are and how you came to be?

Lisa Eaves 4:29

Well, first, I want to start with saying thank you to Ann. Um, the great work that you do, and it's funny the banter we had before we started. I see you as like just the kindest, nicest is most supportive person. You know, it doesn't take a whole lot for you to know a person to um extend your kindness, and I've felt that personally. So I wanted to stop and start by saying that you are very kind and very wonderful, and I appreciate that. So thank you for having me on your podcast. Uh, believe it or not, this is my first podcast.

Ann Price 5:10

Yay! Snakes to you.

Lisa Eaves 5:12

Yay! I lost my virginity to Amy.

Ann Price 5:17

Oh, that sounds odd. Well, thank you. Thank you for the kind words, Lisa. And if it if it makes you feel any better, when I first started the podcast, I was a nervous wreck. A nervous wreck. Because I'm, you know, people don't know this, but I say this all the time. I'm pretty introverted. So this was like a stretch. So I feel you, but take a breath.

Lisa Eaves 5:36

So the nervousness, you know, is there. That's what I mean by losing, you know.

Ann Price 5:40

We're just having a conversation.

Lisa Eaves 5:42

I like speaking, so the conversation shouldn't be should be good. And the reason why I'm happy I'm doing it with you is because just knowing your kindness, I said everything will be okay. Like you'll be able to take a breath, be yourself and help somebody in the meantime. Always so speaking of, um, that's what I'm doing now. I'm being myself. I'm self-employed. I have started a business called the Grant Liaison, and it is a full-service grant firm. Currently, I'm a solopreneur, but I envision growing and expanding and you know, seeing what the future will bring. Um, I will talk more about that um you know, probably a little later in the interview, but I'm just excited to um bring my gifts to the table. And so hopefully, as people get to know me and know a little bit about my background, they will see that um I do have a lot to offer and to bring uh for nonprofits, small businesses, corporations, um, and individuals who are trying to improve the community, which is why this podcast exists.

Ann Price 6:56

Yeah, absolutely. Uh so Lisa, um I'm not I'm not just blowing smoke when I say you are like one of the most organized person I have ever met, right? You just I know seriously, you're a deep thinker, you see the big picture. You're one, you're one of those clients, you were one of those clients who like, oh my god, I gotta bring my best work, right? I can't mess up. So no, no, no, seriously, seriously. So I imagine uh Lisa is a little young thing, like I don't know, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't really like dolls. Um I don't know, don't judge me, people. But uh, so I didn't like organize my dolls, but I did organize my library of books, and I can imagine little Lisa doing something kind of similar. So, so seriously, Lisa, how did you? I mean, we'll get to the grant stuff in a just second, but kind of what were you like? What did you think you were gonna do? How did I because personally I believe that we're all called to a purpose, yes, right? Um, you know, that's my spiritual belief. I believe, you know, there is there is a God who wants the best for us, and he's calling us into our, you know, our our best selves. So I want to know a little bit more about that, Lisa.

A 360 View Of Grants

Lisa Eaves 8:19

Absolutely. And so for me, it's probably the innate teacher in me. I'm a person that likes to break down concepts into manageable pieces where everyone can understand, making complex things common. So, of course, as a child or as a teacher, you're directing things, you're organizing things, you're organizing the classroom, you're saying, this is what we're gonna learn today. You have a lesson plan, you have, you know, at the end, you're graded. That's where that, I guess, that systematic thing comes in. But underlying is just conveying information and seeing people light up. And this is in all facets of my life when they learn something that they didn't know before. Um, in my faith-based community, I teach the little children, um, and everyone is amazed. Like, how did they how did you convey that concept to them? How come they're so bright? Well, they're naturally bright, and kids are naturally sponges, but I think I've discovered that I have a gift to break down uh processes and concepts into their most simplest form. And so, you know, I guess teacher was on my radar at one point. Then, of course, I'm a little bit um opinionated, slightly argumentative. Or I I love a good debate and a good argument, you know, not saying not from a mean-spirited standpoint, but from a sparring standpoint. So, really, an attorney was the route that I was going. And but even in going the route towards an attorney, it was to advocate for people who could not speak for themselves. So I naturally have a you know, a big voice, uh a deep voice. I'm not shy, generally an extrovert, although I can be by myself as well, probably an ambivert, but I have no problem speaking up when it when something needs to be said and fighting the good fight, et cetera, et cetera. Right. So I decided not to go to law school, but I found myself uh definitely. So I was a political science major in in college, you know, thinking that was the law school track. But uh constitutional law is what I was gonna focus on or civil rights law, because again, fighting for the people was what I intended to do. Long story short, I wound up, or even when I first came here, I wound up um at the community foundation for Greater Atlanta. And so in some ways, they are, you know, advocates for community good. And in particular, I was in charge of their scholarships and educational programs, so youth focused programs. And it's from the scholarship angle, it started with helping people to go to college or improve themselves, or educational programs that help change the community and help people to improve themselves. And I found my personal situation was very similar. I was at um probably why I really didn't go to law school is because I didn't have the preparation, the guidance, and the things that I needed to really meet that trajectory. And so as I'm meeting people, this was actually at another foundation as well. I was over a public housing program, educational initiatives for public housing youth. So I saw that these kids are very bright, but they have no access, no resources, and it's going to be difficult to reach success. So I began working with them and their parents all through uh funded grants to get them on the right path to access higher education and to improve their outcomes in the long run. I was hired in this position initially, my first job in philanthropy and grants and corporate at 25 years old. And at that time, I was the I was very young. That's very young to be a program officer. This was actually in North Carolina, and I was the only black person on staff. Gotcha. And so it just opened a world of philanthropy that I knew nothing about. Like people actually set aside money to give away endowments and trusts and wills and donor advise funds, all of these things, even with a college degree, I had no idea what that stuff was. And so the community foundation world, they needed me to be able to connect to some of the communities they were serving because of my experience, personal experience and background. They had no relevance to these young people. So not only was I young and had come from a background of a first-generation college student, you know, 99.9% were also African American, as I am. So I served as like a bridge between what the community foundation wanted to do for a particular population, and I began to get very close to that population and seeing like their eyes open and seeing what possibilities to change the direct trajectory of their life from public housing to being entrepreneurs, business owners, teachers, nurses, doctors, et cetera. So that was, and I say, although I'm not an attorney, every single position I've had since then till now has always been advocating for marginalized and underrepresented groups. So after my community foundation stint, I went on to the boys and girls clubs, running all of their education, career, and development programs, you know, on a metro-wide scale with a team of people, but uh setting up those programs. So I went from being a grant maker and a community change maker to uh being a nonprofit director of these educational initiatives in college and career development, and we saw tremendous strides there. So at that point, I understand what it takes to make a program run. And then I spent the last 10 years uh in state government, as you mentioned, and how we met, um giving out money, but really managing a federal grant. So as a state organization, we received money from the feds. So we were a grantee from the federal government and had to do report complex grant reporting, but we also gave out funds and contracts to nonprofits and businesses to help us advance our work. So I say that I come to grants from a 360 view, from being a grant maker to being a grantee to being a grants manager, grants administrator, you know, keeping up more with the budget and compliance side. So I've seen it all. So with that, after you know, being laid off at my last position after 10 years, I said, how do I take all this knowledge and do me and be me and still help and advocate for others?

Ann Price 16:11

Right.

Lisa Eaves 16:11

So that's where we are.

Why The Grant Liaison Name

Ann Price 16:12

Yeah, I love that, right? And all of that experience is what you're gonna bring to is what you are bringing uh to your business. And side tangent, I some of those organizations you name I've worked with over the years. So I'm kind of kind of amazed that we didn't meet until a couple of years ago. But anyway, all right, let's talk about the grant liaison because that's where you are now. I'm very curious about why you put the word liaison in your title because I know I'm a fellow entrepreneur. I thought a lot about what I was gonna name my business, right? So some people are a lot braver than me. I'll just speak for myself. I was not gonna like, I don't know, amprice consulting. I just, I don't know. That just didn't that didn't feel good to me, right? Um, so I'm very curious. Let's start with the name and then let's uh I want you to tell us like who you serve, what services you provide, all of that kind of stuff, right? Because you really have done it all.

Lisa Eaves 17:15

Yes. So let's start with the name. That's a good place to start. So I knew that I wanted to do something around grants. Um, but you know, a lot of names were taken, quite honestly. Or, you know, you know, how it the computer will tell you when you're trying to name your organization, you know, you can even your email addresses and your everything will just add a one to it or add a two or you know, make it a little different here, right? Capitalizing on some of the names that I had heard. And I said, no, we're not gonna be similar to someone else.

Ann Price 17:52

Yeah, you don't want a cease and desist order if you've taken somebody, I know somebody that happened to, right? Okay.

Lisa Eaves 17:59

So quite honestly, I, you know, I had to get creative. And I thought liaison for me is a partner. And a lot of times when people are looking for a grant writer, well, they think they want a grant writer, they're looking for a person to do everything for them. And they're looking for magic, and they're looking for here, here's my problem. We need, you know, $50,000, we need $100,000 to sustain us for the year. Write us some grants. And all the onus is on the grant writer. And if you get the grant, great. If you don't get the grant, you're a horrible grant writer or you're a failure. I didn't want to be in that position. My your destiny is not in my hands. You know, the nonprofits that I hope to help. I want them to see it as a partnership. You know, that we each are bringing something to the table.

Ann Price 18:56

Yeah, I feel you. I feel the same way, right? Evaluators can't like go into the magic room, mix the lotions and potions and hand you your evaluation. Sprinkle money everywhere. Yeah, it doesn't work that way.

Lisa Eaves 19:10

It doesn't work that way. It's based on you know what the organization is willing to give, to put in, and to go along with. So liaison is often a guy that you know brokers between people. So who am I brokering these relationships with? So not only from the nonprofit side do I want to make sure that they understand it's a team, that I'm not performing, got little magic grants in my back pocket where they get automatic money. No, it doesn't work like that. But also, there are three entities that work together in the grants world. That is the community and the community need, the nonprofit organization and their needs, and then the funder and their needs. And so as a liaison, I'm taking them through and connecting the dots, the bridge between all of them, and saying, okay, as a nonprofit, you have you need funds. As a funder, you have specific goals, ideals that you're trying to reach. You're either trying to reach a particular population, a particular area of interest, you're either you're trying to help something specific. Well, how do you get those two together? Corporations, foundations, governments want to find the best nonprofits, and nonprofits want to find the best resources, and the community wants and needs to improve in certain areas. And so as a liaison, yes, I may start with the nonprofit community, but I'm brokering all those groups to come together and see that how we can get the best outcome for each part.

Ann Price 21:05

Gotcha. And are you uh Lisa, are you largely um looking to support nonprofits?

Lisa Eaves 21:12

Primarily, yeah.

Ann Price 21:13

Right. And you've been around because you have been, you know, a funder in all the the the various seats at the uh the proverbial table. What would you say are some of the biggest mistakes that nonprofits make when they're grant seeking or seeking funding?

Lisa Eaves 21:32

Well, the biggest mistake they make is lack of preparation. Again, there's this notion that there's a lot of money out there, which there is. And if we just ask for it, we'll get it. A lot of people look at grants as just a money transaction where it's really a lot more relational.

Ann Price 21:53

Right. Which, yeah, kind of what you were describing before, where you're a liaison between all these relationships, right? Yes.

Lisa Eaves 22:00

So it's a lot more relational. And if you don't understand how to build these relationships, if you don't understand the pr literal process of completing a grant, it's not at the writing part, it's all the pre-stuff that goes into. So if you're not prepared, it's like giving a kid, you know, your your 18-year-old who maybe your 16-year-old who's just got a learner's permit and learning how to drive. What are the chances you're going to give them the keys to a brand new Mercedes?

Ann Price 22:36

I hope not.

Lisa Eaves 22:37

Pretty slim. Because you know that's a disaster waiting to happen. Um and it's the same way if you're not prepared for uh working with certain funders or certain size grants or government grants. So there's a process to build up to that. Yeah, that makes sense. Number of years of experience before a funder will turn over their prized possession, their money, right? Their hard-earned money, profits, dividends, before they even the government, taxes, even before they will give it to you, you have to prove readiness. Gotcha. And I find that's where most organizations are lacking. And then the last thing is just downright sloppiness. So what I mean by that is in reviewing grants for you know for state government, what people turned in, you could tell it was rushed, it was um not well written, it was full of mistakes, it didn't make sense, it didn't tie back into specific goals, it didn't have outcomes, it all focused on it was late, it was incomplete, um which which all sums up to sloppiness. Right. And so that really hurt most people's chances. Like it could be a decent organization or a decent project, but the presentation was off.

Ann Price 24:09

Right. And what that tells the potential funder is these people aren't ready, they don't have the capacity to manage things. I'm re uh they're probably even wondering about are they even doing a good job with their service, right? Which may or may not be true.

Lisa Eaves 24:25

Absolutely. And some people are real strong on service delivery and real poor on presentation, and they just know they do good work and expect you to understand that they do good work and to fund them. And it really has to be um a lot of training around what does it take to have to put together a good package. You have to look at it as grant dollars are investments, investments in your organization and investments in the community. And so if you haven't positioned yourself to, you know, be worthy of the investment, you may not be successful. Yeah. So my job is to teach people how to do it better. Awesome. I've seen how they do it poorly.

The Grant Quest Framework Explained

Ann Price 25:11

Yeah, exactly. Well, you know, you know, sometimes we learn best from our mistakes, right? But we don't we don't want them to make mistakes in front of funders. So let's talk a little bit about the services that uh you provide. I I'm very curious. You have this I love a good framework, right? So I'm very curious about your quest framework, how that fits in into your services. I love the whole idea of quest. I keep thinking about like Luke Skywalker and he loses tattooing, right? He leaves his home and he goes on this quest, right? Yeah, so I don't know, wherever you want to start, I guess the idea of a quest.

Lisa Eaves 25:53

So grant writing is is not a one-time thing. And when you go on a quest, the the biggest part about a quest is you have a starting point and you have something that you're trying to attain. So if you're trying to improve your chances of getting grant funding, if you're trying to improve your resources, if you're trying to improve your, you know where you want to go. So, and you should know where you are now, and that's where organizations start off on the wrong foot. Like know what you have to start this journey. So, for example, if you're going on just a trip, not even a full quest, if you're going on a trip, you have to have certain things in place. You don't just start driving or walking, especially not these days. You you kind of map out, you know, you go to Google Maps, right, and you you see where you're starting and you want to get from here to there. So I'm a person, you know, going back to what you said about this organization, that right. I'm a person that likes to see where do I start and how do I get there. Yeah.

Ann Price 27:02

Is it best to go with my plane, train, or automobile?

Lisa Eaves 27:05

Yeah.

Ann Price 27:06

What am I gonna pack? Right.

Lisa Eaves 27:07

What are you gonna pack? You know, what what is your mode? What you know, you need some fuel, you need some people, you need some. You can't just go on the trip begging the the entire way.

Ann Price 27:20

Right, yeah, exactly. And it's and you yeah, and you better check the weather, right? If we think that about the weather as context, especially these days, better understand the temperature of the green. Right. Yeah, you better understand the context. Yeah, exactly.

Lisa Eaves 27:36

All of that. It's not just about the end goal of getting that fifty thousand dollars or that hundred thousand dollars. Okay. So you start with where you are, and you know, through through the grant quest, through the book, that's the name of my book, the grant quest. I'm taking them step by step through certain milestones that they need to cross as they're getting to that end goal of receiving a major grant.

Ann Price 28:04

Well, well, congratulations on your new book. Thank you. Yay, it comes out really soon, right?

Lisa Eaves 28:11

Oh, it's out. It's out, it's in my behind the time. It's ready, it's ready, it's here. Congratulations. Uh, yeah, like notifying everybody, get it, get it. If you don't need it, get it for someone in nonprofit, donate it to a nonprofit grant staff person or a development staff person or an executive director of a small organization who's wearing a hundred hats and could use a little map or guidance if it is like cliff notes to grant seeking, you know?

Ann Price 28:45

Yep. So if you need your handheld on the quest, grab the book and contact Lisa. All right, so let's talk a little bit more about the past. So you have this framework. It sounds like you help them kind of understand what they need to kind of get ready to go on this quest. Yes. And then what happens?

Research And Writing That Wins

Lisa Eaves 29:04

So then once you've got all your stuff, you've got your plan. The plan is the biggest thing. It is similar to your map. So once you've got your plan of where you're gonna go, what organizations you're gonna seek out, what types of grants you're gonna seek, what um range of grants is your organization in right now. You know, grants range from $500 to $5 million, you know. So you have to know what your range and capacity is. It doesn't have to be your forever range, but you know, you have to know where to where where you fit in. So organizational, like where am I? Okay, and this is my customized journey from me and my organization. Gotcha. And so the book helps you to discover who you are, where your organization is right now, and then you conduct grant research. How do you conduct grant research? Of course, I name certain resources that you conduct to find the funders. Once you've found the funders, what types of organizations, part of the research is what types of organizations do they annually fund? So looking at 990s and other research, it tells you what they fund every year. If there's no organization similar to yours, that may decrease your chances of getting a grant. So you're looking for people who've been successful that are similar to you. So you're not just applying to any and everything. It's very targeted, very mapped out for you. Then once you apply, of course, you're reading the guidelines. I'm a stickler for, you know, because I I wrote RFP guidelines for years. Um and the simplest things would sometimes disqualify people because they didn't follow the directions. Yeah. You know, didn't upload the proper documentation, didn't sign, didn't put it in the right format, uh, didn't follow the uh word count. It's all though that's the application itself, and that stuff is quickly learned. I think what's uh more difficult is the strategy before you even enter the grant world. And then so you write and you write something polished and you write it professional and you have other eyes looking at it, and you don't wait to the deadline, the day of 5 p.m. or 11.59 p.m. to turn it in. Um, so all those things are the writing part. But then say you get the grant, and everybody thinks that's the best thing that could happen to you. And in many cases it is, but that's when the fun really begins because you have to report on grant. The reporting is significant.

Ann Price 31:52

Yeah.

Lisa Eaves 31:53

Even if it's not, people want to invest in outcomes, which I'm sure you understand, and not just activity.

Ann Price 32:03

Yeah.

Lisa Eaves 32:03

So we have to move grantees from the mindset of I did, I did, I did, I did, I did. Exactly. We helped we served this person, 500 people were fed. Yeah, this man, yeah. Right. We know, we know, but what difference did my money make? That's what people really want to know.

Ann Price 32:22

Yeah, that's that's really true. They want to know the growth in the quest. They don't want to know how many miles it took you to get there, right? Which is not to say that, right? Uh I I'm not poo-pooing. Um, we call that process evaluation in my world, but we gotta we have to move beyond just counting widgets, right?

Lisa Eaves 32:43

Yes, we have to move beyond that. And so that which is what propels you to grant success when you have the evaluation and those outcomes, then you can get more money because you've been so successful with program A, and your outcome, your goals, and your outcomes and targets and everything were on track, then you can brag about that when you write the next one.

Ann Price 33:09

Yeah.

Lisa Eaves 33:10

And you can say, you know, we received $50,000 last year. This is what we did, this is what changed we made.

Ann Price 33:16

Right.

Lisa Eaves 33:17

Don't you want to get on our investment train?

Ann Price 33:20

Yeah.

Lisa Eaves 33:20

Not don't you want to get us out of debt, or don't you want to uh, you know, just yeah, you can't make it so organizational focused, you have to make it impact focused. And so through the quest, I teach you all facets, you know, the pre-award, the actual implementation, and the post-award phases of grants, which most people only focus on the writing aspect. I need a grant writer. No, you probably need a grant strategist, somebody, or a grant liaison, somebody to help work with you through the process. Um, and I think of what I do also as not giving a person a fish. You know, I could write a grant for you. I could write five grants for you, but you haven't learned anything. You're just totally dependent on an external force.

Ann Price 34:14

Yeah.

Lisa Eaves 34:15

But I could teach you how to write grants. I could teach you the landscape. I could teach you the best way to success, the quickest way to be consistent and to have a process. And then you can do it, especially with AI now. Then you can go on your own. But if you don't understand the system, even dumping a bunch of stuff into AI, you're going to get garbage. You're not going to know whether the output was good or not because you don't know enough about the system itself.

Ann Price 34:44

Yeah. And more than more than that, I think you're going to end up with a grant application that sounds like everybody else's grant application.

Lisa Eaves 34:51

Absolutely. Yeah.

Ann Price 34:53

Yeah.

Reporting Outcomes And Using Data

Lisa Eaves 34:54

Um so personalizing, storytelling, um, uniqueness. It's just like a business, except it's a business that does good. You know, if you were literally going after an investor, you have to explain what is their return. What do you offer in return? Nobody's really just giving out charitable dollars anymore. Yeah. It has to be some sort of return.

Ann Price 35:21

Yeah. And my mind is going back to something you said a few minutes ago where you were talking about you're trying to get them to kind of that next level of funding, right? Yes. If they can focus on the whole quest and not just the getting money, right? So, and this is where this is why evaluators and grant professionals make such good, you know, teammates, right? Because if you don't have a good data uh collection strategy and a data analysis strategy and a great data visualization reporting strategy, you're not going to be able to tell your story. And you're not going to make you're not going to be able to make the argument that you were a good steward of the money and you grew and got outcomes for your community and get you to that next level of funding. To your to use your example. Last year we uh you gave us $50,000. Yay. Imagine what we could do, and then you get to that next level of funding.

Lisa Eaves 36:14

Absolutely.

Ann Price 36:15

Yeah. Yeah. And that's the other thing.

Lisa Eaves 36:17

You know, for small organizations, you do have to start small and build momentum. You do have to have skin in the game. You do have to maybe struggle the first three to five years because they want to see what you have done before they make that investment.

Ann Price 36:34

Yeah, for sure.

Lisa Eaves 36:35

They want a track record.

Ann Price 36:37

Yeah. And that makes sense, right? It's again, it's about being a good steward. Uh, so I'm I'm very curious about your questor size. If do you want to talk about your questor size?

Lisa Eaves 36:48

I'm so glad you pronounced it correctly. Quester size. So we're on this quest, right? And you have this end goal. And so when you think of it's the quest and exercises, or you know, you think of repetitions, or you think of uh if we were on a quest for weight loss, there's certain exercises that you must do. They say you got to build your core first. And to build your core, you have to do so many repetitions of sit-ups, or so many repetitions of pull-ups, or so many repetitions of lunges. This is I've heard about it, I've never done it. No.

Ann Price 37:28

At least you didn't say burpees.

Lisa Eaves 37:30

See, I was trying to think of what else is out there that I've never done. But the point is that those little increments of exercises strengthen your organization and help you reach your ultimate goal. So you don't go on a weight loss quest and you know, go, I'm gonna lose 100 pounds without increments, without exercise, daily, monthly, quarterly. What are some little things I can do and think about? So we can't make your organization perfect overnight. So what what are some little things we can do? We're gonna start with, you know, walking so far every day. Then by month three, we're going to make sure that we have this in place. And by month six, we're gonna make so again, it's that organization, it's that plan, it's that quest. But the quest exercises are little exercises that uh are help you to think and ask questions about your organization. If I did this, would that make my organization stronger and position me to get better grants or more grants or bigger grants? So that's what the questor sizes are.

Ann Price 38:47

And those are built into each chapter, if I remember.

Lisa Eaves 38:51

Each chapter of the workbook has little exercises that you should do before moving on.

Quester Sizes And Building Capacity

Ann Price 38:56

Okay, I love it. Um not related to your quest or size, but just because you've been in the community so long in so many different roles. And there I have a lot of community nonprofit leaders, executive directors, staff who listen to the podcast, what do you think nonprofits could do to better serve communities?

Lisa Eaves 39:23

Well, one thing's for sure is to involve the community itself.

Ann Price 39:29

Uh huh.

Lisa Eaves 39:29

And that is listening to your community. A lot of times, either as a nonprofit leader, based on where our funding comes from, we sort of design programs around that. Or we've been doing programs for a long time and we're sort of stuck in the rut of repetition, and we haven't changed with the times and updated as to what people need now. You know, you may have started out with one mission, one focus, one purpose, and doing things a set way, but times have changed. And the only way you will know how to respond to the most recent, the most pressing community needs is engaging the community. And we did that quite a bit. I I did enjoy uh about working at GCDD, um, doing like outreach and forums and um as to what are your needs and and surveys, and then building our five-year strategic plan based on the input we got from the community. So I think a lot of nonprofits don't take time to do that full strategic planning and and getting the community voice, but not just asking, being in the community. So, you know, if you send out a bunch of surveys, you're only gonna get, you could probably tell me better, five to ten percent back. But if you're just around and in the community, you're going to pick up information that someone's not gonna put on the survey. So you have to show up to the community meetings, you have to show up to the churches, you have to show up to the after school programs, you have to go to the schools, you have to, you know, you have to be a part of the community that you serve. And so, you know, it's like your ears are to the ground so that you can take this community scan and best design your programs. And then so when you then pursue funding, you really know what you're talking about.

Ann Price 41:39

Yeah, yeah.

Lisa Eaves 41:40

You didn't make up, it's not something you found on Google. Well, my community, 57% live in poverty, and it's not a bunch of statistics. It's you've seen it for yourself.

Ann Price 41:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I I yeah, I love that so much. That's what that's what we're all about here, and bringing it back to you know, your help with them on the quest, right? They have that community expertise because they're in the community, they are the community, and they bring that those needs, those desires, they understand how the systems work that keep folks stuck in whatever that whatever their, you know, whatever their heart is about. And then you help them match with that funder who also has that heart.

Lisa Eaves 42:28

Yes, that's it.

Ann Price 42:30

Love it.

Lisa Eaves 42:30

That's it. Yeah, that's the liaison part.

Ann Price 42:34

Yeah, that's that's the uh the green and white lightsaber, not the red lightsaber. Okay, I don't know if that I don't know if that metaphor works or or not. Okay, so the book, the framework. Do you have like the do you have can you tell a little bit about how you work in terms of services? Do you have like an entry level? Uh I because I'm still learning about like how grant pros really work and the kind how they uh offer their services to nonprofits. Like, do you have a do-it-for-you situation? And the book is your learn and do on your own. How does that work?

Serving Communities By Listening Better

Lisa Eaves 43:13

Yeah, so what I'm I'm fairly new in business, just I started January 25, 2025. And so, you know, building and and trying to come up with a model and how to best serve people and find a niche, and and then with the grant climate in 2025, we don't need to revisit that. It, you know, it wasn't the best year to start, I'll tell you that. Um, but I'm strong and brave, so let's see what we can do in 2026. So uh so entry level points. You can get the book, kind of go through the plan and the exercise and develop it yourself. I'm gonna be offering some masterclasses and some boot camps uh coming up in June. Um, so if you connect with me, which we'll talk about, I know, um, you'll see when those things are advertised. For those who are not ready to make a full commitment to, you know, um retainer services or ongoing consulting, I can give you a class, I can give you the book, I can give you steps that you can take, you know, pretty much within 30 days. The book is around $30. So for less than, it's $29.99. So for less than uh a dollar a day, you could at least have a mindset of what your plan should be to be successful in grant, obtaining grant funds. And you could just do that if that's where you are right now. But some of the services I offer are uh, of course, offering this to do it for you, but you also have that understanding. So we're still working in partnership. Yeah, I'm not doing it for you with you totally in a vacuum.

Ann Price 44:58

Yeah.

Lisa Eaves 44:58

So I can conduct your grant research. I can uh conduct your um grants, calendar, and grants plan, apply for these grants and these months. After I've done the research, this is your plan for the year. So I do a la carte services like that. Also can do temp services. Uh, you just lost your grant writer. I can jump in. You need somebody's on maternity leave or you need, you know, some help. If you need a full-bone consultant to, you know, your board's a wreck, you're a rec, you're a burnout executive director. We just need a whole strategy plan. I can do that. So, you know, I offer a little bit of everything. Yeah. Until, you know, until something sticks that I decide to to be really niche down. I guess personally, I uh uh part of my niche is going to be this this teaching element.

Ann Price 45:57

Yeah.

Lisa Eaves 45:57

This because there are a lot of grant writers, there are a lot of uh, but very few people are teaching people what it really takes. So I'm kind of niching there.

Ann Price 46:10

Well, uh you mentioned 2025. I did not, but since you did, um, I'll ask you a couple of my uh rapid fire questions. Um, I can't believe it's almost the end of April already in 2026. What is giving you hope these days?

Business Offers And Entry Points

Lisa Eaves 46:26

Well, what's giving me hope is in spite of 2025 and our federal government and administration, we're still here. Me as a person, after losing, you know, being laid off, after um seeing grant funds dry up, after we're still here. So the resiliency of the community um is what gives me hope. Um, we find a way, we make a way, and if I can help you make a way easier, that's that's why I'm here. Um hopefully we won't always be in this situation where you know funds are even less, the demand is higher, and the resources are less. But in that case, I'm sorry, we have to learn to to pivot. So not focus only on grant dollars. There's so many other ways to support your organization. And so I'd like to teach a little bit about that, like not being totally dependent, especially on federal grants, because you never know from administration to administration um what's going to happen. So I am hopeful that if we made it through that, um we're cre and you know, I'm not a spring chicken, so I think about all kinds of recessions and when we thought, you know, this we're not gonna make it out of this, and we make it. And we did. Yeah, we did. You know, nonprofits are still here, right? Still here.

Ann Price 48:09

Yeah. You know, what what are what are the opportunities, right? Even in trying to trying times. Yeah. So uh given that, and you and I both have a passion for nonprofits and coalitions and community members of all kinds, what's one piece of advice you would have for those kinds of leaders at this time?

Lisa Eaves 48:30

Collaborate, collaborate, collaborate. So in the past, I think each agency, in in many cases, solo out there for a mission and a cause. And, you know, my organization, my organization can do this, and you know, just sort of out for the grant grab. If we learn to collaborate around issues, everybody can get a piece and everybody bring their part to the table, and we work together. Funders find they like it when we collaborate and when there's synergy amongst groups and not competition. So that's the advice that I would give. Being that funds are limited, find ways to barter, find ways to collaborate, find ways to strategize together for our community and not be so individually siloed and organizationally focused.

Ann Price 49:40

Okay.

Lisa Eaves 49:40

I know it's a hard thing to switch from I've got to meet, you know, our goals, fundraising goals by the end of the year. It's hard to want to partner, but sometimes, especially on the larger federal grants, you know, you may only just do a piece of the work. But you're still in, you know, right. Every piece helps.

Ann Price 50:03

Yeah.

Lisa Eaves 50:04

And so you can build your portfolio that way as well.

Ann Price 50:07

I love that. All right. Lastly, when you look to the future, what community possibilities do you see?

Hope Resilience And Collaboration

Lisa Eaves 50:14

Community possibilities. Just imagine um where nonprofit organizations are set up for success. Some of the larger ones now are doing really well, but people are starting nonprofits every day. And many nonprofits fail within the first year because they don't have a plan or they don't understand what they get, they just want to do good.

Ann Price 50:45

Right.

Lisa Eaves 50:45

And so imagine that we actually don't set up any more nonprofits.

Ann Price 50:53

I have a friend who's been saying that for years. No more nonprofits.

Lisa Eaves 50:58

No, no more. Imagine that we strengthen what we already have. Imagine that the communities come together, work together, and strengthen what imagine you volunteering for what's already there. Imagine you being on the board of a current nonprofit that needs your expertise, as opposed to starting something from scratch and brand new. That again dilutes the pool. And it's gonna take you at least five years to get to a position of where you can get significant grant funding anyway. So um that's what I'd like to see in the future. Again, more collaboration, more strengthening what already exists.

Where To Find Lisa And The Book

Ann Price 51:42

Yeah. A hundred percent, a hundred percent agreement. All right, Lisa, how can people learn more about the grant liaison, order your book, or get in touch with you?

Speaker Contact Information

Lisa Eaves 51:55

So it is my name, is my web address, the grant liaison.com. So uh you can find everything you need there, including there's a tab for the book and ordering the book there. Of course, I'm also on Facebook as the Grant Liaison. I am on LinkedIn as Lisa F. Eves. I am on Instagram, trying to be a little hip for the young folks. Uh as uh the Grant Liaison. So once you get the name, you you you can find me.

Ann Price 52:29

You can find me anywhere. That that that works, that makes it easy. Lisa, I want to thank you for coming on the show. I've really enjoyed our conversation today. It's so good to connect with you.

Lisa Eaves 52:40

So good to connect with you. And again, thank you for your kindness. Thank you for listening. Um, to the community. We can do this. We're resilient, we're strong. Um, there's an easy way to do anything, and hopefully, I can make somebody's life easier through my new book, The Grant Quest.

Ann Price 52:58

All right. Thank you so much, Lisa. All right, take care.

Lisa Eaves 53:02

Bye-bye.

Ann Price 53:04

Hi, everybody. Thanks for listening to today's episode of community possibilities. I know that you have a choice for what you put in your ears. So thank you for listening today. Make sure you share this episode with someone in the community you know doing great work. I want to speak to my nonprofit leaders, specifically coalition leaders today. I've been working with coalitions, golly, probably since, I don't know, early 2000s, probably. So I know as a coalition leader, you probably feel like you are hurting cats some of the time. I understand that. And I know as a coalition, you all have a vision for your community, but sometimes, you know, things just get in the way. Obstacles get in our way and seem to sidetrack us. So I have a free tool designed to help you assess your coalition strengths and pinpoint opportunities for improvement. It's called the Coalition Self-Assessment. Is it a it's a free tool on our website? You just go to community evaluation solutions.com-coalition dash self dash assessment dash tool. That's a lot of dashes. And AI didn't even write that. The coalition self-assessment tool is going to help you identify blind spots in your coalition, provide strategic direction, foster creative collaboration with your team and stakeholders. And we have developed it just for you. So go on over there and grab our coalition self-assessment tool. Be sure you check out all of our resources. And as always, please like and share this episode. And if you would be so kind to write a review, I would really appreciate it. Thanks everybody. See you next time.