Hello, I’m Bess, creator of the Collaborating with Strangers (CoLAB) Workshops and Collaborative Grantseeking Strategies with decades of experience in nonprofits, academic libraries, and higher education.
Our associates offer insider guidance to pioneering grantseekers and research/project development professionals through authored books, workshops, consulting, and mentoring. We invite you to explore our site, check out our expanding resources, and contact us about services and costs.
Collaborative Grantseeking
What strategies contribute to submitting fundable and competitive grant proposals?
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How do CoLAB Workshops quickly expose hidden assets for initializing creative partnerships?
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Blog Articles
NC State Uses CoLAB Workshops to Inspire Interdisciplinary Research Grants
Caption for feature image (above) Idea Table Café participants and their specific ideas.In October 2023, North Carolina State University’s College of Education faculty and administrators engaged in a series of Collaborating with Strangers (CoLAB) Workshops. Their goal...
The Harmful Misplaced Concerns Over Sharing Grant Proposals—Especially for Libraries and Museums
While working at the University of Florida (UF) Libraries from 2009 to 2022, I authored and co-authored hundreds of grant applications for submission to local, regional, national, and international sponsors. During that time, all these proposals were shared in, the UF...
The Quality of the Grant Application Container
Let’s say you have found a funder’s grant opportunity that is a good match for the project you have in mind. You download the application guidelines or NOFO (notification of funding opportunity) and now you are ready to begin preparing the contents of your...