An idea surfacing from an apparent theme at local coalition meetings would later evolve into the Truman School of Public Affairs’ student-run grant writing program.

Jen Keller Jensen, a Peace Corp volunteer and School of Public Affairs graduate, was drawn to the need for grant writing assistance when starting the Grant Writing Program and implemented the skills of graduate students to help nonprofit organizations receive funding. With the addition of Colleen Heflin, School of Public Affairs associate professor, and Grant Writing Program coordinator Eoghan Miller, the program has progressed into a group of 20 volunteers.

Miller traditionally recruits students by conducting presentation at the beginning of the semester for students interested in participating with the program.

“We also do a presentation at the beginning of the year when we have our orientation for new students,” he said. “Between those two times as well as the students randomly contacting me and expressing an interest, we’ve been able to generate enough volunteers to keep the program going.”

Graduate students who chose to participate gain real-world experience with public and nonprofit sectors, which is essential when seeking employment, Elizabeth Burton, national director of the Polycom Grant Assistance Program, said in an email. Burton helped with developing some of the School of Public Affairs training programs through its organizational leadership programs.

The writers assist nonprofit organizations with limited staff and budgets to get the extra resources they need to pursue their initiatives. By assisting in researching and writing grants, graduate students obtain skills that help them to apply for personal grants, Miller said.

“It certainly helps their writing skills,” Miller said. “The students can translate those skills they’ve learned from working with these nonprofits into job searches or when they apply for internships.”

Through a collaborative effort with Welcome Home Inc., a nonprofit veteran assistance program, the School of Public Affairs Grant Writing Program helped acquire a $41,428 grant to aid local homeless veterans with their transition back into society. Grant Writing Program was able to provide extra labor to complete a substantial proposal that in the end was one of 85 proposals chosen to be funded out of 800 submitted applications. Welcome Home Inc. plans on providing homelessness prevention and temporary financial assistance to veterans and their families with money from the grant.

“The most tangible part of this program is that we will be able to use $12,000 of this grant specifically for direct temporary financial assistance to include rental and utility payments, deposits and fees, as well as moving costs, emergency supplies, childcare and transportation expenses for qualified veterans,” said Melissa Acton, associate director of Welcome Home Inc.

This accomplishment confirms the School of Public Affairs’ emphasis on extending outside of university borders to help others through a community based approach is affective, Miller said.

Burton said she believes it was the student’s ability to identify the right funding source for the project and addressing the criteria for the proposal attributed to the success of the grant.

“Being able to show successes in obtaining funding will increase the trust that organizations have in the TSPA grant assistance program, and will likely encourage other nonprofit organizations to seek out their assistance,” she said.

The combination of learning valuable work skills and assisting organizations attract new funding pave a road to success on both ends, Burton said.

“It’s a win-win situation for all involved,” she said.