Chicago: First Regional Conference Report
Thanks to the hard work of a dedicated team co-lead by Carole Brooks and Marilynn Fauth, the Chicago-area Chapter hosted the first-ever AAGP regional conference, "Setting the Course in the Windy City." Grants specialists from as far away as Florida met to network, attend enriching workshops, and become professionally re-energized on May 30 in Rosemont. On the day following the conference, the Grants Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI) administered the Grants Professionals Certified Exam for the third time. AAGP national board members were on hand to lend support before convening their board meeting.

As a result of the conference, membership in the chapter popped from 30 to 55 paid members! Proceeds from increased chapter membership helped fund a scholarship to help support an Illinois resident in attending the AAGP National Conference in Long Beach, CA, this October. The scholarship will be offered to honor charter member Dawn Bluhm who unexpectedly passed away last year. Dawn gave generously to the branch and to the profession.

After a warm welcome from AAGP executive director Gail Vertz and Chicago-area AAGP president Jessica Bullock, AAGP member Jeanne Charles Colky treated us to an informative and entertaining keynote speech. Reaching into her thirty years experience serving nonprofits and using her wry sense of humor, Colky's address touched some part of the grants process to which all could relate.

From Grants 101 to Now What? Managing the Grant After it is Funded, workshops on topics for all levels of grants expertise filled the day. Workshop topics included the credentialing process, budgeting, and organization methodology, to name a few. Over a delicious lunch, a panel of funders explained the grants process from their perspective. Representatives from private, family, and well-known funders gave participants hints on how to approach program officers and questions to ask. In between workshops, people had time to meet and greet others.

As a Chicago-area AAGP member, this reviewer may be biased. Read the words of others written in workshop evaluations:

(The Speaker gave) lots of helpful examples, and shared her forms without making us pay. (She is) committed to helping improve the profession. (There were) good thoughts and ideas I can use right away.

(The) presenter was lively and appears to possess a considerable amount of experience.

AAGP President Pauline Annarino predicted in her welcoming letter that "Setting the Course in the Windy City will meet or exceed AAGP's benchmark for conference excellence." Her forecast came true, in part because of the hard work of so many people who gave countless hours of time and effort. Whether a volunteer, a participant, or both, the Chicago-area AAGP regional conference met or exceeded all expectations. Having a conference in the area provided some of the same energy and sharing of a National Conference. It was great! Thank to all who helped make it a rousing success: national staff, workshop speakers, foundation program officers, local volunteers, and conference attendees!

Doris Heroff, doris.heroff@cje.net

Central Indiana: Conference Scholarship Offered
Central Indiana AAGP members were eligible to apply for a $450 scholarship in honor of Mr. V.C. League, a nationally renowned grant professional from Indianapolis and one of the five founders of AAGP, from our local chapter to cover the "early bird" registration fee for the AAGP National Conference in October.

Applications were due by July 25, and were compiled by the AAGP Foundation, who selected the recipient. Winners of all scholarships are on the AAGP Foundation website.

For more information, contact Amy Shankland, Corresponding Secretary, by e-mail at ashankland@noblesville.in.us or phone at 317-770-2005.

We Need Your Bios!
The Central Indiana AAGP Chapter would like to have your biography for our membership roster. Information should include:

• Name, Company, Title
• How many years of and what type of grant experience
• Major success stories
• Schools and training attended
• Other interests and activities
• A jpg photo if possible

Please keep your bio to no more than two brief paragraphs (think clear and concise, just like our grant applications!). Email your info no later than August 29 to Amy Shankland, ashankland@noblesville.in.us.

Central Indiana Calendar of Events

August 15	12-4 p.m., Board Retreat, Franklin Township Education Foundation
Sept. 16	9-10:30 a.m., Business Meeting, English Foundation

Member Spotlight
This month's member spotlight shines on Judith (Judy) Duncan. Judy is the Executive Director of the Franklin Township Education Foundation (FTEF) and our chapter's recording secretary. FTEF is a separate 501(c)3 entity from Franklin Township Community School Corporation. The organization provides grants to teachers to help them bring enhancements to their students. The teachers design innovative projects to provide the students with the tools they need to expand their learning experience.

Judy was previously the President/CEO of the Muscular Dystrophy Family Foundation for 12 years where she spearheaded the agency to the national level. She began her career with United Way of Greater Indianapolis (now Central Indiana). While living in Miami, FL, Judy worked for the ARC of Dade County, People First of Dade County, and Haven Center.

She is a certified Bereavement Facilitator and has both beginning and advanced certification from the American Academy of Bereavement. Judy has created the materials and presented workshops on a national level on death and dying. Her materials are on "Preparing for the Death of Your Loved One."

She was nominated for the Women of Achievement award through the YWCA in 2002 and has been published in Exceptional Parent (EP) magazine.

An accomplished public speaker, Judy frequently gives talks to schools, support groups, civic groups' corporations, and organizations from coast to coast. She was a speaker for the Family Café conference in Orlando and the World Congress on Disabilities for two years.

She has a degree from Indiana Wesleyan University and a certificate in Human Services from the same university as well. She was a board member for Students in Free Enterprise through Indiana Central Business College. Judy is a member of the American Academy of Bereavement, American Association of Grant Professionals, and a former member of the Columbia Club. She is also a member of the Children's Museum.

She is a staunch advocate for the rights of children and adults with any type of disability. While living in Miami, Judy experienced the wrath of Mother Nature when Hurricane Andrew devastated the area in 1992. Judy lost her home, car and all personal possessions - everything, she says except "my spirit." She returned to Indiana in January of 1993.

"I decided, 'snow is good ... hurricanes are bad'," Judy says.

Her husband Ken states he is grateful for Hurricane Andrew, since after the storm she moved back to Indiana where the couple met and married in 1996.

Judy's hobbies have included skydiving and bungee jumping. She has been passionate about dolphins for years. After she received a Human Services Professional grant from Lilly Endowment, she got to swim with wild dolphins in Bimini where she traveled for two summers. Judy loves snorkeling and traveling to the Caribbean, Mexico, Belize, or any place where there is a large body of water and dolphins.

Judy and her husband moved from Westfield, Indiana to Greenwood in July of 2006 in order to be closer to their two grandchildren, Noah and Kaydi. They live in nearby Franklin with Judy's son Ron and his wife Dalinda. Judy was raised in Indianapolis and is a product of the Indianapolis Public School system and was in the first graduating class of Northwest High School.

Amy Shankland, AShankland@noblesville.in.us

Florida: New Chapter Installs Officers

Florida has its second chapter, the West Central Florida Chapter, which was formed on July 30, 2008. The Chapter President and contact person is Kathleen Mansour, Manager for Grants Development, Hillsborough Community College, District Administrative Offices, 39 Columbia Drive, 4th Floor (Davis Islands), Tampa, FL 33606, (813) 259-6005, kmansour@hccfl.edu.

Jennifer Schuster is the Vice President
Christine Alday is the Treasurer
Veronica Chesbrough is the Secretary

Christine Heft, CHeft@mhs.net 

New York
Although the Mohawk-Hudson chapter is just a little over a year old, we are accomplishing great things! Our small but active membership has found success hosting events to attract new members. We offered a "Meet the Funders" breakfast back in June which drew in over 100 people and raised more than $2,500 for our chapter. On October 7, we are hosting an evaluation workshop and expect an equally robust turnout. 

Tracey Martin, traceym@regionalfoodbank.net 

Central Ohio
News of the chapter is getting out beyond the grant writer community! We are beginning to receive requests from the membership for keynote presentations for companies.

Chapter meetings continue to be held monthly at United Way of Central Ohio on the 2nd Wednesday of each month from noon to 1:00 p.m.

Carol Menge, cmenge@buckeyeranch.org 

Miami Valley, Ohio: Chapter Holds 3rd Annual Workshop
See the flyer about the workshop in September here.

Chapter Requests Your Input
Recent discussion by our chapter's board of officers has prompted us to ask other chapters about the following policies:

1. Is your board a giving board? (At this time, ours is not, but the officers contribute to fundraising by holding workshops and other chapter events).
2. Do the officers on your board receive discounts for meetings and other events? (We waive the fee for an event hosted at an officer's location for that officer. This is so that the host agency or organization will perceive it as a benefit for their employee and thus be willing to host the event. If there is lunch or food involved, the officer is expected to cover the cost of his or her food. We are considering whether to offer other discounts as an incentive for board participation.)

Please send responses to d.combs@gesmv.org, who will report back in a later newsletter. We appreciate your feedback!

Andrea Burkett, BurkettA@mcohio.org

South Carolina: New Chapter Forms
The South Carolina Chapter will officially form on August 21, 2008 in Columbia, SC.

Steve Harington, clarendongrants@sc.rr.com

Tennessee
The Tennessee chapter of AAGP continues to have an exciting year. Big shout out to our program committee for planning such a great variety of monthly programs! We have participated in an audio conference and a refresher course on writing succinctly. We have had two guest speakers from major funders in our area, chapter discussions about collaborations and grants management software, and the benefits of taking the GPC. Our guest speaker for September will be Gail Vertz and everyone is looking forward to getting a first-hand update on the national chapter and upcoming conference. The marketing committee continues to work on updating our website. Our membership committee has worked hard to reach our goal of increasing local membership, as well as assisting our state representative in her efforts to form another chapter in Tennessee. Thank you to everyone in the chapter for making this year so much fun!

Beverly Grant, bgrant@firststepsnashville.org

Austin - Central Texas

June: We had a special treat at our June meeting as two of our members gave an informative presentation entitled "Grant Professional Tool Box: Organizing Your Grants Office for Maximum Efficiency." The two speakers included our president Loretta Holland and our secretary Malisa DiGiacomo.

Ms. Holland has extensive experience in writing private and corporate foundation proposals and applications for state and federal government contracts as well as 18 years experience in fundraising. She was named the 2007 Outstanding Fund Raising Professional of the Year by the Greater Austin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).

Ms. DiGiacomo is the Research and Grants Coordinator at SafePlace. She received a B.A. in English/Political Science from the University of Tampa and a Master's in Public Affairs from The University of Texas at Austin. She has ten years experience in the development and grant writing fields, seven of which are with SafePlace. She also participates in the local Ending Community Homelessness (ECHO) Coalition's Planning & Evaluation Committee.

Both offered valuable advice that was well received by our members.

July: Our guest speaker for our July meeting was our esteemed Executive Director of American Association of Grant Professionals, Gail Vertz. The meeting was held at the Hyatt Hotel on Town Lake, the site of the 2009 National Conference. Members enjoyed a wonderful lunch as Ms. Vertz informed the membership about our chapter's role in planning and hosting the 11th Annual National Conference. Ms. Gayla Rawlinson, state representative, also attended the luncheon and pledged assistance from the Houston chapter in making the Conference a success. Our executive board had dinner with Ms. Vertz the night preceding the meeting for more in-depth information gathering. We can promise true Texas hospitality and a fantastic lineup of speakers for the 2009 conference.

August: Our August 20 meeting featured Ms. Mariben Ramsey, Vice-President and General Council of the Austin Community Foundation. She has been with the Foundation since 1995. During her tenure, the Foundation has grown from $12 million to over $80 million. In 2004, the Foundation made $10 million in grants to more than 500 non-profit organizations. The chapter enjoyed learning about this amazing foundation.

Sue Barton, suebarton47@hotmail.com

Discussion Forum for State Representatives and Chapter Presidents

The AAGP discussion forums now have a forum for chapter presidents and one for state representatives. This is a private group only for those indicated, but is a place for state representatives and chapter representatives to network with others in that role: to ask questions and swap ideas. You MUST be signed in to the AAGP website to be able to view, edit, and add to this discussion forum, as it is a private group only for that role.