Mentor-Connect Mentors give back to the ATE Program by working with prospective grantees to transfer knowledge and teach successful grant-writing strategies as they mentor and develop the next generation Principal Investigators for the ATE Program.
Director of Resource Development and Executive Director of the NTC Foundation and NTC Property Foundation at Northcentral Technical College, Wausau, Wisconsin
Grant writing and management, fundraising, and writing
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Anything new! I enjoy reading, weaving, bike riding, watercolor painting, and beekeeping
I got to ride in Howie Buffet’s green corvette when I was 12 (son of Warren Buffet
Start with your logic model. I was intimidated by logic models when I first used them, and I have learned they have great value in setting a firm and clear foundation for the work to be accomplished in your project.
After receiving mentoring through Mentor-Connect for our college’s first awarded ATE proposal, I saw the value of having a guide and cheerleader to see us through our application submission. I wanted to support others on their journeys.
I do keep tabs on the colleges I worked with as a Mentor-Fellow. And I plan to do the same with the two colleges I am mentoring now. You become excited about their projects, become friends over the year of collaboration; I want to celebrate with them and watch their project visions come to fruition.
I see great networking, comradery, and collaboration among the mentees as they learn about one another through Mentor-Connect. They identify other teams who are working on projects with similar grant components or themes. They bond through those shared interests, goals, and experiences.
I emphasize two very important things to mentees. First, remember to utilize the fabulous tools available to them through Mentor-Connect. They can access recordings for the various forms, evaluation, and budget at any time. And secondly, find/share templates for various components of the grant application narrative. It’s often easier when you have something to start from. What does a timeline look like? How are goals, objectives, activities, and budgets tied together? What is needed in the budget justification?
It’s important to be aware of all the components that go into the ATE application. Often we focus on the narrative, but there are many other forms that need to be completed and information to be gathered. You don’t have to do it yourself! Reach out to others in the college who probably have the information (e.g., the Library can help identify research related to your topic, the Finance department has policies and processes to support the management of the project, IT can provide information related to security of data, the Facilities team can provide information related to lab space and equipment, Institutional Research can provide current data related to your program and students).