We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of GrantStation by interviewing some of our longstanding Members. Christine Richardson of North Kohala Community Resource Center in Hawi, Hawai'i has been a Member since 2003, so I wanted to gain insights from her years in grantseeking.
David: Thank you for taking the time to talk with me for our anniversary series! Considering our roots in Alaska, it’s great to talk with someone who works outside of the “48”. Tell me about the North Kohala area.
Christine: We are on the northern tip of the Big Island of Hawai’i. It is a very rural area with distinct ethnicities so there are unique needs that we support with our work.
David: What does your center do?
Christine: We support local projects with bridges to funding. We help local project coordinators develop a funding plan, write effective proposals, and then we act as a fiscal sponsor for them. We’ve recently worked on our 500th proposal. In 2018 we had a 95% success rate! Our average is around 75%.
David: That is an impressive rate! What is the giving landscape like in Hawai'i?
Christine: Hawai'i is very rooted in philanthropy, going back to the days when sugar cane was developed. There are many family foundations and we have built relationships with them over the years and have earned their respect. They know that proposals coming through our center will be of high quality and that we file our reports on time. We have a proven track record, even with grantmakers on the mainland like the O’Neill Foundation.
David: Tell me more about them.
Christine: They are a family foundation in Cleveland and they give in communities where the family members live. One of them, Linda Clifford, lives in our area, and one of our founding directors knew her in the community and developed a relationship with her. She was instrumental in facilitating startup funding for us. Her son and daughter are now the generation that is managing foundation funding. They sometimes just show up, checking in on how they can help. They continue to support our projects and sometimes, our operations. That is particularly helpful, since many grantmakers don’t give operating support to older organizations like ours.
David: Ah, the elusive support for operations! Those relationships are so important. How do you maintain your relationships with grantmakers?
Christine: Always, always say thank you. Personal notes and telephone calls go a long way. Stay in good touch annually, or more often if possible.
David: I’m imagining this is true at this holiday time?
Christine: Yes, but not with some blanket message sent to a mailing list. I’m old-fashioned! I have cards on stock printing and we include photos of staff or a key project. I have a general message thanking them for their support, but I handwrite a personal message on each one. I have 100 to do as soon as the cards come in!
That’s after we have the relationship. In the beginning, I send notes on stock stationary and with a personal message letting them know just how their support is making a difference in our community.
David: As if the holidays weren’t busy enough! But the holiday time IS about reconnecting with our community and developing relationships, so that fits right in with the spirit of the season.
Which types of projects tend to get funded in your area?
Christine: There is a strong sense of history here, so projects around cultural preservation projects are often funded. We also have great success with funding for in-school and after-school projects, land preservation, and invasive species, which is a big issue in Hawai'i.
David: How do you help your local organizations with these projects?
Christine: A key part of our process is education. We provide two workshop series (with four classes) every year on developing the participants' initial mix of funding, including small donations, large donations, in-kind gifts, fundraising, events, etc. Our classes include planning, finding funders, building budgets, and writing proposals. We cover all the aspects of the grants process, from how to use GrantStation to how to work with a foundation and provide final reports.
David: So while you are their fiscal sponsor, you teach them how to do their own grantseeking?
Christine: Yes, we believe that the projects we work with can do this work. We don’t believe in the “mysterious grantwriter”. We want our community members to be able to write their own proposals and create their own plans. We then help with editing and polishing. Some need more help than others but the project is their passion and they need to tell us what they want to do and how they want to do it.
David: What sort of feedback to you find yourself giving them regularly?
Christine: We mainly help them pull their story out. They often need help making their Need and Opportunity section effective. We work with them to make the language engaging, to remove unnecessary content, and to tease out their key points.
David: How do you get them started?
Christine: We have them begin with a single piece of paper to tell their story. Who are you? What do you need? What are your objectives? What are your methods? How much money do you need and how do you plan to raise it? Those are the building blocks. We then can start to help them think more critically about the need in their community and how to flesh out that story.
David: How did you develop your skills in grantseeking?
Christine: I attended the Grantsmanship Center training when it came to Honolulu.
David: They have an impressive program.
Christine: That was an excellent experience. I took all their classes and was able to take what they taught me and then distill it for the work with our community.
David: Could you share one kernel of wisdom from your training with them?
Christine: Keep it simple and easy to understand for a broad base and stick to your topic. We often say “give it the grandmother test”. If your grandmother can read your proposal and understand it, you are telling your story clearly.
David: That is some practical advice. Can you describe one of your bigger projects?
Christine: I can tell you about a massive project. The Kohala Ditch is a major waterway in our agricultural district. It is a significant aspect of our agricultural system for the sugar plantations and much more. In late 2006, we had a 6.4 earthquake and it collapsed. It was created in 1912 so it was almost 100 years old!
Our senator at the time, Daniel Inouye, reached out to us and said that he wanted to direct $2M from the USDA to us to get it fixed. This was a major leap from the six-figure projects we had managed! But we had enough of a reputation that he could entrust the project to us.
So 27 community folk gathered – farmers, land owners, water specialists, engineers - and over the course of three years and with $3M more funding from the state, county, and civil defense, we together repaired this essential part of our ecosystem.
David: Alright, that IS massive. At GrantStation we talk a lot about the need for collaboration in funding. How did you pull this off?
Christine: Everyone had the same goal. We were all focused on the same outcome. So we were engaged and motivated towards making this successful.
David: That is key. When everyone has their eye on the same prize, everyone gets on their best behavior and sets the right priorities to get things done. If you can think of one logistical element that made this collaboration possible, what would it be?
Christine: The bookkeepers. Tracking the invoices and paying the bills. Our accounting team was top notch.
David: Okay then, that is getting down to the brass tacks! I wasn’t expecting that answer, but of course, keeping the money flowing efficiently with so many players would be one of the most essential pieces for keeping the project moving smoothly. That is some great practical advice to close with for our conversation. It’s been great talking with you!
Christine: Well, thank you for including us on this project!
David: Thank YOU for taking the time during the busy holidays. I’m eager to share the story of your center with our readers!
ABOUT CHRISTINE RICHARDSON
Christine has been the Executive Director of the North Kohala Community Resource Center since 2003, and has been a Member of GrantStation since 2005. In 2016, she was a recipient of the annual Ho’okele Award given by the Hawai'i Community Foundation. Before that she worked at Native Hawaiian Health Research as a Clinical Research Coordinator. She is still a registered nurse and works with North Hawai'i Hospice.