I feel like I say this every single week – but week 7 flew by! In development, it feels like you are always chasing the next submission deadline, and time moves by very quickly. This was especially the case this week, as I was able to work on an important county grant for youth programming. I think this is common knowledge, but government grants are MUCH more involved than private foundation grants. Regardless, I was happy for the challenge!

One of my favorite parts about writing grants is getting to read reports and research to inform my writing. This week I read Rise Together: A Blueprint for Reducing Poverty in Franklin County (https://commissioners.franklincountyohio.gov/COMM-website/media/Documents/FRANK-Report-1-10-Web-Ready-(Large)_1.pdf). The report explored racial inequities, areas of focus, and concrete action steps that can be taken to reduce poverty in Franklin County. My favorite section of the report, “Stakeholder Voices” detailed the steps the steering committee took to engage people currently experiencing poverty, as well as the people working to combat poverty in their neighborhoods. I would recommend reading this section to anyone that does not understand the challenges to overcoming poverty. 

I was not surprised to see that Central is already providing many of the services that were found in the recurring themes of the report: find ways to help people keep their safe and affordable housing (family stabilization, Village Central), incentivizing job growth in the neighborhoods that need it most (Academy for Community Entrepreneurs), Providing one-stop service to families experiencing crisis, and increasing the number of youth experiencing academic success (after-school & summer camp). Before starting my fellowship, I didn’t even know what a Settlement House was, and now I am such a strong proponent of the type of holistic support they provide.

This weekend I get to travel to Central’s 3rd Saturday Adventures Event to take some great pictures for marketing. Families will be bouldering at 5.Life Bloc Garten, and it should be lots of fun!