Grant Writing & Funding Growing a Freelance Grant Biz & Lessons Learned w/ Pres. Rodney Walker of Grant Central USA
If you have a grant writing business, or you want to become a grant writer, then this interview is gold for you!
Rodney and I discuss:
- Rodney’s background and how he got started with grants
- First grant that he got funded
- At what point do grant writers get paid
- How do you typically charge clients?
- Decide on your ideal client
- How do you provide value to clients?
- 2 big things every business and organization has to do
- Challenges and solutions in his business
- Changing your mindset – How failure became his best friend
- How he got his very first grant writing client
- Branding your business vs branding yourself (which should you do?)
- Is there enough room in the market for new grant writing businesses?
- Investing time in yourself vs investing time in your business
- The most valuable investment that you can make in yourself and your business
- Improving your mindset to overcome the fear and doubt
- Using a vision board to reinforce positive messages
Rodney’s Top Quotes:
- “Be brave. Be bold. Be brilliant.”
- “The best way to get to success is through failure, and really, embracing failure”
Rodney’s Bio:
Rodney Walker is the President of Grant Central USA and is a highly sought-after, Grant Development Systems™ expert that helps thousands of organizations nationwide to get funded! With over 14,000 members in his online discussion group, he influences and inspires people to do a better job of telling their organizational stories to become more attractive to funders.
He has helped his clients raise over $357 million in grants and conducts The Ultimate Grant Writing That Gets Funded training workshops nationwide to empower nonprofits, governmental agencies, and individuals on the best ways to secure grant money. They also host the Education Grants Conference that trains schools and districts on today’s best practices in winning educational grants at EducationGrantsConference.com
A few of his clients have included United Way, Habitat for Humanity, The Magic Johnson Foundation, the Bush Foundation, Hawaii State Teachers Association, and numerous school districts and city governments. Other celebrity clients have included, Danny Glover and Ben Guillory.
Rodney has appeared on ABC, NBC, and CBS News for his work in education and in hundreds of grant training videos and produces numerous award-winning resources at GrantCentralUSA.com
He is also the executive producer of Education Today, a channel dedicated to advancing, reporting and sharing education best practices and trends nationally to inspire school administrators, parents, and communities to excellence at K12EducationToday.com
Rodney has spoken and taught at several prestigious institutions including, Regis University, Oklahoma University, the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, California Polytechnic State University, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Hawaii.
He earned a Master of Business Administration and has a certificate in Nonprofit Management from Duke University. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Texas in Austin and has a leadership certificate from the University of Southern California. His works with schools and communities have garnered him awards and congressional recognition.
During his free-time, Rodney enjoys traveling, listening to live music, salsa dancing, and going for adventure rides with his rooftop down throughout the greater Los Angeles area where he resides in Pasadena, California.
Connect with Rodney:
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodneywalker180/
- Website: https://www.grantcentralusa.com/
OTHER RESOURCES:
- Weekly Newsletter: “Write Grants. Get Paid” - Get thought leadership on grant and freelance grant writing strategies every week in your inbox. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/
- Freelance Grant Writer Academy: Replace your Full-Time Income Writing Grants Part-Time from Home. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/
- Grant Professional Mentorship: Double your Monthly Revenue with an Income Stream Outside of Grant Writing. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/mentorship
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Thanks for listening!
Warmly,
Holly Rustick
Leading the $1 Billion for Good Movement: By 2030, aspiring and seasoned grant writers inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy & Grant Professional Mentorship will 1) WIN $1 Billion in Grants, and 2) MAKE $30 Million in their Grant Writing Businesses. We are on our way already.