My name is Shelby and I've always known that I wanted to return to my hometown and give back to my community for as long as I can remember - I just didn't know what that looked like in the beginning. 

I came straight out of college and started working for a small nonprofit (with no knowledge of fundraising or grant writing) and since then I've gone on to lead campaigns totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars and have landed grants upwards of half a million.

Over the last decade of my career I've won and administered millions of grant dollars across a variety of funders (government, foundations etc.) and priority topics. I've worked alongside funders and understand what makes them tick (it's not always what you would think) and what they look for in strong applications.

And guess what the #1 thing I've learned throughout this entire journey is...?  👉  You don’t need a fancy grant writing certificate, a perfect English degree, or decades of experience to make a massive impact.

You just need two things:
1) A passion for your cause.
2) The willingness to try.

Because here's the TRUTH no one tells you: you won't know unless you write your first proposal...

Then your second...

And your third.

It’s impossible to get better at grant writing without… well, writing grants. And the worst thing you can do is sit on the sidelines because you’re afraid of failing. If you don’t throw your hat in the ring, you’re guaranteeing a 0% chance of funding. But the moment you start—even imperfectly—you give your cause a fighting chance.

Worried you’ll mess up and ruin your chance at funding?
Worried you’re not a “good enough” writer?
Everyone feels that way at first. No one starts out as a good writer.

Not me. Not you. Not anyone.

I recently looked back at a proposal I wrote ten years ago and actually laughed. The budget was a mess. The narrative was all over the place. Reading it now, I thought, “No wonder this didn’t get funded.” But guess what? I’m better now because of that proposal—not in spite of it. Every application made me stronger. Every rejection taught me something critical. Every success gave me momentum.

And that’s the part that changed everything for me.

The version of “giving back” I imagined when I was growing up—volunteering here and there, donating when I could—has been magnified a thousand times over through grant writing. Grants have allowed me to bring in more funding, resources, and opportunities for my community than I could ever create on my own. Truly—more than I could have made happen in a hundred lifetimes.

Grant writing opened doors I didn’t even know existed. It multiplied impact. It created momentum. It changed my career and my community.

And that’s exactly why I built this program:
To show you that you don’t need a certificate, a title, or special letters behind your name to bring in real funding. You just need guidance, a roadmap, and someone who’s been in the trenches to show you what actually works.

When you understand the fundamentals of grant writing—what funders actually care about, how to structure your narrative, how to avoid rookie mistakes—the sky is the limit for what you can achieve.

Your cause isn’t going away. Your community still needs you.
And you already have what it takes to get started.

Let’s get your first (or next) proposal drafted—together.