Grant GURU BREW
Articles, ideas, advice and cautionary tales steeped from the field of philanthropy and grant writing. I welcome your tips, too!
A Tribute to Van Halen, Brown M&Ms and Grant Contracts
Have you ever gone from thinking a person was a jerk to a genius within minutes? This happened to me when I heard the somewhat legendary story about a celebrity prima donna prank, or so I thought. The recent death of Eddie Van Halen brought this to the top of my mind. A guitar virtuoso who was part of the hair-band craze of the 1980’s, Van Halen mesmerized adoring audiences with his amped up guitar solos. His chart-topping rock hits made Van Halen a sell out for venues that could accommodate his huge acoustic towers and lighting equipment. And that’s where the brilliance started.
A Blog Post Worth Sharing: Buying Happiness
Occasionally, I read something that I immediately want to share. Such is this blog post from philanthropy savant Fred Smith. His words are profound, provocative and reflect complete common sense. Like many of you, I have attended scores of galas, dinners, leadership retreats, and fund-raising events in my life. Some are grand experiences requiring gowns…
Why I Love Cover Letters
There is much talk about the best way to communicate. Evidently, millennials don’t like phone calls says Inc. Magazine, 3 years ago. And oldsters think texting can be rude. Each can be baffled about the preferred way to send a message. But an old-fashioned letter still holds both sway and charm for all ages…
Philanthropy Untold Stories
Merriam Webster considers the word ‘til a poetic shortening of the word “until”. I think of this book as a poetic shortening of some great stories. Dallas author and social connector extraordinaire, Bob Hopkins, brings to light very brief but illuminating narratives of people who have touched the world in some way…

MAGGIE'S FAVORITE QUOTES:
“Think broadly, but give narrowly.”
Elizabeth J. McCormack
“What the poor need is not charity but capital, not caseworkers but co-workers.”
Linda & Millard Fuller
"Most people think that Americans are generous because we are rich. The truth is that we are rich, in significant part, because we are generous."
Claire Gaudiani
“It is the imagination that lights the slow fuse of the possible.”
Emily Dickinson
"It is in giving that we receive."
Francis of Assisi
"It is more difficult to give money away intelligently than to earn it in the first place."
Andrew Carnegie
"When I do good, I feel good; when I do bad, I feel bad."
Abraham Lincoln
"It's better to tell your money where to go than to ask where it went."
Farmer's Gazette
"As the purse is emptied the heart is filled."
Victor Hugo
“Work is love made visible.”
Kahlil Gibron
"The world is moving so fast these days that the one who says it can't be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it."
Harry Emerson Fosdick
"A man wrapped up in himself makes a very small bundle."
Benjamin Franklin
“Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible.”
Albert Einstein
“Always do right. That will gratify some people and astonish the rest.”
Mark Twain
"No one need wait a single moment to improve the world."
Anne Frank
“The fool wonders, the wise man asks.”
Benjamin Disraeli
"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."
John Muir
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”
Herman Melville
"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one."
Mother Teresa
“No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new heaven to the human spirit.”