The Women in Entrepreneurship group discussing grants at Bluestem Bistro with presenter, Sarah Diamond.
Funding a business requires creativity and resourcefulness, and sometimes, an entrepreneur needs more than a bank loan to reach their business goals. This is where grants become invaluable. And yet the world of grant proposals and awards can be overwhelming for the uninitiated.
To address this crucial but confusing topic, the Women in Entrepreneurship community held a Lunch and Learn workshop in June, featuring Sarah Diamond of SDiamondD Consulting, to discuss grant writing, where to find grants, how to obtain them, and how to organize them.
One of the business owners in attendance, Kaisha Lawrence, offered her feedback on the Lunch and Learn. “I’ve always wanted to explore grants but never knew where to get started. I feel so much more empowered now.” Kaisha is the owner of Lotus Healthworks, whose mission is to help women live active and healthy lives. In the Women in Entrepreneurship group, also referred to as WE, the goal is to empower other current and future woman entrepreneurs and business owners, and that includes directing them towards useful tools like grants so that they can receive the necessary funding to grow and support their businesses.
Grant writing consultant, Sarah Diamond of SDiamondD Consulting, Women in Entrepreneurship’s June presenter.
This month’s Lunch and Learn is one of event of a recurring series of woman entrepreneur-focused workshops, networking meetups and retreats occurring each month on third Thursdays, and hosted by Spark at woman-owned or woman-run businesses around the Greater Manhattan area. Quarterly WE Lunch and Learn events invite a speaker to share on a topic requested by the community of woman entrepreneurs, and this month, 25 woman entrepreneurs and nonprofit leaders attended both in-person and virtually.
A long-time member of Women in Entrepreneurship, Kaisha mentioned that “The community I have found in the Women Entrepreneurs group is exactly what I was looking for. Having strong women to bounce ideas off is gold! This group is so supportive, I’m so glad I’ve found it.”
Sarah Siders, Executive Director of Spark and one of the administrators of the Women in Entrepreneurship group shared, “We call it WE, because it’s about us building community and doing it together. We aren’t competing against one another. We are supporting each other.” Support, empowerment, and community knit together the fabric of this lively women’s entrepreneurship group, both on Facebook and at the IRL events each third Thursday.
It’s clear the local community of female entrepreneurs is eager to grow their businesses, not just through free education about topics such as grants, but through relationships and building community and lifting up their fellow women entrepreneurs.
The Women in Entrepreneurship community connects online through the WE Facebook group and meets in person on the third Thursday of every month. WE’s next event is 9:00 AM, Thursday, July 19th at Flight Crew Coffee in Downtown Manhattan. Gather there for coffee and conversation. To stay current about upcoming events with WE, as well as other events for entrepreneurs, follow Spark on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/sparkmhk.
This August, Women in Entrepreneurship will meet for their Fall Planning Retreat August 18th, 2022 at the Blue Sage Barn at Prairiewood Retreat and Preserve in Manhattan, Kansas. Tickets are $25 each and go on sale Friday, June 24th. You can purchase early bird tickets for only $25 here.
Seeking more information regarding grants and grant-writing? Learn about Sarah Diamond and her business, SDiamondD Consulting, at https://sdiamonddconsulting.com.
