Mastering the ABCs of grant writing
Members of the Primary Aldosteronism Foundation know a whole lot about PA—a hormonal disorder that leads to high blood pressure. But until they met Jericho Road Pasadena’s first grants specialist volunteer, Mitch Boretz, they knew very little about writing grants.
PAF’s key goal is raising awareness. That’s because many in the medical community still think PA is rare, when it’s actually widespread. Last year, a groundbreaking study1 showed the disorder was found in 11.3% of adults without hypertension.
Powered by patients, PAF is dedicated to raising awareness of how many people have this under-diagnosed condition, encouraging timely diagnosis and treatment, promoting accelerated research, and making it easier for patients to collaborate. But to do all that, they need funding.
Enter Mitch, recently retired as Technical Communications Specialist at the University of California, Riverside. For 25 years, he oversaw all aspects of grant and contract proposals for the University’s Bournes College of Engineering, heading a team that managed some 600 proposals a year and generated about $50 million annually in grant and contract awards.
Mitch demystified the funding process for Foundation members, helping them understand the basics of identifying, qualifying, and pursuing grant opportunities. Then he went on to create a strategic funding roadmap to help PAF identify specific sources of operational and programmatic funding—from corporations, foundations and government to individual donors, including celebrities. He even researched potential donors to give Foundation members a running start.
For PAF, the results were exciting and empowering. “Having acquired the basic knowledge, we expect to eventually be able to raise the funding needed to develop our organization,” said PAF Founder and Governing Board Member Rene Moreno. “It seems reasonable to believe that we might be able to win a couple of small grants in the next six months.”
PAF would succeed with or without my help,” says Mitch. “It will take time, but the leadership is committed, smart, resourceful, and realistic. Once they get that first success, the longer-term impact will be greater capacity and sophistication to secure funding. I really feel privileged to have been able to help.”
Thanks to volunteer Linda Taubenreuther for writing JRP social media posts!