Chief Grants?

[Not2L84U2]

I can't say enough good things about Kurt. I have been to one of his seminars and it was definitely worth it. Be prepared to have your knowledge and skills challenged and have a lot of valuable information presented to you. It was by far one of the best courses I've been to. Look for our posting in Fire Engineering from Catlin Fire Protection District. We believe in Kurt so much that we put it on paper!

[egmiller]

I have attended both BC79s and Kurts workshops. I learned from both. I hosted Kurt last March in my area and am looking to do it again. I have been writing grants for 13 years and every class I attend I learn something new. The class is worth the money.

[islandfire03]

I have not been able to attend either Kurt's or Brian's seminar , due to our location ,midcoast Maine. However I have spent quite a bit of time learning from both of them and the rest of the very knowledgeable folks here on the forums. I have also spent quite a bit of time on the phone with Kurt and he has given us the pointers to fine tune out AFG & FP&S apps which have led to success. He also helped us when we were going before the town for the funding for a new brush truck in writing a proposal that was informative and successful. I BOW down before the masters of grant writing!!

I will try to get to a seminar this year if one comes to new england.
While you can be successful at grant writing without their knowledge , in this day of tough competition for the shrinking federal & state dollars why not put forth the best effort you can. It couldn't hurt and might just increase your chances.
Ed

[jam24u]

btw thanks 'egmiller' for setting up that class. your facility, supplies and refreshments were great. (means a lot) also your showing me the radar returns got me on the way home in a hurry. the blackness in my rearview mirror looked scary. now when kurt gets his class rolling, prepare for the flood of information coming at you and it doesn't end with the class. i frankly don't know how he finds the time to get any fishing in. he seems to be helping anyone and everyone non stop. and i mean non stop. is that enough sunshine up his skirt now?

[Attack6]

Hmmmm...I can also give over 1,700,000 reasons why Kurt has helped both my and other fire depts in my area.

[dhewett]

We had tried for years without success to obtain grant funding. I attended Kurt's seminar and now almost a half a million dollars later we are more than happy with the outcome. A pretty good return on an investment of $250. If you go and apply what you have been taught, you will get the financial reward.
What other seminar can you attend and then receive on-going support via the phone, e-mail as well as a review of your AFG application...at NO ADDITIOANL CHARGE. The grant writing principals Kurt provides also applies to grants other than the AFG. With Kurt's guidance, our department has received well over $200,00 in state and private funding beyond the AFG funding support. You bet we are satisfied!!!!

We are so satisfied that we have hosted two of his "Agency Hosted" seminars and will be doing a third in 2009.

[EFDfire9]

You can look at it many different ways. Will you fight a fire without properly being trained first? Does everyone offer training for FREE? There are cost associated with any training!! Its the same way here!!

I would highly recommend attending a Seminar (or multiple seminars) before writing another grant. Since talking with Kurt first at the beginning of the 2007 grants and after attending a seminar, we are 8 for 9 on grants (prior to this, we were 1 for 16):

2007 AFG for Turnout gear and Washer $66,120
2007 AFG for Engine $215,000
2008 AFG for Complete Air Fill Station $40,000
Firemans fund for TIC $12,000
Firemans fund for 5 SCBA $23,000
Walmart for Flashlights $1,400
Walmart for attending Seminar $1,200 (Yes, they will pay for you to attend)
Private foundation for Sparky Robot $11,000
(we went this route after 2008 FP&S DJ that we got a couple of weeks ago)


Kurts Seminar is very informative! He has written a very helpful book that breaks down how to look through programs guidances, to putting together proposal all the way to managing the grant after you receive it. You will be overwelmed with the info in this guys head (I think I took a spiral full of notes in 2 days!!). He goes as far as going over successful narratives, and they are not the "templates" that most companies lure you into. After our success, f your not in a seminar, you are really missing out!! My 2 cents.

[joehale2317]

Let me put it simply. I went to Kurt's seminar in March. We applied to AFG every year since its inception, but we have never been awarded until this year. Coincidence? No way!

[BC79er_OLDDELETE]

Just an FYI most Walmarts have stopped paying for attending other classes like grant writing workshops. Might be isolated to a handful of stores but I've heard it from over a dozen folks in nearly 10 states in recent months so might be a corporate change. But still worth asking, just like every other grant app let them turn you down.

[Limeforever]

Sorry Brian, I left you out in my previous post. I have also attended BC79er's class as well, and I got a lot of excellent points from it as well. Both stress looking at the fine points and matching the grant priorities to your department priorities. I don't write grants for a living, and I don't charge for the grants that I help write for the neighboring departments. As stated in the previous post above, there are lots of extras included at no charge. I have an excellent network that I can tap into at anytime that I get the frequent brain block, and always get some good ideas and another perspective. I highly recommend both seminars, and any others that you can get into, but as far as I know, these two (Kurt and Brian) are the only two geared specifically toward emergency services. When I get my car on the Nascar circuit, I will put you two a sticker on one of the front quarter panels. I just have to figure where I will put one for all of the others on here who are generous enough to help as well.

[SLY4420]

I was fairly successful before attending any seminars, and have continued to be after attending seminars. If you put the knowledge you'll receive from Kurt or Brian aside, you'll still learn plenty from the other attendees. There is nothing better than a room full of people sharing the same needs as you.

[kd7fds]

Last year we attended a seminar by Brian that was sponsored by MES.

We were so overwhelmed by the quality of the information, and struck by a desire to share, that we have been talking to MES about the possibility of hosting Brian ourselves. Try to bring him to more smaller departments in our area that just can't seem to do anything with these grants.

Of course, our grants are all pre Brian, post learning from you guys here on FH, but we have high hopes for the two that he helped us with.

[egmiller]

Just to let you know, we will be hosting Kurt on December 5th and 6th at Valley Center, KS for the 2nd Annual Grant Workshop.

[firebill911]

well waterboy thanks for your 2 cents, i do not need anymore from you. I called and talked to kurt because I too was successful on many grants and thougth I knew what i was doing, then it deemed like i couldn't get a grant to save my life. When I talked to kurt and he helped me free of charge and i had not been to one of his seminars, i was very inpressed. Lets just say find someone who will spend 6-8 hours and redo a grant proposal that i had spent a lot of time on. I will say more after I goto one of kurts seminars. If you feel it is a waste of time well, your right keep it up and maybe someday we will be perfect like you and get every grant i submit, hey just my 2 cents.

[AFD2181]

I for one had limited success prior to attending Kurts seminar-which I found doing a google search for grant training.

Prior to attending the seminar we were 0-3, since then I wrote grants for my department, assisted surrounding departments, and scored a regional comms grant, and PSIC grant; all thanks to the knowledge gained by going to Kurts seminar. The only one I didnt get were one's were for a Quint-(never charged the 6 or so departments I assisted; though I did get a gift cert to resturant, which I tried to give back.)

Furthermore, after attending Kurt's class, and while I have not been to Brian's I would venture to guess he operates the same way & that is this: once you go to class, you have a resource to call upon afterwards.
Many times I have called Kurt while stressing & suffering writers block, which he helped me work through by talking about anything BUT grants at first; drums, hunting, skiing, and kids. Before I realized it, we were back on grants and the block was cleared.

Now one can take the approach that you should not have to attend a class, which is fine- good for you, your success has helped some, however I for one take issue with you casting doubt on those who do, and those who teach.

Here is something to chew on: By attending the seminars many departments have been able to obtain funding for equipement, personnel, and "stuff" that they would otherwise be unable to afford.... WHICH IS WHAT THE PROGRAM IS THERE FOR.

[hoserbt]

I always prided myself in being a good writer. I quickly found out that it was only about 40 percent of being a great grant writer. Knowing the common mistakes made by other, knowing the catch phrases, having an absolute understanding of the guidance, networking with other grant writers, examining past awarded grants for style and techniques, the list goes on, that is the other 60 percent. I guess it comes down to how successfull you want to be. If you are just happy writing grants and rolling the dice.. then don't attend a seminar. But if you want excel and get the most out of your time and effort, spend the money to increase you knowledge on the subject by attending one of Kurts seminars. I will be attending my second one this year. Money well spent and the department i write for gave me the thumbs up right away. I guess they see the benifits and payoffs as we had recieved a 97000 award in 2006. Sounds to me like a pretty easy decision. Nothing like the smiles on the chiefs face when you tell him the good news. Good Luck

[caffder]

To be successful you need to educate yourself whatever you do in life. I was spinning my wheels for a couple years getting nowhere before I took Kurt’s class.

Now, I have been nailing them to a tune of about $1,000,000 since. We are a department that operates on about $200,000 a year. So, I can tell we are a much different department now with Kurt’s help. You can go through life with your head in the sand or you can get Educated!

[JRHeim]

Just to tack another message onto this forum, we're hosting Kurt on February 21 and 22,2009 in Eagle, Wisconsin (Waukesha County).

I know it's early but if these spots fill up as quick as I think they're going to, it might be worth putting your name in now.

Justin R. Heim
Fire Chief

Eagle Fire Department (WI)

[hoserbt]

Do you have any contact information for this seminar. It hasn't posted on Kurts site yet and I know some people who might be interested as it close to milwaukee.

Thanks

[JRHeim]

Sure ... e-mail me at jheim (at) eaglefiredepartment.com or contact me at the station 262-594-3302.