Hi, I’m Jenn.
About
My nonprofit career started with perhaps one of the most nonprofit-y of nonprofit entry jobs: I worked in development calling at my alma mater. You could say I learned early to be persistent. Between being scolded by cheeseheads for calling during Packers games and pushing past the skepticism of long-lapsed donors, I discovered the first inkling of what drives me in my professional life.
Ultimately, in communications and development, we’re bragging about the awesome work our team accomplishes.
It’s a uniquely fulfilling type of work, and I’ve been lucky to enjoy diverse experiences as I’ve found my footing as a seasoned nonprofit professional.
Grantwriting
As a student, I loved writing a good essay. Navigating research and patching it together to make a point – sounds like my kind of party.
Grantwriting ticks many of the same boxes. After years of experience in museum collections and exhibits, I’m comfortable and find it a lot of fun diving into research on something entirely new to me. Roman oil lamps? Let’s do it. Land use history and mapping of early Los Angeles French Basque ranchers? Sure thing. Mining census and industry data to discover the demography of the problem we’re fighting to improve? Let me just open Excel.
It’s especially exciting to be able to put my experience and skills to use finding money that makes a tangible difference.
Big Wins
- $25,000 WellMed Grant, 2022. Meals on Wheels South Texas, in partnership with newly arrived healthcare provider, to fund rural home-delivered meal services.
- $192,000 AmeriCorps Seniors Grant, 2022-24. Meals on Wheels South Texas, two-year project grant to develop a pilot program bringing companionship services to an eight-county region of rural South Texas. Designed to fill gaps in services between smaller programs, with whom we partnered to source volunteers and beneficiaries.
- $200,000 in local foundation grants, 2022. Meals on Wheels South Texas, for general operational expenses.
Jenn Putman 