Here’s my backstory of building Heart Resources, LLC into a social mission-driven business that helps to improve our communities.
Growing Up and Academics
Both of my parents served in the military and were stationed at a U.S. military base in North Africa where I was born. My journey through life has been shaped by the values and experience of service, fortitude and resilience from growing up in a military family.
I attended schools in four states. From the ages of 13-17, I served in the Civil Air Patrol (a civilian auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force) in Central Florida. I completed high school at Wilde Lake H.S. in Columbia, MD where I had the opportunity to play on winning county sports teams in basketball and track. As a freshman at Catonsville Community College (Baltimore, MD) I played on the basketball and lacrosse teams and specialized in power volleyball. As a sophomore, I played with a post-season team that won the East Coast Women’s USVBA Championship and I received an invitation to Olympic Development Camp. I completed an A.A. degree in Teacher Preparation for Physical Education. I was invited to attend the University of Pittsburgh on a women's athletic scholarship for volleyball soon after Title IX was passed. In my senior year as the team co-captain, I won the Blue-Gold Award. I completed a B.S. degree in Health, Physical, and Recreation Education in 1977 and was awarded the J. Clyde Barton Award and Scholarship to attend graduate school.
My retired parents couldn’t afford to pay for a college education, so I earned a living by teaching and coaching swimming, lifeguarding, and managing public pools. With K-12 teacher certification, I also taught health, fitness, and sports to youth at a private school and undergraduate students at Pitt. I earned a Master of Education degree with a self-designed, faculty-approved course of studies in Health Promotion in Organizations in 1984. I enjoyed and excelled in the Grant Proposal Writing and Fundraising course at the Graduate School of Social Work which inspired my career in the nonprofit sector.
Nonprofit Employment
I developed the first occupational health and fitness program in the U.S. to prepare women for heavy manual labor in the steel, manufacturing, and skilled trades industries as the occupational fitness instructor for a federally funded Non-Traditional Jobs Training Program at the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh (featured on ABC’s "20/20”). When the program lost funding, the program coordinator (a Union Carpenter) and I initiated a transitional small business, Women Building Inc., to provide on-the-job training for women to earn a living with home renovation projects.
I developed, marketed, and managed revenue-generating programs for nonprofits, including health, fitness, and recreation programs for women and children as the YWCA's Director of Health Promotion Services, and onsite health/fitness programs at local companies as Program Coordinator for Worksite Health Promotion at the Health Education Center of Pittsburgh (later merged with Highmark Health Place).
My interests extended to mental health education and victim advocacy. I completed a two-year training program and certification in psychophysical therapy along with the 40-hour PA Comprehensive Victim Services Certification in 1986. I served in the revenue-generating position of Training Coordinator at two of the earliest rape crisis and victim service agencies in the nation. I marketed the therapeutic training programs provided by Pittsburgh Action Against Rape (PAAR) for seven years then managed staff training and organized a Balanced Approach to Restorative Justice (BARJ) Conference sponsored by the Center for Victims.
Writing Experience
I created program marketing plans and materials and enjoyed writing educational articles and books for adults and children. While at PAAR, I designed and wrote a 56-page activity book, Kids Go To Court Too! with a grant from Allegheny County and the PA Commission on Crime and Delinquency along with product donations from the Crayola Foundation. The large paperback book was utilized by legal advocates to help prepare children to testify in court about sexual abuse. My essay and painting, “Woman Throwing Off Rage” was published in the anthology She Who Was Lost Is Remembered (Seal Press, 1991) and I contributed articles for the victim services field. My trauma recovery work resulted in the publication of TELLINGS: From Wound to Wellspring (Outskirts Press, 2008).
My interest in creative nonfiction and technical writing led to a position as Technical Writer and Publications Development Manager with GeroServices, a psychology consulting firm where I developed articles and a staff training manual to improve behavioral treatment of elderly residents at Pennsylvania’s long-term care facilities. When the company moved to the West Coast, I turned to freelance grant proposal writing, which has enabled me to apply writing and program management skills to develop successful proposals for nonprofits. My experience includes preparing all types of grant documents, budgets, and reports as well as Requests for Proposals, Concept Papers, and major gift solicitations from donor-advised funds.
Credentials
Since 2000, I have completed hundreds of hours of continuing education in technical writing, funder research, advanced proposal writing, grant budgets, and development planning with industry leaders including The Grantsmanship Center Inc. (TGCI), Foundation Center of New York, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), Grant Professionals Association (GPA), and National Grant Management Association (NGMA).
I joined GPA in 2011, and earned the Grant Professional Certified (GPC) credential (see sidebar) from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute in 2013. I facilitated the first national Virtual GPC Study Group in partnership with JulieAnna Carsen, GPC (ASU, JVG Synergy, LLC) in 2018. We co-authored a published strategy paper, ebook, and webinar for GPA to assist future virtual study groups. Our work received the President’s Award from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute in 2019. I have served on the GPA Professional Development Committee and Approved Trainer Sub-Committee. In 2022 and 2024, I facilitated the GPA Summit networking group and forum for LGBTQIA+ grant pros. In 2024, I was honored to receive the Pauline G. Annarino Award from GPCI for efforts in developing future GPC Study Group leaders including sharing free resources for future GPC study groups.
Grant Training, Coaching, and Mentoring Experience
In 2008-2009, I developed a curriculum of non-credit grant courses for the Community College of Allegheny County. In 2014, I was the first person to receive designation as a GPA Approved Trainer (see sidebar). I have developed innovative virtual service models including Train-Coach-Mentor (expedites grant teams to learn-by-doing with feedback on quick turnaround proposals) and Train-the-Grant-Trainer (prepares experienced grant and fundraising professionals to lead grant workshops and GPC Study Groups). See Success Stories for impact statements.
I received Certificates of Appreciation in 2017 and 2018 for “Promoting Excellence in Local Government” by leading grant training workshops designed for municipal staff to seek funding from both public and private sources sponsored by the Local Government Academy. From 2009-2019 I presented basic and advanced grant training seminars at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Nonprofit Resource Center and have presented grant workshops for numerous other regional and national organizations.
In 2022, I was honored to join an elite group of national training providers when my courses for the Marietta College Nonprofits LEAD Program and the Community College of Allegheny County received approval as Accepted Education Programs (AEP) by the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (see sidebar).
I train and coach early career and seasoned grant professionals to build competencies and skills toward earning the GPC credential. My Grant Career and Business courses for the Community College of Allegheny County led to the publication of Grantepreneur: Getting Started in a Grant Career and Business (Red Engine Press, 2016), a first career guide endorsed by grant leaders which won 1st Place in the Business Books Category at The Author's Zone Awards in 2017.
I have served as a volunteer mentor and facilitator for the GPA Mentor Match Program along with GPC Study Groups (2016, 2018, 2023). In September 2023, I was selected to provide mentoring for the Catalysts for Community (C4C) Program to strengthen grant and fundraising capacity in rural Arkansas nonprofits developed by the GPA Arkansas Chapter and funded in part by the Walton Family Foundation.
Company Background
I’ve achieved grant success through my passion for high-quality effective project development and writing for organizations working to improve the community, extensive professional development, and dedication to the GPA’s ethical and practice standards. My nonprofit manager and educator expertise has enabled me to increase client funding for public health, human services, education, youth, workforce development, library programs, and capital facility improvements.
I founded Heart Resources, LLC with a social mission to offer affordable grant research, writing, consulting, and training services that assist nonprofits in working on challenging community problems. Grant proposals have obtained major support for programs, operations, capital projects, and health research. I’ve assisted 50+ local, state, and national organizations to earn $35 million in grant dollars from public and private funders. A portion of my time and net profits have been contributed as pro bono services in the form of mentoring and sponsorship of wellness projects and activities for people experiencing disadvantages and disabilities in my local community.
Leadership
I have served as a federal grant reviewer for child traumatic stress initiatives of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Heart Resources, LLC has been a Participating Organization in local and national initiatives including LiveWell Allegheny, Healthy People 2020, and SAMHSA’s Wellness Initiative. My advocacy work led to multiple nominations for the Lilly Award and SAMHSA Voice Award. I was selected for a one-year paid SAMHSA Voice Awards Fellowship in 2012-2013 and served as a first-round judge for the National Recovery Month Awards and the SAMHSA Voice Awards Program Film and Television Category from 2013-2018.
I worked with colleagues to form the GPA-Western PA Chapter and served as Founding President. The chapter offered regional professional development from 2013-2016 before moving activities to meetup.com. From 2016 to the present, I have served as a co-facilitator and GPC Ambassador for the Grant Café, a free monthly meetup providing grant professional development on “hot grant topics” that has grown to 1000+ members. My company and other consultants provide sponsorship of the platform fee so the group can be free and open to everyone with an interest in learning about grants without regard to affiliation or ability to pay at http://www.meetup.com/grants-professionals-of-western-pa.
Community Service
Heart Resources, LLC is a member of the Mon Yough Area Chamber of Commerce and has been involved with consultant initiatives of the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership, part of The Forbes Funds and The Pittsburgh Foundation. In 2015, the University of Pittsburgh’s Varsity Letter Club selected me as an Awardee of Distinction, a lifetime honor for former letter winners who have distinguished themselves in their profession and community. From 2020-2023, I was a member of the fundraising organization, W.O.M.E.N. of Southwestern PA, participating in the Philanthropy Committee helping to decide small grants for nonprofit programs serving women and children in our region. I serve as Chair of the Endowment Committee at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Pleasant Hills, PA.
Since our joining ceremony in 1990 and marriage in 2014, my life partner Bernadette Furin, MSW, M.Div. supported my passion for writing proposals to fund projects for community needs through Heart Resources LLC. Without her endless patience, until her passing in April 2024, I would not have succeeded in becoming one of the best-qualified grant consultants and trainers in the nation.
Fight for the things you care about. But do it in a way that will lead others to join you. RGB
