MILLIONAIRE GRANT LADY SUCCESS STORIES
Testimonials from Winning Clients
When our clients do win (and they win a lot) we celebrate them.
When Difficult Work Pays Off
As anyone who has worked with nonprofits for any length of time will tell you: there are never any guarantees when it comes to grant writing.
Crafting winning grant proposals is difficult work, and even when you think you did everything right, sometimes the funder decides to go in a different direction.
I’ve spent years detailing all the different things you can do to give yourself the best chance of success, from designing solid programs to including the correct attachments to highlighting relevant data. The purpose of a grant proposal is to tell the story of your organization, and my team works hard to ensure that every application, whether mailed in full or submitted in seventeen separate text boxes across five pages of a portal, tells that story well.
So when our clients do win—and they win a lot—we make sure to celebrate them, because we know how hard they worked to create programs worth funding, and how hard we worked to write proposals worth reading.
We have many worthy clients who have won big by partnering with us. They make our job easy by designing great programs that serve those who need it most, and any time we get a win for them, we feel great knowing that the funds will make a measurable and meaningful difference in their communities.
Let’s celebrate a few of those clients and briefly highlight what has made each of them recurring grant winners and success stories. If your nonprofit has a program worth funding, we can help tell your story and maximize funding for your mission driven work.
Schedule a call with my team to discuss how we can help you to take the next step in your organizational journey.
Industry Success Stories
Education
Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center (NAEC)
We’ve partnered with the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center (NAEC) multiple times to raise more than $600,000 in grant funds for their one-of-a-kind science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM) program. The mission of NAEC is to Honor the Past, Empower the Future. This grant funding will help them bring history alive for more children in North Texas with its only-of-their-kind STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) experiences for students of all ages, from pre-kindergarten through adulthood: A is for Aerospace, Camp Soar, and the Home Front Experience.
A is for Aerospace
A is for Aerospace is a half-day hands-on learning opportunity for pre-kindergarten to 2nd grade students, teaching them aviation concepts in a compelling, age-appropriate way and introducing them to aerospace careers through immersive, kid-friendly STEAM activities. Camp SOAR is a five-day immersive learning experience for 3rd to 7th grade students, incorporating hands-on STEM activities, occupations, aviation, and historical reflection. Integrative programs like these have particularly powerful impact on students from low-income districts, and their long-term outcomes are greatly improved by exposure to engage STEAM-based activities, even outside of the classroom.
Home Front Experience
Home Front Experience is a new immersive WWII educational program teaching students from 4th to 12th grade (and beyond) the importance of perseverance, unity, and collaboration. The only experience of its kind, integrating history, STEM, leadership, and citizenship, the Home Front Experience was designed by educators with over 70 years of combined experience.
Uniquely designed to provide crucial real-world application for in-classroom concepts, the experience can help to meet the particular needs of students from low-income districts who have been neglected due to widening education gaps, exacerbated by the pandemic. The program places a particular interest on financial literacy, a mandated subject that many schools struggle to integrate into their curriculum in a meaningful, relevant manner.
Winning first-time grants for brand-new programs is one of the most difficult hurdles in grant writing, and Millionaire Grant Lady has done it multiple times for multiple organizations.
BRAVE/R
BRAVE/R is creating more opportunities for residents of the 76104 zip code, which contains some of the most underserved communities in Tarrant County. They are fueling education, workforce development, accessible healthcare, and affordable housing by communing community leaders to tackle underlying issues at their source.
Within six months of working with me, we won them a $1 million local government grant and an additional $400,000 in private grants.
As a relatively new organization, this funding is life-changing for them and the people they serve.
Healthcare
AIDS Outreach Center
AIDS Outreach Center is the largest non-profit AIDS service organization in Tarrant County. With a Challenge Grant and American Recovery funding, they were able to launch Seasoned Survivors, the first senior center in the United States dedicated to older adults living with HIV. Today, Seasoned Survivors serves older adults in Fort Worth with services that reduce isolation and improve health outcomes. Last year, we helped AOC secure $300,000 in funding to continue and expand this program.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Millionaire Grant Lady has won over $3 million in grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to help a Texas-based organization respond to the opioid crisis.
JPS Health Network
Healthcare is a cornerstone of well-being. In 2023, we raised more than $700,000 for the JPS Health Network. JPS serves the needs of the families in Tarrant County, working to improve health status and access to healthcare. They offer acute care, outpatient care, psychiatric services, and a mom-and-baby program.
This vital grant funding will support their efforts to enhance medical services and improve access to quality care for all members of the community.
Paluxy River Children’s Advocacy Center
One organization we work with that focuses on children’s needs is Paluxy River Children’s Advocacy Center. Their mission is to promote the healing of child abuse victims—one child at a time. In 2023, we won $200,000 for their important work. This funding will allow them to continue to provide life-changing services for many vulnerable children.
JPS Foundation
Millionaire Grant Lady has won several grants for behavioral health and the ED through the JPS Foundation. There were 5 grants for $300,000 for the JPS Adolescent Inpatient Unit (AIU), which addresses suicide rates in vulnerable youth populations, and 3 grants for $225,000 for the Intensive Primary Care Program, which addresses the complex health needs of high utilizers in the JPS Health System. One grant was for a new Mobile Health Unit. Total funding awarded so far is $525,000.
According to the CDC, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for youth ages 10-14 and third-leading for youth ages 15-24. In Texas, which ranks 41st in availability for mental health services, 73% of youth do not receive treatment (Mental Health America). Tarrant County has few inpatient psychiatric facilities, some of which do not accept uninsured youth. With the recent funding won by Millionaire Grant Lady, the JPS Adolescent Inpatient Unit will stabilize more than 450 youth in danger of harming themselves or others, provide relevant and appropriate treatment options, and empower patients to reintegrate into daily life with healthy coping skills. JPS is the leading provider for teens on Medicaid, CHIP, or who are uninsured, and the funding will significantly impact youth suicide and mental health outcomes.
Over 3,000 patients annually in the JPS Health System have four or more visits to the Emergency Department (ED), many of whom are uninsured, unhoused, and suffering from a complex web of ongoing social traumas and chronic diagnoses, such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and mental illness. These are among the most vulnerable members of the community, and JPS Health System has implemented a unique program to provide direct street-based and home-based care to this population, and the implementation of the program has already reduced the overutilization and overdependence on the ED. This novel preventive model provides direct, compassionate care, reduces ED overcrowding, and improves health outcomes for Tarrant County residents with some of the worst health challenges and disparities.
Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI)
The grantee is Baylor Scott & White Research Institute (BSWRI), the dedicated research and development arm of the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas. As with the first grant won by Millionaire Grant Lady, BSWRI will work in partnership with Integrative Emergency Services (IES) for program implementation and development. The project will empower the BSW health system to implement alternatives to opioids in multiple emergency departments in North Texas and to provide crucial “bridge” treatment for people with pain and opioid use disorder. The project will evaluate if an opioid alternatives program can be scaled across a large health system with multiple emergency departments.
Three years ago, Millionaire Grant Lady won the same type of grant from SAMHSA for JPS Health Network, also in partnership with IES. These federal grants are transformative for the organizations that receive them, allowing them to implement their full programs and plan confidently over the three-year period. Federal grants are also the most competitive, complex, and difficult to receive. They require extensive research, strategic planning, and painstaking attention to program detail. They must also be compelling to read. Reviewers are people, too, and they get tired, going through proposal after proposal, sometimes up to 20 per person. For these reasons, any organization who manages to secure a federal grant of this magnitude should be proud.
On multiple occasions now, Millionaire Grant Lady has won an organization’s first federal grant, an even more difficult task for an unproven success. The work being undertaken by BSWRI and IES is crucial to transforming the lives of North Texans who have been snared by opioid crisis already and to preventing further addiction and suffering moving forward. Developing alternatives to the addictive substances that have taken countless lives is paramount to providing sustainable medical care moving forward. This grant provides both short-term and long-term benefits for the people of North Texas.
Human Rights
Aspire Chicago
Aspire Chicago is a nonprofit whose mission is to make boundless inclusivity possible for people with disabilities. Last year, we worked with them to secure a Department of Education grant worth more than $9 million to launch their employment training program. This grant was part of the DOE’s initiative to create a 21st century workforce of youth and adults with disabilities through the transformation of education, career, and competitive integrated employment. Aspire’s one-of-a-kind employment training program will further inclusion and employment outcomes for people with disabilities by helping them secure stable, competitive employment in an in-demand field.
East Texas Crisis Center
Last year, one of these wins was for East Texas Crisis Center. The mission of East Texas Crisis Center is to provide safety, shelter and education to victims of family violence, sexual assault, dating violence and other violent crime, and to restore dignity and purpose to their lives. Last year, we helped ETCC win a $600,000 grant from the Office of Violence Against Women to support transitional housing and support services for victims of violence in East Texas. This grant will help people impacted by violence be safe, remain housed, and create better lives for themselves and their children.
Texas Network of Youth Services (TNOYS)
Texas Network of Youth Services (TNOYS) was recently awarded a $2 million Youth Homelessness System Improvement (YHSI) Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). TNOYS was one of 38 recipients across 26 states, Puerto Rico, and Guam, who were awarded $51.1 million in total.
The kicker? The highest individual award — which TNOYS received — was $2 million.
Millionaire Grant Lady and Associates is incredibly proud of our efforts to help our client win such a significant grant in a highly competitive process. TNOYS serves young people ages 0-24 in Texas who are at risk for abuse or neglect, criminal justice system involvement, or homelessness.
Its mission is to strengthen services and support for Texas youth and families to help them overcome challenges and achieve healthy development. We look forward to watching TNOYS transform the lives of young people through the opportunities this grant makes available.
AIDS Outreach Center (AOC)
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently awarded AIDS Outreach Center (AOC) a $2.5 million grant for a new project called “Housing First” in Tarrant County, Texas. The funding, designated as a Housing Intervention award to End the HIV Epidemic program (a part of the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS [HOPWA] program), is a competitive award provided to organizations providing best practices in the field. AOC’s housing initiative will serve as a Special Projects of National Significance Grant Model for HOPWA.
AOC, an organization that has served people living with or at risk for HIV since 1986, is excited to have received support to address homelessness and housing stability within its programming, and we look forward to watching them pursue this mission after helping them achieve such a milestone award.
Partnership Home
Millionaire Grant Lady and Associates won $2.9 million in funding for Partnership Home. Partnership Home has been leading the community solution to homelessness since 1989. They envision a future where everyone has a place to call home. This multi-million dollar funding will support Partnership Home in providing vital support and resources to individuals and families experiencing homelessness, offering them hope and stability in their time of need. They host an annual Housing Summit to convene stakeholders in the community and have done immense work to connect various nonprofits in working toward a shared goal.
We recently won them national private competitive money from the Bezos Fund, and a first grant from a foundation they had been pursuing for years.
Arlington Life Shelter
We also helped Arlington Life Shelter win $380,000 in grant funding. Arlington Life Shelter envisions a community where all individuals, families, and children affected by homelessness have access to the services and support necessary to restore ability and achieve personalized success. This grant funding will help them provide services and support so that more people who are experiencing homelessness can achieve their goals.
Advocates for Special People
Advocates for Special People works to enrich the lives of intellectually disabled adults. The funds we helped them win will dramatically increase their ability to serve more people and provide them with the specific help to meet their unique needs.
When they first came to us as a client, they were just hoping for enough money to buy one van. Instead, we got enough to purchase the van and an additional $60,000 in grant funding to operate their programs.
We still have a few grants pending, but those alone have already made their investment worth it.
Environmental Protection
Streams & Valleys
Since 1969, Streams & Valleys has dedicated itself to embracing the Trinity River as Tarrant County’s most precious local and regional amenity. Their Trinity Park and Trail Enhancement Project is a comprehensive series of improvements and innovations that will fundamentally transform Fort Worth’s grandest public space and ensure that Trinity River remains fun, accessible, sustainable, and economically vibrant.
Last year, we worked with Streams & Valleys to secure more than $260,000 in foundation funding toward this capital campaign goal. This support will ensure the Trinity River remains a seminal landmark and safe green space in Fort Worth. We are honored to have been part of their success.
Paluxy River CAC
Paluxy River CAC works with the most vulnerable of populations: child abuse victims. They help children to feel safe and heard, facilitate justice, and foster healing. They have been an MGL client since 2019, during which time we have helped them to procure grant funding for their counseling services and other programming. They have regularly experienced 10 times the annual return on investment. Because of this success, we are now helping them with their capital campaign.
In the words of Margaret Cohenour, Executive Director, “Millionaire Grant Lady & Associates had a good understanding of program issues and brought structure to seeking grants and increased funding that allowed my program to grow!”
Community Development
Fort Worth Report
Much of America now reads their news online. The Fort Worth Report is a nonprofit newspaper that provides local news coverage of Fort Worth, Tarrant County, and Arlington. Their mission is to produce high-quality objective local journalism that informs public decision-making, addresses the quality of life of the community’s citizens, holds policymakers accountable and tells readers’ stories by listening to them and making sure they are valued and understood. Last year, we worked with the Report to secure more than $500,000 in funding for their nonprofit newsroom. Foundation funding will help fuel their initiatives so they can provide more solutions-based, nonprofit news coverage of Fort Worth and the surrounding areas.
Samaritan House
Samaritan House is dedicated to the belief that housing is a human right and provides permanent housing options for Tarrant County residents to achieve self-sufficiency and independence. Their mission is housing today, hope for tomorrow. During their first contract, we won them $303,000 in grant funding to support their permanent housing initiatives. Within the last year, they added 24 units to their existing properties to house those who are most in need. They were so satisfied with the first year that they signed a second contract.
After we sent them updated grant proposals for the coming cycle, Kim Robinson, CEO, replied, “The new grant templates look REALLY GOOD!!”
A Proven Track Record of Success
While there are no guarantees in grant writing, these are examples of our real results for our clients. Across all of my clients, 93% of clients who have received a grant before seeking services have received a positive return on investment, and two-thirds of those organizations make eight times or more return on investment (ROI).
I wake up grateful every day to have found a job that activates the analytical side of my brain, uses my creativity and problem-solving skills, and allows me to have a positive impact on the world. I use these skills and my more than a decade of experience in grants to create streamlined processes that save clients time while increasing their grant funding.
If you are looking for an expert team to position you to win more grant funding, give us a call today. We are ready to support your nonprofit in its important work.
Meet Alex Dunn
- 15+ years of experience in grants
- CFRE
- $125+ million in grants raised (so far!)
- Officer of Grant Professionals Association North Texas chapter since 2018
What Our Clients Say
YOUR PATH TO SUCCESS
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