Beyond the Grant: Investing in the Skills Behind the Work

A roomful of Montgomery and Bucks County nonprofit leaders spent this morning learning how to tell their stories better — and the Tigris Foundation was proud to support it.

"Your Story, Your Power" was a professional development workshop led by Kristen Aldrich, Chief Programs Officer at Cosmic Writers, a nonprofit (and Tigris grantee!) that uses writing education to build critical and creative thinkers. Hosted by the BucksMont Collaborative, the session brought together a dozen organizations working across domestic violence, homelessness, mental health, disability employment, child advocacy, vision loss, and food security.

The premise is simple: the people doing this work have extraordinary stories, and those stories are powerful. Participants worked through plot structure, practiced telling the same story three different ways — for a donor, a foundation officer, and a legislator — and talked candidly about the harder questions. How do you gather a story from someone you serve with consent, with care, and with compensation for their time?

Grant dollars fund programs. Skills like these help good programs get funded again. We're so glad to support both.

Our thanks to Kristen Aldrich and Cosmic Writers, and to the BucksMont Collaborative for convening the morning.