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Scaling Grant Success: Streamline Your Process and Secure More Funding

September 3, 2026 | 9am-12pm | Frisco, CO

A 3-Hour Intensive to Turn Funder Guidelines into Grant Winning Proposals

Registration opens soon! 

Hosted by: Summit Foundation with guest expert presenter Robin Thompson

Description: Grant writing shouldn't feel like a second full-time job. Between decoding rigid funder guidelines, wrestling with budget spreadsheets, and staring down a blinking cursor at 9 p.m., it's easy to lose sight of what actually wins grants: a compelling, authentic story that speaks directly to a funder's mission.

This hands-on, three-hour workshop, building on our recent masterclass sponsored by the Summit Foundation, Demystifying AI: A Practical Master Class for Nonprofit Leaders, is designed for nonprofit leaders who are ready to work smarter, not harder. You'll learn how to use Artificial Intelligence as a strategic partner to cut through the administrative grind, so you can spend less time on rote data entry and more time on the storytelling and relationship building that actually moves funders to say yes.

Together, we'll work through real-world scenarios covering the challenges you face every day:

1. Decoding and matching strict funder criteria without losing your organization's voice
2. Building accurate, defensible project budgets faster
3. Researching and identifying foundations aligned with your community and mission
4. Structuring internal data securely while keeping your storytelling human, authentic, and funder ready

You'll leave with a concrete, repeatable blueprint you can put to work on your very next application. One that helps your team scale funding without scaling burnout.

Who Should Attend: Executive Directors, Development Directors, Grant Writers, Grant Managers, and board members who want to streamline their grant process, strengthen proposals, and increase their organization's win rate.

Important Pre-Work: To make the most of our three hours together, all registrants are asked to review the recording and slides from our foundational session, Demystifying AI: A Practical Master Class for Nonprofit Leaders, provided upon registration. This ensures everyone arrives with the same baseline understanding, so we can dive straight into strategy and application.

About Robin Thompson:
With over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, Robin Thompson has a proven track record of transforming fundraising outcomes, having assisted clients in raising millions of dollars. This includes leading the landmark $40 million Eagle Valley Trail campaign and consistently helping organizations increase their fundraising totals by multiples of their previous benchmarks. 

As author of Putting the Fun in Fundraising, Robin blends a well-grounded development strategy with cutting-edge technology. To stay at the forefront of this rapidly evolving industry, she has completed over 30 hours of specialized AI training, is an active member of an AI Mastermind group, and participates in weekly AI workshops. She combines decades of hands-on experience with a practical, tech-forward approach. Robin provides nonprofit leaders with a clear roadmap to using AI now. The human connection is most important and using this powerful tool dramatically amplifies it.

Human Resources : December 2026 | Date/Time TBA

Past Workshops:

Demystifying AI: A Practical Master Class for Nonprofit Leaders  

June 2026

Hosted by: Summit Foundation with guest expert presenter Robin Thompson

Objective: To introduce nonprofit leaders to practical applications of artificial intelligence, explore ethical and responsible use, and identify ways AI can improve efficiency, decision-making, and mission impact across nonprofit operations.

Intended Audience: Any staff or board member of a Summit Foundation nonprofit grantee organization.

Workshop Description:
Many nonprofit professionals feel the pressure to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) but struggle to find a starting point that feels authentic to their mission. This high-impact, hands on three-hour workshop moves past the tech jargon to provide a clear, practical path forward. Designed specifically for the Summit County nonprofit community, this session explores how to use AI tools to simplify workflows, enhance donor relationships, and protect your most valuable asset: your time. Whether you are an executive director, fundraiser, grant writer or part of a larger development team, you will gain the confidence to integrate AI into your daily practice without losing your unique organizational voice.
 

Learning Objectives:
In this three-hour session, participants will learn to:

• Navigate the AI Landscape with Confidence: Understand today’s most relevant AI tools in plain language and identify exactly where they fit into a nonprofit workflow.
• Generate High-Quality Fundraising Content: Apply AI-driven strategies to create donor appeals, grant templates, and social media updates that remain "on brand" and donor-centered.
• Optimize Time for Relationship-Building: Implement practical techniques to automate repetitive tasks while spending less time behind a screen and more time building face-to-face connections with supporters.

Watch the video: Demystifying AI