Our next Badge in Applied Politics event will feature Christa Mannarino, Owner of Mannarino Consulting and Chief Marketing & Development Officer for Signal Centers, Inc. In this session, Ms. Mannarino will work with participants to develop a project implementation plan that will include timelines, SMART goals, budget management, and outcome reporting tools for grant awards.
The event will take place on Saturday, March 4, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, and breakfast will be provided. Only a limited number of spaces will be available, so please register at the following link by Wednesday, March 1: https://forms.gle/Dhz18pFHSNh1aRjU9. The Badge in Applied Politics series is made possible thanks to a generous donation from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #175.
About This Event
Post-Grant Award Best Practices for Project Implementation, Evaluation, and Reporting with Christa Mannarino
Saturday, March 4 — 9:00-12:00, 540 McCallie Building (Room 462D)
You have authored a quality grant proposal just received notice that the grant has been awarded. In this grant post-award workshop, we will review your award-winning application and develop a project implementation plan that will include timelines, SMART goals, budget management, and outcome reporting tools.
Participant Take-a-Ways will include:
- Tools for designing successful grant workplans;
- A deeper understanding of what grant funders want;
- Determining outcome measures and instruments;
- Applying SMART goals to grant implementation and reporting;
- A basic understanding of how Logic Models demonstrate grant efficacy;
- The role of the finance department;
- Best practices for defining roles and ensuring accountability.
Instructor Bio
Working as a nonprofit executive for over 20 years, Christa’s first nonprofit management role was as executive director of an arts and culture organization. During that ten-year tenure, programs earned national recognition for quality and excellence; revenue streams became diversified; membership doubled; a comprehensive re-branding effort was implemented; and the board of directors and professional staff worked in a highly collaborative manner.
A huge part of her fundraising success was learning how to write grants, cultivating grant maker relationships, and creating smart tools to improve overall grant writing efficiencies. Today, Christa works as a consultant for nonprofit organizations addressing various needs including: executive transitions, coaching, strategic and development planning. She also serves as an adjunct faculty member for UTC’s Political Science Public Service Department.
Christa earned her bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and her master’s degree in business administration from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She is a professional facilitator and holds the international Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) certification. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, Chattanooga Nonprofit Alliance, serves on the board of the Association for Fundraising Professionals, and is a charter board member of the new Nonprofit Resource Center.
About the Badge in Applied Politics
This series of short courses (taught by local practitioners and alumni) on specific skills and experiences that will both aid students in the workplace and enable them to explore potential career paths. Over time we will offer short workshops on such topics as: data management; voter targeting; policy advocacy/lobbying; SPSS advanced training; using the R statistical program; campaign management; organizing communities; utilizing geographic information systems (GIS); and grant writing. Students who complete seven of these workshops or approved university opportunities will receive a badge in Applied Politics from the Department of Political Science and Public Policy that can be noted on their resume. This program is funded by the generosity of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local #175.
Christopher Acuff, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Public Administration