by Hannah Moore
We’ve just made a huge stride here at Andson, thanks to Credit One, who has recently awarded us with a $50,000 grant!!! We took a moment to speak with COO Anthony McTaggart about this INCREDIBLE news:
How did you hear about this grant opportunity?
“I heard about it through UNLV's Grantwell Program. I would describe the program as an immersive capstone for public administration graduate students. It puts them in the process of fielding grant applications for donors after receiving interest from them. In other words, you can approach UNLV with the money you wish to donate, and these students will go through the granting process for you. Credit One decided to approach this program, and Andson applied to be a recipient of their funds. It’s taken from a similar program at BYU.”
Was there something different or unique about the process of this particular grant in comparison to previous ones?
“It was very interactive. The idea that the students are so involved, that they come back and ask you questions and want your feedback is so much fun. It’s a little more personal and specific to our community. It’s pretty cool.”
How will you go about allocating the funds to programs within Andson and our schools?
“These funds will be used for our financial literacy program at four Turnaround schools in the Clark County School District. Bailey and O’Callaghan Middle Schools, and Mojave and Sunrise Mountain High Schools in grade levels 7,11, and 12. We’ll be targeting 2,022 students between these schools from September 2015 to May 2016.”
How do you feel this award will help to propel our programs even further?
“We’ve never had four schools funded at once by one donor. And two of these are middle schools that feed into the other high schools, so it’s really exciting that it’s turning into systematic change. It will be the start of setting a landscape, so potentially a student can be with Andson starting in kindergarten and all the way into their senior year of high school. That’s our dream.”
Any advice you’ve taken away from this experience that you could offer to other “young” foundations?
“When you start a non-profit, you think you have an idea of who’s going to fund you. But then you go out there and get denied a lot. Time and energy has been so helpful with moving forward. In the first five years of what we’ve done, it was just about getting out there and doing it. Being reliable and doing the work. Not always getting the funding that we needed, but building a foundation for people to trust in our work. You’ve gotta be able to prove you’re in it for the long run.”
Wonderful insights from a wonderful leader! And a BIG thank you from the bottom of our hearts to both Credit One and Grantwell for giving us and our students this spectacular opportunity!!