Grant Writing

press release: Join Tom Linfield, Vice President Community Impact with the Madison Community Foundation, to learn about grant writing best practices. 

Whether you’re new to grant writing or looking to hone your skills, this is the perfect opportunity to get you on your way to writing successful grant proposals.  Learn how to take your ideas and put them into a compelling and concise grant format.  Before becoming a foundation program officer, Tom raised more than $15 million in grants for various nonprofits. As a program officer, he has worked on local and national grant making programs, including awarding millions in grants for various environmental projects in Dane County.  The workshop will thus focus on both sides of the grant writing/grant making equation.  From best practices, to tips and tricks, to small group work, this fun and interactive session will take you through how to plan a proposal, present your project convincingly, and communicate constructively with funders.  You’ll even write and critique a short proposal.  

This session is sponsored by Madison Community Foundation.

Speaker Bio

Tom is the Vice President of Community Impact at Madison Community Foundation (MCF).  At MCF since 2004, Tom has more than 30 years of experience in the non-profit world, focusing on arts, higher education, public television and community development. In his current role he directs MCF’s annual grantmaking, offers capacity building, counsel and facilitation to non-profits, and serves on the leadership team for the Foundation.  Recent MCF grant projects include food pantry expansion, public library construction, the new Madison Youth Art Center, and expanding online access for K-12 schooling during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Previous roles include training and grant writing positions at the National Public Television Center for Outreach, Wisconsin Public Television, Edgewood College, and the Massachusetts College of Art.  Tom co-chaired the national community foundation Program Officer’s Network (ProNet) and served on conference committees for Wisconsin Philanthropy Network and CFUnited.  His board service has included the Bolz School of Arts Administration at the UW-Madison, Leadership Greater Madison Alumni Association, The Evjue Foundation, The Henry Vilas Zoo, and Operation Fresh Start.  He is a fellow of The Funders Network PLACES program. Tom is fluent in French and German and is a practicing fine artist, exhibiting his sculpture, mosaics and drawings regularly. He heartily recommends the art book Moby-Dick in Pictures: One Drawing for Every Page, by Matt Kish, and still wishes that “Bridesmaids” had won an Oscar.

Training Series

This is part of a winter volunteer training series that is open to park Friends groups, watershed groups and other organizations working to improve and protect Dane County land and water resources. These sessions are free and open to all. Please register in advance for planning purposes. Snacks and beverages will be provided by the Foundation for Dane County Parks. For a full list of trainings in this series, visit our Friends Stewardship and Training Resources webpage.