Prompt: Consider the organization your group decided on being part of in class. Did you like it? In order to start drafting a grant proposal, I’ll need to match your interests with real organizations. So then, imagine you’re working/part of an organization that is seeking funds. What kinds of non-profit organization would you like to be part of? A Soup kitchen? An animal shelter? A hospital? An environmental organization? For the purpose of our group project, spend 15 minutes thinking and writing about what kinds non-profits you’d like be part of and why—provide 3 examples

Response: My group chose an organization that dealt with funding and prioritizing children’s development and education. While I didn’t mind deciding on this organization type, I don’t think it would be the greatest fit for me, considering that I don’t have much experience working with children. In other words, I wouldn’t be the greatest advocate for children when searching for grants and writing possible applications. After some thinking, I decided that I would probably fit best within one of these three types of organizations. The first non-profit I would like to be a part of would probably have to do with animal/environmental conservation. As someone who has always had passion for animals and the environment, I think I would be able to embody the types of emotions within an application that many non-profits need in order to receive a grant. An example non-profit for this is the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland, as I would be able to write about common experiences and emotions that one has as a parent to an animal. Another type of non-profit that I would like to be a part of would be one to do with civil rights and advocacy, specifically for LGBTQ+ and POC communities. I was educated in a very strict catholic environment and as a young person who wasn’t sure of her orientation, I saw first hand how many people can weaponize belief systems to fit their own agendas. An example of a non-profit that focuses on this would be EqualityMaine. The last type of organization that comes to mind would be one that focuses on improving public education. This is incredibly important, especially in terms of public schools, because many do not receive adequate funding for proper STEM and language arts courses. Many public schools also offer services to many students who are underprivileged, which is an especially overlooked factor in education. My partner is an education major and I’ve seen how hard she and other education majors are trying in order to improve conditions and quality of schools, which is why I would be interested to help an organization like this. An example of this would be the Foundation for Portland Public Schools.