Catrice Smith/ The VannGuard Podcast

·52 min·5 clips

Catrice Smith reveals how a mentor's rejection led her to master grant writing and secure over a million dollars for a struggling nonprofit.

Victoria Vann introduces Catrice Smith as a grant writer and compliance expert who helps nonprofits and businesses. Catrice recounts how she learned to get free resources at 16, including medication for her mother with cancer, and later sought mentorship from a popular grant writer in Chicago who refused, prompting her to self-teach. She now runs Business Model Group, emphasizing that nonprofits are public trusts, not personal assets. Catrice discusses the challenges of nonprofit funding, noting that grants are not free and require data on community impact. She critiques the competitive nature of the sector, comparing it to chess where one winner sacrifices all, and advocates for the inclusive strategy of Go. Catrice explains Illinois's grant cycle runs July to June, but many urban nonprofits start in January, creating pressure to meet annual targets. She outlines three key rules for compliance: CFR 200 federal code, Illinois administrative code, and agency guidance, highlighting that auditors' interpretations vary. Catrice stresses the importance of SOPs, tracking expenditures, and hiring specialists like contractors who understand nonprofit invoicing. She advises founders to shift from horizontal to vertical management when receiving government funding. Catrice offers to help from idea stage, creating business model canvases or logic models, and sets up various entities like 501(c)(3)s, LLCs, S-Corps, and trusts. She concludes with quick tips, such as keeping receipts and notifying grant liaisons of mistakes, and invites listeners to her May conference.

As heard by us

Catrice Smith connects nonprofit funding, compliance, audits, and community services in a candid, practical conversation.

Grant writing turns into a real-world pressure point in this Vanguard conversation, as Victoria Vann brings Catrice Smith into a discussion of nonprofit funding, compliance, and the daily work of keeping organizations protected.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Need company while a nonprofit tries to secure grants, satisfy auditors, and keep up as the rules keep shifting?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Intellectual Radio