Meet the Rose Community: Amy Holland

Each month, we feature a member of the Rose Foundation community. We hope that through these interviews, you get to know a little more about the dynamic people who make the Rose Foundation’s work possible. You are a part of the Rose Foundation community, and we want to tell your story too! If you want to be featured in an upcoming newsletter, let us know by replying to this email.

This month, we’re featuring Amy Holland, our new Grant Writer. Amy joins our team with a wealth of experience. From studying and working internationally, to holding prestigous positions at world-renound organizations, Amy brings with her an impressive skillset.

You have worked and studied all over the world in various occupations. What drew you to a career in nonprofit development and specifically in grant writing?

Grant writing is a complex blend of technical know-how and creative writing. Grant writers need to have a keen eye for detail, a love of research, and a working knowledge of nonprofits, finances, sociology, politics and more. For that reason, I have found that grant writing provides me a unique way to showcase my diverse experiences and skill sets. I love that I can draw on my years of working in the field on community guided projects while highlighting my love for writing and academic expertise on the subject matter. Moreover, as a grant writer, I can directly influence the integrity and success of the mission of the organization by ensuring that the programs have adequate funding to flourish and scale. To be honest, I also love the intensity of the role. I work well under pressure and am very much inspired by challenges.

What inspired you to want to work at the Rose Foundation?

Its reputation for good work. Every time I would go through the list of Californian foundations with a non-profit that I was working with, at least one person would comment on how great the Rose Foundation is and how the work they have been doing over the years seems to have transformed the communities they work with in a meaningful way and how they have created the gold standard for the nonprofit world. And when I saw the opportunity to work with them, I crossed my fingers that things would work out and I could join this impactful organization and help affect change.

What about your new position are you most excited for?

I would say learning more about the communities we work in by sitting down and collaborating with key stakeholders in telling the story of our mission and approach. As the grant writer, my goal is to distill this story of our mission, demonstrating that our organization has a clear understanding of the need in our community and a strong evidence-based programmatic response. A successful proposal in essence tells a persuasive story to the funders on what we are going to do, who is going to benefit, why it matters to the beneficiaries, and most importantly why they should care. For me, I love collecting the voices and experiences needed for the design and creation part of the grant process.

What kinds of things do you get up to when you’re not working?

 I am an explorer at heart and lover of the arts. I spend most of my free time going on little adventures. I pick a place or an event as my end destination and just ramble on from here to there unearthing new treasures until I get there. I am a big fan of our public lands and never tire of the diverse and dramatic beauty found in California. I love to get lost in nature and hike and camp with my adventure cats (Lil Dude and Pico de Gato). I am also a big fan of music and art.  I play samba drums and piano; dabble in painting, photography, and glass blowing; and attend musical performance, theater, and art shows.