How We Fund Big Ideas

Before we could even start painting, we had to figure out one big question: how do we pay for this? That’s where grant writing came in. It sounds intimidating (and honestly, at first it was), but it turned out to be a lot like telling a story, just with a budget attached.

Working with Samantha from One Green Step, I learned how to explain CIT’s vision in a way that would make people want to support it. We researched, wrote, edited, and crossed our fingers. When we got the news that we’d been awarded $10,000 for the garden and mural, it felt like we’d just unlocked the “yes” we needed to make it real.

Grant writing might not sound as exciting as painting a giant wall, but it’s what made the project possible. And now we know that with the right idea and the right pitch, we can dream even bigger!