Exploring Life & Business with Dr. Beverly Browning of Grant Writing Training Foundation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Beverly Browning.

Hi Dr. Beverly, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
My actual life started in 1948. I was born to a teenage father and a 20-year-old mother. They were madly in love and produced me before their first anniversary. I’ve been told they had no clue about caring for a newborn. After several bouts with pneumonia, my paternal grandmother took me from them, and I lived with her and my grandfather for the first 13 years of my life.

When I was 13, my mom became pregnant a second time, and my brother was born. I had to move home to help with the new baby. I missed a lot of 7th grade and fell behind. I decided to earn money since I didn’t get an allowance and was saddled with caring for my baby brother until he was six months old. I canvased our neighborhood and found several babysitting jobs in the evenings and on weekends. I realized I could survive two dysfunctional parents by always being gone. My grandparents went to court at a very old age and got custody of my brother before he was nine months old. So, I babysat every waking hour after I returned to school and caught up with my studies. My motivation was to be able to have clothing that was not handed down from my cousin and buy snacks to keep in my room. I could not open the refrigerator and get food while living with my parents. I wanted to be 18 years old and leave their house.

At age 18, I married the man who is still my husband, John. This year, we will celebrate our 57th wedding anniversary. I made John promise to help me get an education to help take care of us and, eventually, our daughter. While enrolled in community college, I also volunteered for a local nonprofit.

Finally, before age 30, I was asked to join the board of directors for the Voluntary Action Center in Flint, Michigan, where I served as vice president for two years. I wrote my first grant application for the Center and submitted it to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. It was funded for six figures. That was the beginning of my grant writing career. My husband helped me start my part-time grant writing business while I was still in college and working full-time. It was challenging. I kept the new business part-time for three years before quitting and working full-time as a statewide school district grant writer and Grant$line newsletter creator/editor. In December of 1988, I received my master’s degree in public administration from the University of Michigan – Flint Campus.

In January 1989, I quit my job at an intermediate school district to venture into full-time entrepreneurship. I’ve never looked back. I’ve had a lot of plentiful years and challenging years. I never dreamed that I would be coming up on my 75th birthday (in November) and still working, loving, and creating everything that comes into my mind. I am an advocate for any self-employed person having multiple revenue streams. I’ve been teaching online for Cengage Learning (aka Ed2Go) since 2001. I’m also a prolific author of 48 grant-related books.

Today, I am well-known in the grant professional industry. I have been the go-to resource for thousands of grant writers. I’ve been blessed with just enough to be safe, keep a roof over our heads, and food in the refrigerator. Now, who am I? A busy, blessed, successful consultant, educator, and dedicated volunteer. My businesses are Bev Browning LLC and the Grant Writing Training Foundation. I am a low-key, low-level philanthropist, co-own a new bank (Integro Bank in Phoenix), organizing founder, executive director, and board member of the Integro Bank Foundation, a member of the international Grant Professionals Association (19 years), and sit on the board for the Grant Professionals Foundation. I am the mother and grandmother of one. God is still molding me, and I am still learning. My role model is former Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm (whom I had the pleasure of meeting as a university student). My doctorate in business administration is honorary.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?

• Having to put myself through college as a newlywed.
• Starting our marriage with two minimum-wage earners.
• Giving birth to a son who died at birth.
• Deciding to be financially responsible for my mother and seek guardianship.
• Finding out that my parents were finally divorcing on the day our daughter was born.
• Struggling financially with a spouse who stopped his education after 10th grade.
• Trying to understand what it means to marry an old-school, handsome man from the deep South who had expectations of a wife who stayed at home, cleaned the house, ironed his clothes, and had a house full of babies. Lol! Never!
• Being lured to put my businesses on hold and work for a major corporation that gave me a golden platter offer only to find out that working 16-18 hours a day, five days a week, is detrimental to anyone’s health, including mine! I endured six years earning a high six figures but losing my health significantly. I flew 30-40 times a year.
• Losing a grandson born too soon.
• Losing our son-in-law at age 49 this year in March.
• Putting my grieving process on hold to help our daughter. I am so very proud of her!
• Realizing that two older adults cannot live on social security benefits.
• Realizing that I can never afford to retire!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk about your work. What should we know?
I am a consultant with 48 years of successful grant-writing experience. At the end of 2022, I stopped writing grant applications and focused 100% on my training programs. During COVID-19, I created a 16-week Coaching/Mentoring Course for Grant Writers. I teach live via Zoom, and students enroll for 15 weeks and attend Saturday classes for up to 90 minutes weekly. I was blessed to have my students offer up ideas for additional live courses. Under the foundation, I created other courses: Freelance Grant Writing Consultants Boot Camp, Train-the-Trainer for Nonprofit Board Trainers, and Client Negotiating Skills for Grant Writing Consultants. I am known for my nonprofit industry knowledge (board training, strategic planning, grant research, grant writing, training, and grant readiness assessments).

What sets me apart?

• Innate faith
• Extraordinary knowledge of the grant process
• Trailblazer in the grant industry
• A prolific writer of everything about nonprofits, fundraising, and grants
• Passion and compassion
• Discernment
• Visionary
• Thought leader
• Role model

I am proud to have been born and raised in a very tough city, Flint, Michigan. I am proud to be both book-smart and streetwise. I want your readers to know that your birth circumstances mean nothing. Anyone can change their projectory at any time in their lives. Be ready to work hard for what you want. There are no handouts or hand-ups.

Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I work hard and play hard on my terms. No one will be surprised to know that I am a prayer warrior!

Pricing:

• 15-week coaching course: $750 per month x four months
• 4-week freelance consultant’s course: $1199
• 4-week train-the-trainer course for nonprofit board training – $1499

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bevbrowning.com/
• Instagram: bev.browning.48
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bevbrowning/
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/dm1GzZ7Psc4