Entrepreneur Launches Free Grant Writing Training For African-American Business Owners

Posted by Eric Ojo Latest Headlines, News Around Africa Thursday, May 18th, 2023

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Owner and founder of LiPay Consulting, LLC, Linda Peavy has launched a free grant writing training which is aimed at supporting black-owned businesses and non-profits.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Peavy has pledged to offer free online grant training to 23,000 Black organizations. Her company has written grants and business development funding totaling over $17 million and believes that too many black organizations, especially for-profits, are leaving free money on the table.

The company has also worked with clients providing marketing/communications from the Miss America Organization to the Biden for President Campaign.

Notably, grant writing dollars have been secured for diverse organizations specializing in topics from K-12 education to beauty academies to workforce development.

COVID-19 and the George Floyd incident created unprecedented grant funds for black organizations. Due to COVID-19, thousands of small businesses were forced to lay off workers or shut their doors completely.

According to a Forbes article, because of limited financial assets and the lack of accumulated wealth, Black small business owners were particularly vulnerable. Foundations and large corporations took notice and began creating free grant resources for Black-owned organizations.

The George Floyd incident, according to the entrepreneur, also impacted funding, adding that numerous foundations and corporations began pledging funds to help address racial inequalities in America, particularly in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“More grant opportunities are available for black-owned organizations now than in the 15 years I have written grants. I want to help even the playing field by teaching black-owned businesses and black-led nonprofits to research, write, and win funding.

I aim to provide free training to 23,000 black-owned organizations to educate them on funding availability and show them a pathway to greater financial stability using free grants”, she said.

Many small organizations rely upon grants to survive but cannot afford to hire a professional grant writer. She therefore created the LiPav Writing Academy in 2019 to teach grant writing skills to businesses needing them most.

Peavy noted that millions of dollars in free grant funds are available to organizations whether they are a start-up, scaling, or operating with an all-volunteer staff.

“In 2021, giving from foundations reached over 90 billion dollars. Showing vision, strategy, and impact is critical”, she added.

In addition to free training, Peavy offers products such as an in-depth grant writing course and the Million Dollar Grant Roadmap, her budget-friendly $5 resource outlining the exact steps she took to secure millions in grants.