Write a Grant in Class: Join Us for the Two (2) Day Grant Writing Retreat with Dr. Drew in Santa Ana, CA

Sometimes the best way to learn grant writing is to write a grant. Dear Friend:  Please join me for a two-day grant writing retreat for both beginning and experienced grant writers in Santa Ana, CA on November 1 and 2, 2016.  Rave Reviews for Dr. Drew's Two Day Grant Writing Retreat In contrast to earlier retreats, this one includes up to six (6) hours of my individualized follow-up coaching including help from me or my staff with your writing, editing, proofreading and messaging activities.  Based on my successful grant writing career, this retreat is designed to meet the educational needs of grant writers from city, county, and state agencies as well as non-profits, community colleges and universities.  You will emerge from this retreat with all - or a large portion - of your grant proposal written and ready to submit to an appropriate funder.  This retreat will help you: Develop a top-notch, professional, winning grant proposal Learn how to get funders interested in your project Identify at least 10 realistic funders for your project Discover the best ways to approach funders Develop effective readable budgets that make sense Discover the best practices and trends in grant writing Learn the insider secrets on drafting great proposals Save time with grant writing strategies and more After the retreat is complete, you will also receive up to six (6) hours of individual coaching from me or my staff depending on your specific needs. As indicated above, this is a completely new feature of the retreat package. It will give you and your organization the opportunity to work with me one-on-one and to see up close the techniques I have used to raise over $40 million in grants over my career.  This practical and down-to-earth workshop is scheduled as follows: November 1 & 2, 2016  9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Location: 1231 East Dyer Road, Suite 215 Santa Ana, CA 92705 Two Day Grant Writing Retreat with Dr. Drew Only Seven (7) Spots Available Early Bird Price: $1,495 (Order before October 31, 2016 to get the early bird price.) Regular Price: $1,995 The location for this exceptional learning experience is the new Coaching Center of Orange County in Santa Ana, CA. This extraordinary center is a premier coaching and training facility and is designed to host seminars, webinars, and workshops. This is where I maintain my own office and hold meetings with my clients and staff. I'm excited to partner with Coaching Center of Orange County to offer this powerful, effective, life-changing, grant writing retreat. The retreat is organized, step-by-step, to provide you with my expert-level guidance on how to draft each portion of your grant.  We will also have the time together for you to read, write and critique grant applications in class.  This completely new program includes a new booklet, sample grant proposals, fresh PowerPoint presentations illustrating key principles regarding each portion of a grant application, and new group exercises -- all designed to give you the experience of thinking about your grant proposal the way funders think about it. To make your experience even more powerful, each participant will receive up to six (6) hours of one-on-one coaching from me or my staff at my offices or over the phone.  I'm looking forward to conducting this two-day retreat program. I've limited it to just 10 participants so that you will receive all the individual attention needed for the success of your grant campaign.  November 1 & 2, 2016 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Location: 1231 East Dyer Road, Suite 215 Santa Ana, CA 92705 Two Day Grant Writing Retreat with Dr. Drew Only Seven (7) Spots Available Early Bird Price: $1,495 (Order before October 31, 2016 to get the early bird price.) Regular Price: $1,995 Since these seats are filling up quickly, please place your order now so that you can be part of this inspiring event.     Sincerely,      John C. Drew John C. Drew, Ph.D. Managing Director P.S.  This grant writing retreat will leave you with all - or a large portion - of your grant proposal written and ready to submit to a funder.  Please purchase your ticket today to reserve your place at this retreat.  If you have any questions, please call me at (949) 643-8058.

Comedy of Errors: Dr. Drew Performs His First Videotaped Stand-Up Set

I think I have always been funny at the dinner table and in the class room. I remember getting classrooms to laugh as far back as my high school days. Nevertheless, I never attempted to do a real comedy act until last Saturday. Here's the video:

As I quickly learned, it is tougher to get laughs in the role of a stand-up comic. Most of my funny lines in the past have been based on what other people have been talking about, or else random comments at an instructor which drew laughs in the past that I have memorized and repeated.

As a stand-up comic, however, you need to establish your own premises and react to those instead. In this video, I'm getting about 2.5 laughs per minute. In real life, professional comedians are said to be "killing it" when they are getting 5 laughs per minute.

In this set, I get laughs for things that I did not expect to be funny, miss laughs which had gone well in rehearsal, and get plenty of laughs simply for almost knocking down the microphone stand. No matter what, Trish and I enjoyed the experience. I think my upcoming workshops will be more entertaining as a result of what I learned.