Get to Know Us: Q&A with Louise Bednarik

Your professional experience with community development and grant administration comes from the equity work you’ve done supporting local communities. What led you to continue that work at SPF?
My previous job was at a community development organization in Anchorage, Alaska. While I started this job in person, I moved back to Washington in 2021 and worked fully remotely for a couple of years. Eventually, I decided that I wanted my work to feel connected to where I was living and found this role at SPF. I am inspired by the work our partners do to advance equity in parks and public spaces, advance local climate resiliency, and build community.

Before we learn more about you and your role – what is a public grant and how does it differ from other types of grants? What kinds of public grants have our partners received in the past?
A public grant is any grant funding provided by a government agency or department. This includes local governments like the City of Seattle and King County, the Washington State government, and the federal government. Public grants often come with a few more rules and reporting requirements than private funding; part of my role is to help partners navigate these requirements.

Our partners have received a wide range of public grants! Here are some examples:

• City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods: Food Equity Fund and Neighborhood Matching Fund grants
• City of Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment: Environmental Justice Fund grants
• King County Parks: Healthy Communities and Parks Fund and Youth and Amateur Sports grants
• King County Wastewater Treatment Division: WaterWorks grants
• Washington State Department of Ecology: Waste Management Public Participation Grants
• Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office: Planning for Recreation Access grants

What goes into finding, securing, managing and closing out public grants for our fiscal partners and their projects? Securing and closing out grants sound like the best part of that process, but what do you consider to be the highlight of your job?
The public grant process has several different stages:

Finding an opportunity: SPF’s Development team maintains a list of grant opportunities in the Partner Portal – this is a great resource for finding grant opportunities.

Application: Different programs will have different application processes but typically include questions about your organization/group, your project, a scope of work and/or project timeline, and a budget.

Finalizing the grant agreement: After an application has been selected for funding, there is typically some back and forth with the funding agency to finalize the scope of work and budget and sign the grant agreement. In my role, I help communicate with funders and partners throughout this process.

Executing the project: During this phase, the partner works on completing their project and submits payment requests to SPF for the expenses associated with the project. Many public grants are reimbursable, meaning that SPF submits invoices and reports to the agency in order to receive the funding. A big part of my job is tracking and preparing invoices. During this process, partners typically submit narrative progress reports to the funder as well.

Public grants can sometimes feel complicated with the various reporting and compliance requirements—it’s a highlight of my job to help make this process feel as smooth as possible for partners!

Closing out the grant: After the project is complete, there is typically a final report sent to the funder.

Are there any helpful resources you use to keep yourself informed on the best ways to seek out public grants?
As mentioned above, the SPF Development team maintains a list of grant opportunities for partners, which is available in the Partner Portal. The “type” column in the spreadsheet specifies if the opportunity is a public grant. Many grant programs have newsletters/email alerts that you can sign up for. If there’s a program you’re interested in applying for in the future, it can be helpful to sign up for these emails to ensure you receive updates about application periods and deadlines.

Most of our fiscal partners are made up of volunteers who dedicate their free time to making an impact within their communities. While their experiences with grassroots neighborhood projects vary, inexperienced changemakers might feel discouraged from taking the first step towards leading a neighborhood project. What kind of resources can they utilize in the Partner Portal if they’re thinking about applying for grants?
First and foremost, please let your Project Liaison know that you intend to apply for a public grant. SPF staff are available to review and support your application!

There are a number of resources available in the Partner Portal that can be useful when working on a grant application such as:

• A video collection of grant writing tips
• SPF documents typically required in grant applications like our 501c3 nonprofit determination letter and financial statements
• A document explaining how to calculate the SPF administrative costs in the budget

Reach out to your Project Liaison if you need help navigating the Partner Portal when looking for grant resources.

Before making the move to Seattle, you spent your college years on the east coast and also worked in Alaska. Having lived on the extreme opposite ends of the country, what parks and outdoor recreational activities have you enjoyed and participated in over the years?
I’ve always loved going on backpacking trips to explore the wilderness and natural areas near where I live. While the landscapes in the mid-Atlantic, Alaska, and Washington are all different, I really enjoy being outside and noticing the beauty around me. I also love neighborhood walks!

Our whole team loves your embroidery pieces! You’ve shared that you started getting into embroidery several years ago in 2020. How else do you keep yourself busy in your downtime, and what advice do you have for those who are trying to pick up new hobbies?
I really like trying new hobbies and have currently been enjoying embroidery; learning to mend, alter, and make clothes on my sewing machine; line dancing; powerlifting; and playing ultimate frisbee.

My advice is to embrace being a beginner! When starting a new hobby, you’re probably not going to be good at it right away, so give yourself permission to make mistakes. Then, as you improve little by little, notice and celebrate that!