Paying It Forward

I’m thrilled to announce the Burke Hammons Scholarship for Early Career Membership to the Grant Professionals Association!

Burke Hammons Consulting is committed to supporting early-career grant professionals — this type of support has both made my career possible and deeply enriched it. In 2017, the nonprofit where I worked covered the cost of my Early Career GPA Membership, and my membership has been an invaluable resource for education, guidance, and growth over the last eight years. Nonprofit professional development funds are often limited, especially in the current funding climate, so I’m grateful to be able to provide scholarship funding for an Early Career Scholarship.

In addition to funding the scholarship, I support early-career grant professionals as a mentor. When I first joined GPA, I signed up for the GPA Mentor Match program and was matched with Amanda Day, who is not only a leader in the grant profession but one of the kindest people I have met. She went beyond writing tips and strategy, encouraging me to run for Treasurer of the Georgia chapter of the GPA. When I was furloughed due to COVID-19, Amanda connected me with subcontracting opportunities, one of which became my full-time job for three years.

I also connected with mentors more informally through my involvement with GPA. When I was Treasurer of the Georgia GPA, Cynthia McGuinness was President. Through a subcontracting opportunity Cynthia recommended, I worked directly with her. She taught me strategies for working with clients and freshening applications from year to year. Cynthia continues to teach me and referred the first two clients to Burke Hammons Consulting! 

I would not have my career if it weren’t for joining the GPA and working with Amanda and Cynthia. I could never repay them, so I’m paying it forward. 

In 2024, I became a mentor through the GPA Mentor Match program and now work with three incredible grant professionals. In 2025, I began serving as a coach in Georgia GPA’s inaugural cohort of the Diversity Fellows program, adding a fourth. All four are at different phases in their careers and have diverse needs from a mentor. Our meetings are terrific opportunities for me to utilize my experience and support them.

In addition to these formal mentoring relationships, I informally mentor by sharing my knowledge and resources with others when they reach out to me. One colleague reaches out for a second opinion on confusingly worded application questions or software recommendations. Another reached out to me after he left full-time work and dove into consulting, regularly talking through issues and ideas as we build our respective businesses. I also grow from connecting with early career professionals, seeing the profession through fresh eyes, gaining new perspectives, challenging assumptions, and learning about new tools. 

I strongly encourage early-career grant professionals to apply for scholarship opportunities for GPA membership and Summit attendance, and to seek out mentoring relationships, both formal and informal. I also recommend that mid- and late-career grant professionals seek opportunities to invest in the development of early-career grant professionals (and conversely, in themselves!). It brings an immeasurable return, both for the grants profession and for the organizations we serve.