Christine Lollar

I've been working in the nonprofit sector for about 25 years, and my journey has been quite transformative. I started in marketing and communications, but a boss I had at that time saw something in me that I didn't see in myself and assigned me to be a team member on the Welfare to Work grant team. I was smitten at that time with the work and how I was able to make an impact on community. Even though I'm not boots on the ground, I am behind the scenes, benefiting that work by the grants that we generate. I served as grant director at Adventist Health for 8 and a half years, and in the last 5 years, I was able to facilitate over $46 million worth of grants. My goal when I first signed on as a consultant was $25,000, so to really be able to take all of the relationships that I've built over the years and see them culminate with healthcare and wellness was really the pinnacle of my career so far. That $47 million is a testament to teamwork, supporting cancer patients, people with substance use issues, vulnerable patients, and rural healthcare. Now it's my desire to really help nonprofits that can't afford a grant professional and support the work they're doing to be a trajectory for growth for them as boots on the ground. I'm currently building my own nonprofit, Strategy and Funding Pro, which is in the formatting stages. My typical day involves a lot of research because it's very important to know your community and their needs well. I'm a firm believer that we're still learning, so I spend a portion of my day gleaning information, whether it's a course I'm taking or something online. Right now, I'm taking an extensive AI workshop just to hone skills. A significant amount of my time is spent on strategy, developing programs and work plans for nonprofits, consulting, meeting, and really listening to people because their passion is what's going to drive their next step.