Attracting Audacious Grants

This talk will examine 15 initiatives over the past 100 years that have attracted multiple grants of $10 million or more, including the roll out of libraries across the U.S.. We'll break down the type of grants that have appealed to donors (from research to advocacy, infrastructure and leadership development) and where on an organization or movement's growth cycle the time has ripest for making big requests. We'll also look at where collaborating with business and government can make the most sense.

Katie Smith Milway

Katie Smith Milway is founder and principal of MilwayPLUS, a deeply collaborative social impact advisory that works with clients as partners, with a focus on research, content development, and influence strategies for funders, and innovation and growth strategies for content creators and select nonprofits.

She has a background in journalism, nonprofit management, strategy consulting and governance. Her network of preferred providers bring skills in data-driven analysis, market research, video, audio and digital production, and design. She is a frequent speaker at convenings on research-related themes. 

Milway is also on adjunct faculty at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, Indiana University, and a senior advisor at The Bridgespan Group, where for a decade she served as partner and head of the knowledge practice, leading research and multimedia content development in the US and India. Prior to Bridgespan, Katie spent 14 years at Bain & Company, consulting to clients in Canada, the U.S. and Europe, then as the firm’s founding editorial director and global publisher.

She began her journalism career at the Wall Street Journal, and her nonprofit service at Food for the Hungry. Her work in sustainable development across four continents includes program design and measurement, donor development and communications and organizational effectiveness.