Eastern Grants Forum 2025
- Start: August 14, 2025 7:30 am
- End: August 15, 2025 4:30 pm
The Eastern Grants Forum heads to Music City for 2025. Learn about important, new developments affecting grant-funded organizations and how to diversify your funding streams when you attend the Eastern Grants Forum in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 14-15, 2025.
The Eastern Grants Forum 2025 has a simple but timely theme: secure your future in a time of change. This year’s program will feature practical sessions for all types of grant-funded organizations, including those navigating the recent climate of uncertainty surrounding Federal financial assistance. You will learn about compliance, funding diversification, and increased efficiency as the means to secure your organization’s future.
Our opening session will discuss the latest developments in Federal grants management with an emphasis on current regulatory and legal issues under the new Presidential Administration. Following the opening session, the first day will then look at common ethical problems for grant professionals and strategies for creating better grant budgets. The last session of the day will start our examination of funding stream diversification with an explanation of how to win more foundation grant funding.
The conference’s second day will continue the discussion of funding stream diversification with an in-depth exploration of fundraising. This double session will highlight examples of low-cost and no-cost fundraising opportunities as well as explain how to involve the governing body in fundraising effectively. You will also learn how to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make more efficient use of resources and avoid the significant risks associated with AI. The conference will conclude with a look at fraud, waste, and abuse in grant programs and the steps that your organization can take to prevent becoming the next headline. This year’s conference sessions will help your organization adapt to the changing grants landscape.
When you attend the Eastern Grants Forum 2025, you will learn about important developments affecting grants management and how to keep your organization in compliance while handling current challenges and planning for the future. However, registration opportunities to attend this year’s conference are very limited. Make plans now to arrive on August 13 and then join your fellow grants management professionals at the Eastern Grants Forum in Nashville, Tennessee, on August 14-15, 2025.
TOPICS
During this exclusive two-day conference, you will learn how your organization can adapt to the changing landscape facing grant-funded entities in 2025. The Eastern Grants Forum 2025 will discuss recent developments in Federal grants management, creating better grant budgets, diversifying your funding sources, leveraging Artificial Intelligence, and fighting grant-related fraud. By attending, you will learn about the following:
- Latest developments from the new Administration affecting Federal grants.
- Current status of key litigation involving Federal financial assistance.
- Implementation of OMB’s comprehensive Uniform Guidance revisions.
- Proven strategies for building better grants budgets.
- Using Artificial Intelligence to accomplish more with fewer resources.
- Resolving ethical issues for grants management professionals.
- Diversifying funding streams with easy and inexpensive fundraising plans.
- Successful strategies for winning more funding from foundations.
- Implementing and maintaining effective internal controls.
- Preventing fraud, waste, and abuse in grant-funded programs.
The Eastern Grants Forum 2025 will discuss these important topics and more to help ensure that your organization remains compliant with current grant requirements while building for continued success in these challenging times. In addition to the presentations, you will have multiple opportunities throughout the conference to ask our expert presenters your individual questions.
AGENDA
This year’s edition of the Eastern Grants Forum is scheduled for August 14-15, 2025, in the Music City, vibrant Nashville, Tennessee. The conference will feature two full days of entertaining and educational sessions. We recommend that attendees arrive in Nashville a day early on August 13 so as not to miss any of the conference. (Please note that the conference agenda is subject to change.) Our agenda for each day is as follows:
Day One (Thursday, August 14, 2025)
Sign-in for the day and enjoy a Continental breakfast before the first session.
The opening session of Eastern Grants Forum 2025 will focus on recent developments affecting Federal grants management. Attorney Brian Tipton will explain current administrative, regulatory, legislative and legal issues facing recipients, subrecipients, and even funding sources. This session will discuss the latest news and hottest topics of interest to the grant-funded community. You will also learn about the current status of Fiscal Year 2026 funding amid ongoing government efficiency drives. In addition, the session will update attendees about implementation of the OMB's recent Uniform Guidance updates. After attending this session, you will be able to identify at least three recent developments in Federal grants management and explain what they mean for grant-funded organizations.
Enjoy a 15-minute coffee break between the morning sessions of the Eastern Grants Forum.
Learn the most common unethical situations related to grant grant management. This session is fast-paced and includes an entertaining bingo-style format for attendees to track situations and their resolutions on customized bingo cards. Learn the importance of grant ethics in your work, while having a bit of fun on your quest to be the first to claim BINGO!
Join your fellow attendees for an informal networking luncheon. Lunch will be provided as part of the conference. (Please note that because of venue space limitations, the luncheon is only open to registrants and speakers.)
Grant writing is a misnomer. Half of putting together a winning proposal is building and collecting all the budget and financial documents that help tell your story. Learn tips and tricks from two highly successful grant writers who learned the power of collaboration when you partner with your financial team, because who knows numbers better than finance? Attendees will learn:
- Tips for successful communication between accountants and grant writers;
- The importance of building the budget first; and,
- Tools for internal collaboration that lead to successful proposals.
Enjoy a 15-minute break between the afternoon sessions of the Eastern Grants Forum.
Many grant-funded organizations are re-thinking their futures. However, governments are not the only sources of grants. Unfortunately, many organizations overlook community, corporate, family, and private foundation grant opportunities. This session will explain how your organization can diversify its funding streams using foundation grants. The focus will be on securing meaningful funding from foundations. By attending, you will learn about different types of foundation grant opportunities, challenges in prospecting foundation funding, and proven strategies for winning foundation grants. Following this session, you will be able to identify and compete for funding from foundations.
The first day of the Eastern Grants Forum will conclude at 4:30 pm on August 14, 2025.
Sign-in for the second day of the Eastern Grants Forum and enjoy a Continental breakfast before the first sessions.
Many grant-funded organizations that have traditionally relied on Federal and other government grants are now concerned about maintaining funding levels following the recent changes in Washington. However, the thought of diversification often leaves government grant-funded organizations with more questions than answers. Are we ready and where should we start? What do we need to be successful with donors, sponsorships, and events? Attend this informative and fast-paced double session to learn the answers to these and other questions about how your organization can create a diversified funding plan using fundraising. After attending this two-part workshop, you will be able to list at least five practical ideas for diversifying your funding streams.
Enjoy a 15-minute coffee break between the morning sessions of the Eastern Grants Forum.
Many grant-funded organizations that have traditionally relied on Federal and other government grants are now concerned about maintaining funding levels following the recent changes in Washington. However, the thought of diversification often leaves government grant-funded organizations with more questions than answers. Are we ready and where should we start? What do we need to be successful with donors, sponsorships, and events? Attend this informative and fast-paced double session to learn the answers to these and other questions about how your organization can create a diversified funding plan using fundraising. After attending this two-part workshop, you will be able to list at least five practical ideas for diversifying your funding streams.
Explore Nashville's thriving lunch scene on your own during this 90-minute break between the Eastern Grants Forum's morning and afternoon sessions. Attendee are own their own for lunch.
Artificial Intelligence or AI promises great benefits to many sectors of society, including the grants-funded community. However, use of AI in connection with grants management also presents significant risks. During this workshop, you will learn about risks of AI and automating financial, program, and grants management as well as the potential benefits and use scenarios for AI within grant-funded entities. This session will also discuss ways that organizations can increase efficiency to accomplish more with fewer resources by leveraging AI. Patent lawyer and AI expert Dr. Caroline Coker Coursey will lead this exploration of Artificial Intelligence and grants management. Following the session, you will be able to list the primary risks and potential use cases for AI in grants management.
Enjoy a 15-minute break between the afternoon sessions of the Eastern Grants Forum.
In today's climate, grant-funded organizations have a heightened awareness of the risks of being associated with fraud, waste, and abuse. Even an appearance of impropriety can be devastating. Prevention is key, and recognizing signs of fraud are essential to prevention.
During this session, attorney Brian Tipton will explain common ways in which both insiders and outsiders commit fraud, waste, and abuse, against grant-funded entities. You will learn not just about how fraud is perpetrated but also strategies for deterrence and early detection. In addition, you will learn what happens to individuals and organizations involved in fraud and related activities. The discussion will include real-world examples of fraud, waste, and abuse, as well as the consequences. After attending this session, you will be able to identify warning signs of potential waste, fraud, and abuse, and describe effective strategies for prevention.
The Eastern Grants Forum will conclude at 4:30 pm on August 15, 2025.
When you attend the Eastern Grants Forum 2025, you will learn about recent changes in grants management and how your organization can navigate these challenging times. You will also strengthen your grant writing skills and explore ways to diversify your organization’s funding streams. After attending the training, you will be able to:
- Outline recent, significant changes affecting Federal grants management.
- Describe the status of financial assistance litigation involving the new Administration.
- List key revisions included in the OMB’s Uniform Guidance updates.
- Recognize common ethical issues for grants management professionals.
- Identify at least two strategies for building successful grant budgets.
- Distinguish between risks and potential rewards in using Artificial Intelligence.
- List at least three ways in which grant-funded entities can leverage Artificial Intelligence.
- Outline at least three low-cost fundraising strategies for grant-funded entities.
- Describe the role of the governing body in fundraising.
- Identify at least three different types of foundation grant opportunities.
- List at least two proven strategies for winning foundation grant funding.
- Identify common internal controls and when to apply them.
- Recognize signs of fraud, waste, and abuse, before your organization becomes a victim.
AUDIENCE
Eastern Grants Forum 2025 is intended for all members of the grant-funded community: governing body members, officers, executives, managers, fiscal staff, program staff, and other grants management professionals. The conference is recommended for a total of 14 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credit in the field of specialized knowledge. The experience level for this training is overview. No prerequisites for attendance exist and no specific educational background is necessary. No advance preparation is required.
SPEAKERS
Dr. Caroline Coker Coursey brings over two decades of invaluable experience at the intersection of law, technology, and innovation to the table. With a rich background as a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, she seamlessly transitioned into pivotal roles within prestigious law firms, corporate entities, and an esteemed university research program.
Armed with a robust academic foundation, Caroline has continually gravitated towards intricate technical realms throughout her illustrious career. In addition to a Ph.D. and a J.D., she has degrees in computer science and electrical engineering. A practicing attorney, Caroline is admitted to practice law in Alabama and Georgia as well as being a member of the United States Patent Bar. Her expertise spans across a spectrum of intellectual property and corporate law, with a keen focus on navigating the complexities of emerging technologies.
Caroline’s professional repertoire boasts negotiations with industry titans and spearheading agreements with some of the globe’s leading technology conglomerates. Notably, she has been a guiding force in advising on cutting-edge domains such as artificial intelligence, while demonstrating her acute understanding of both legal intricacies and technological advancements.
Amanda Day, GPC, is a national trainer and speaker. With 20+ years of grant prospect research, writing, and management experience, she has the knowledge, know-how, and stories to keep every workshop participant engaged and better prepared to succeed in the grants profession. She is well versed in federal and private grant funding, having begun her career serving as a grants administrator for local government agencies. She’s secured and managed over $20 million in federal grant funding. Along with Kimberly Hays de Muga, Amanda is cohost of Fundraising HayDay, a podcast about grants and such, and co-founder of HayDay Services, a grant and fundraising training company. Amanda was awarded the Grant Professionals Distinguished Fellow Award for 2024.
Kimberly Hays de Muga, GPC, is an expert trainer and coach. She brings more than 25 years of fundraising experience that includes raising more than $100 million from individuals, foundations, corporations, and local, state, and federal funding for nonprofit agencies in the education, health, and human service sectors. Kimberly’s experience includes Development Director at the Frazer Center, Senior Manager for Foundation and Corporate Relations at the Atlanta Community Food Bank, and Senior Grant Writer for the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation. She co-authored “Preparing for the GPC Exam: Earn Your Grant Professional Certified Credential.” Along with Amanda Day, Kimberly is cohost of Fundraising HayDay, a podcast about grants and such, and co-founder of HayDay Services, a grant and fundraising training company.
Kate Weaver Patterson, Esq., is an experienced litigator, non-profit executive, and mediator. She is licensed to practice law in South Carolina and New York. Currently, Kate splits her time between Greenville, South Carolina, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she currently lives with her husband and their three children. She works with consulting clients across the United Stated
Before launching KWP Consulting, Kate started the Second Chance Justice Collaborative in 2019, a program of national non-profit Root & Rebound, whose mission is to help people navigate reentry after imprisonment and mitigate the harms caused by mass incarceration. Her work with R&R was particularly informed by the racial disparities within the criminal legal system and the need to bring disparate groups together to make meaningful change.
Before moving into nonprofit work, Kate worked as a litigation associate at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York and then clerked for four federal judges around the country. Following her clerkships, she spent five years as a domestic violence, child abuse and sex crimes prosecutor in Greenville, South Carolina, handling hundreds of cases and multiple trials. As a prosecutor, Kate learned the importance of thorough investigation and thoughtful deliberation to bring fairness to all involved.
Kate grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. She received her Bachelor of Arts in History and French from Duke University and earned her Master’s Degree in International Affairs, with distinction, from the University of Hong Kong. She returned to Duke University School of Law, receiving her Juris Doctor, magna cum laude.
Stephanie Sample, M.A., is the founder and CEO of Fundraising for the Future (FFTF), which supports organizations in leaning into the expansive nature of grant proposal writing and grant-making. FFTF is a small but mighty grant writing firm based in New Mexico that has secured over $10 million in grants in the last 5 years. FFTF provides philanthropic consultation to a variety of local and regional funders. FFTF believes that both traditional best practices and multidisciplinary tools such as futures thinking will be needed to usher organizations and funders into this new era of philanthropy.
R. Brian Tipton is a practicing attorney with more than two decades' worth of experience working with nonprofits, governmental units, and other grant-funded organizations across the United States. Currently, Brian is the Managing Director of Tipton KPCL in Atlanta, Georgia, where he heads the firm's tax-exempt and grant-funded solutions practice. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the Louisiana State University and the Cumberland School of Law of Samford University. Brian regularly represents grant-funded entities of all types in the areas of regulatory compliance, audits, funding source disputes, administrative appeals, and litigation. Brian also consults with organizations on governance, human resources, programmatic, and corporate matters, and develops and presents training programs for nonprofits and grant-funded organizations.
Join us in lively Nashville, Tennessee, for the Eastern Grants Forum 2025. The conference will be held at the Graduate by Hilton Nashville, conveniently located near Midtown, Vanderbilt University, and Music Row. Rooms are available for special conference rates starting at the Federal per diem of $217 per night (plus applicable tax). These special rates are available for August 13 (check-in) through August 16 (check-out) and may be offered for additional days subject to hotel availability. If you need to check-in before August 13 or check-out after August 16, please contact us to be connected with the hotel event staff for assistance because they must book stays outside the conference date range.
Hotel reservations may be made by calling the Graduate directly at 1-615-551-2700. Please ask the reservations agent for the special group rate for Eastern Grants Forum 2025 to receive the discounted rate. However, the easiest way to book your room is online by clicking on this hotel reservations link. (Please note that the booking link defaults to August 13-16, 2025. If you need to check-out on August 15, please “edit stay” to adjust the date range.)
The room reservation cut-off date is July 14, 2025, or until the block is exhausted. Remember that the cancellation deadline for this event is before the hotel cut-off; cancellation requests must be received by 5:00 pm EDT on July 11, 2025. Because of the limited number of rooms available, we advise making your reservations as soon as possible.
Just click the “REGISTER” button to register for the Eastern Grants Forum. Note that the cancellation deadline for the conference is 5:00 pm EDT on July 11, 2025. Please review our cancellation policy.