I'm Stefanie Jackson, a Columbus native and a proud mom, and helping people has always been at the heart of who I am. In senior care, I looked after people who needed someone to show up for them. In my work today, I help people through some of their hardest financial moments. And I've been on the other side too, so I know how much it matters when the right help is there.
Now I'm learning to turn that care into funding, so the organizations serving our neighbors can keep their doors open.
Why this matters
Columbus is growing, but many of our neighbors are being left behind.
Food. The Mid-Ohio Food Collective now serves about twice as many Franklin County families each month as it did in 2019, while federal food funding is being cut and SNAP is getting harder to keep. Food banks have been clear: they can't replace SNAP alone. And when grocery money runs short, families are forced to choose between food and rent, utilities, or getting to work.
Housing. Columbus is short about 53,000 affordable homes, and a full-time worker needs about $27.79 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom here. Franklin County sees about 25,000 eviction filings a year, and the number of people sleeping outside rose 43% this year.
Where help can come from. Foundations, corporations, and government programs offer grants, but many of the local pantries, shelters, and community groups doing this work run on a handful of staff and volunteers, with no one whose job is to go after that money.
Where I come in., I’ve experienced some of these disparities firsthand. I’m going to be the change I want to see. Grant writing lets me turn that passion into action.
My mission and my dream
My mission is to help Columbus organizations win the grants that keep food on the shelves, families housed, and doors open.
My dream is bigger: to open new shelters right here in Columbus and build a transitional housing community for low-income families, designed with dignity: privacy, space for families, and rules that work for people who are working and trying to do better. Every grant I help win between now and then is a step toward that dream, and help for someone who needs it today.
What your sponsorship pays for
I'm enrolled in the Global Grant Writers Collective, Level 1: Earn & Learn, a 12-month professional program at $450 a month ($5,400 total). It includes grant-writing templates and tutorials, group coaching calls twice a month, a professional community with coach support, and a clear path toward earning paid grant-writing work.
This month: $450 due November 5, 2026. Every gift counts toward the next month. $450 covers a full month of training.
Follow along
I'll post a short update on JacksonGrantWriting.com every 2 weeks: what I learned, what I finished, and how close I am to my first grant. Thank you for being part of this.
Follow my journey:
Website: JacksonGrantWriting.com
Facebook: facebook.com/JacksonGrantWriting
Instagram:
@jacksongrantwriting
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stefanie-jackson-12a48b55
Sponsorships are personal gifts toward my training and are not tax-deductible. Tips to FundRazr at checkout are optional.
