For Phyllis Bell, a student at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, public service is deeply personal and rooted in community connection. After moving to a 220-acre off-grid farm in Lincoln, Arkansas, Bell and her family sought meaningful ways to give back to the community.
That desire to serve led Bell to enroll in an intensive summer grant writing course taught by Clinton School Adjunct Professor Cheryl Chapman. Now, that classroom experience has delivered direct, real-world impact: a $2,500 grant from the Arkansas Community Foundation awarded to Grace Place, a local food pantry in Washington County.
The grant funding will allow Grace Place to purchase a commercial glass-door refrigerator. The addition fulfills a core vision of Executive Director Debrasue Gordon: creating a dignified, grocery store-style experience for neighbors in need while expanding the pantry’s capacity to safely store and preserve perishable items like milk, eggs, and fresh produce.
“Grace Place provides vital services to our community, yet like many grassroots organizations, they faced severe infrastructure bottlenecks,” Gordon said. “Through data-driven assessments, I identified that the lack of cold-storage capacity drastically limited the organization’s ability to accept perishable food donations, fresh produce, and temperature-sensitive essentials. To solve this, Phyllis Bell designed a grant proposal focused entirely on capacity building, which resulted in the acquisition of a new, high-efficiency commercial-grade refrigerator.
Working with Phyllis Bell as a grant writer was indistinguishable from collaborating with an experienced professional. She deeply researched our operational bottlenecks, gathered community data, and authored a compelling, flawless proposal that successfully secured a $2,500 grant. Beyond the impressive writing skills required to win funding, she managed the project end-to-end by navigating the budget, comparing commercial models, and coordinating the procurement of a new refrigeration system that permanently expands our capacity.”
For Bell, who brought years of experience in government and nonprofit sectors to the Master of Public Service program, grant writing represented a vital missing link in her professional skill set.
“I had never written a grant before,” Bell said. “Although I had experience working in government and nonprofits, grant writing was a gap in my skill set. Learning how to seek funding from foundations and donors was an important opportunity for me to build that knowledge.”
Through the class, Bell learned to bridge that gap by connecting narrative storytelling with funder priorities, which is a crucial need for small, rural organizations.
“This class really taught me how to tell a story,” Bell said. “A lot of nonprofits don’t have the bandwidth for grant writing. At Grace Place, there are no salaried staff. Everyone volunteers their time to serve the community, and that is true public service. The most important thing is helping that story fit the organization’s goals and helping donors see how it meshes with their funding priorities.”
Her efforts didn’t stop with a single application. Bell partnered with Grace Place and the Lincoln Community Garden, an organization where local volunteers and students earn public service hours by growing food that they donate to the pantry. Together, they submitted four distinct grant proposals to support the cause, including requests for new gardening equipment, necessary roof repairs on the pantry facility, and larger foundation support for future operations.
Chapman, an experienced instructor who guided seven students through the summer course, noted that the class emphasizes end-to-end grant development, from funder research to active client engagement. Bell’s project was one of two student-written grants funded from the summer class.
“Students learn how to write a grant from start to finish and identify foundations that match their needs,” Chapman said. “Both funded projects are impressive and address critical needs in our community. Over half of the students worked with organizations where they had a prior connection or volunteer history, and almost all are continuing to write grants for their partners.”
Chapman praised the dedication of the summer cohort, noting the fulfilling nature of teaching students who immediately translate course concepts into tangible community resources.
“I loved working with the students,” Chapman added. “They were so passionate about what they were doing. Most of these students either volunteer or work for a nonprofit, so this gives them tools that, no matter where they end up working, they will be able to keep in their toolkit for future service.”
Bell credited Chapman’s accessible instruction and deep expertise with giving her the confidence to succeed.
“Cheryl clearly knows how to write grants, gave us great direction, and was always accessible,” Bell said. “You can tell she’s passionate about grant writing and wants people to be able to help communities. I was able to write a successful grant because I told the story in a compelling way, connecting its needs with the funder’s priorities. It’s rewarding to know that with a little time and effort, you can make a real impact in people’s lives.”