Michael David Johnson

Title: Assistant Fire Chief
Organization: Wahkiakum County Fire Protection District 4
Location: Cathlamet, WA

Review

“I enrolled in the Spark The Fire Grantwriting course to see if the process was as difficult and intimidating as I'd imagined and to assist my Southwest Washington all-volunteer fire district financially in the acquisition of equipment, apparatus, and technology.

Professor Jones' style of teaching - step-by-step and in-depth, yet easy to understand and follow - eliminated any hesitancy I originally had about throwing myself fully into grant writing. My thought, week to week, was, ‘This is going to get tough. When it is going to get tough?’ - and to tell the truth, it never got tough. Challenging, yes, but difficult, no, and I attribute the simplicity to the way Professor Jones explained the process, start to finish.

Immediately following the June 6, 2023, completion of the course, I submitted my first grant application and received a grant award in early July. I am completing the second grant application now.

I did these with confidence and with a full understanding of what is required of me as a grant writer. If grants and grant writing is something that piques your interest, I would highly recommend this course as a have-all foundation upon which to build.”

Update on 08/4/2023:

“I got word yesterday from the WA-DNR that my fire district was awarded a $4,000 computer grant!! It’s about time we entered (something close to) the 21st Century!

Thanks again for a GREAT course, Allison. I really did enjoy learning with you -”