Kirsten Birman
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
UROP Fellowship: DCERP
Research Mentor(s): Katrina McCree, Chief Community Impact Officer
Research Mentor Institution/Department: Neighborhood Service Organization
Presentation Date: Thursday, July 29th
Session: 5:30 – 7:00pm
Breakout Room: DCERP Showcase
Abstract
“Hello everyone, my name is Kirsten Birman (pronouns she/her), and I’m a rising senior double majoring in International Studies and Spanish at the University of Michigan.
This summer, I also had the opportunity to work with Neighborhood Service Organization, which, as Abby mentioned, is a health and human services nonprofit that provides holistic care for vulnerable populations in Detroit. Many of these individuals are chronically homeless and have mental or physical illnesses, but they are full of hope for their future.
At NSO, I helped to find and apply for funding opportunities that could support the distribution of food for Homeless Recovery Services. Much of my time was spent searching through various grant databases and looking at guidelines, but in total I was able to compile 75 potential grants for NSO as well as 4 additional funding opportunities. Beyond this, Abby and I also worked with our supervisor, Katrina McCree, and completed applications for 2 large grants. This involved us reaching out to different departments at the organization and carefully crafting answers for the grant questions.
Being able to learn from all of the incredible individuals at NSO was so inspiring. I am very grateful for my supervisor, Katrina, for setting up so many meetings with the leadership at NSO so that we could meet them and hear about their path to and through NSO. This experience has helped me to better understand nonprofit work and what I am looking for as I begin my career in the nonprofit sector, and I look forward to using what I have learned about grant writing, networking, and research in the near future. Thank you for your time.”
