Meet Yolanda ‘OG’ Minniefield | Grantor, Founder, Chief Writer at The M.Grant Project

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yolanda ‘OG’ Minniefield and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yolanda ‘OG’, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
The most amazing thing about my business, The M.Grant Project, is that it has made a social impact across 39 of our 50 States, and 2 Countries!

Having a business that literally assists in the creation, operation, and funding of other businesses and organizations became the driving force when the Covid-19 Pandemic first hit. I’ve been able to help people who only had a simple dream, start and build thriving businesses and nonprofits in a time where we were all expecting to fail!

The M.Grant Project is more than grant writing, we invest in our clients and serve Minority owners and founders by finding those accessible resources & funds that make real impacts.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
One of the greatest lessons that I’ve learned since starting and running my business, is that it truly has to be about purpose. And what I mean by that is you cannot just ‘think’ your way into a business… it’s life’s experiences that are going to take you in the direction that you were created to go in. Staying open to what the universe had for me, and using adversity to strengthen myself is what set me apart. I have no competition! The M.Grant Project is extremely unique by the way it’s structured, ran, and viewed in the grant-writing industry. I don’t sit and write grants all day alone, I manage a grant Listings website that is just as prominent as it’s peers, but strictly geared towards Minority Founders. Not to mention that I am also a grantor. We are now in the third phase of awarding our own Small Business Grant!

I tried my hand so many times with different opportunities and although I believed in them, I was not fueled by them and they went nowhere. I literally live and breathe The M.Grant Project; when I look back, I can pinpoint situations that happened in my life that made sense in The M.Grant Project creation. From writing journals, to publishing five books, to always being a student and a researcher, to now using every tool that I have ever been given in my life to run this business. It comes naturally! I wake up every morning excited to do it and it never feels like work. There’s passion in my clients, so it puts passion inside of me.

I would tell anyone looking to start their business organization to dig deep into themselves and focus on:
•what truly matters
•what makes the most financial sense
•and what is going to have the greatest impact
If
you do not do what fuels you, and simply do something because the lot is doing it, you will always find yourself competing and you will never be truly satisfied.

It’s not easy, but one of the best parts about my business, is that I have very low overhead when it comes to marketing. My business speaks for itself- it’s necessary and vital. Clients find me, and that is something that I do not take for granted and I’m truly grateful for. I never would have guessed that a pandemic would drive so much necessity into what I was doing, but the impact has been well worth it and we will definitely be around for years to come.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friends and family visited me here, they are in for a very fun, youthful time! Outside of running my business I am a full-time mother/grandmother with a large family! Most of my time is spent either eating at Golden Corral, or Pappadeaux‘s seafood restaurant, or playing video games at anywhere from Chuck E. Cheese to Dave & Buster’s. What would a fun filled week be without spending the day at Six Flags amusement park?!

My kids have a traditional habit of recreating outside environments inside of our home, so each week they pick a new theme, or destination and we create our version of it! So visitors wouldn’t need to go out to enjoy a good time with us, we bring the movie theater home- from the movie tickets, on down to the candy options!

So as you can see, I’m not big on partying in the city, but anyone who knows me knows that I’m actually extremely introverted (fun fact!) & family is my core.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My journey began when my now mentor, Yesheweget Techale, chose to believe in her own dreams and saw in me what I didn’t see in myself. I’m a literal self-taught Grant Writer because of her, and her beliefs have awarded some of my largest grants to-date.

I’d be remiss not to acknowledge that my business is void without every single client who trust The M.Grant Project, LLC with their life projects.

Website: www.themgrantproject.com

Instagram: @OG.TheGrantPlug @TheMGrantProject

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yolanda-minniefield

Twitter: OG_thegrantplug @MuvaOG

Facebook: Facebook.com/Yolanda.Minniefield https://www.facebook.com/groups/129995268149509/