Navigating Funding Challenges
IMAGE DESCRIPTION
A background split horizontally in navy and teal. The top-left corner has a small Training Institute logo. Title text: Navigating Funding Challenges: A Panel of Deaf Organization Leaders. Row of headshots across the bottom with names and titles: Patty Liang, Deaf Spotlight; Sherri Collins, Deaf Seniors of America; Dr. Lorne Farovitch, Global Deaf Research Institute.
Nonprofits commonly face many funding challenges such as donor development, grant writing, and communicating impact to funders.
Leaders of three deaf organizations discuss strategies they use to navigate these challenges:
- Patty Liang, Deaf Spotlight
- Sherri Collins, Deaf Seniors of America
- Dr. Lorne Farovitch, Global Deaf Research Institute
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Expand your donor pool
- Community-Centric Fundraising
- Step out of your comfort zone
- Know your "why"
ABOUT THE PANELISTS:
Patty Liang is the Executive Director of Deaf Spotlight, who oversees artistic and cultural programming to support Deaf artists and their work. Check out her exciting collaborative projects:
BIPOC Deaf Arts Grant, Deaf Arts Leadership, and DeafArtsDirectory.com. Patty has a BFA in Ceramics from the University of Washington, and an MA in Nonprofit Management for the Arts from New York University. Whenever she can, she loves to build and create meaningful artwork reflecting her lived experience and learnings throughout her life. She has been involved with the Deaf and DeafBlind communities as a supporter and activist for 24 years.
Sherri Collins is a nationally recognized leader, advocate, and consultant dedicated to advancing equity and accessibility for deaf and hard of hearing communities. With more than 35 years in public service, she served as the longtime Executive Director of the Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing and is now the first Executive Director of Deaf Seniors of America (DSA). She made history as the first deaf person registered as a lobbyist in the United States and continues to be a trailblazer in policy and advocacy. Sherri brings deep expertise in aging policy, accessibility, leadership, and systems change. Through her consulting practice, she advises organizations on inclusive policies, program development, and strategic planning. Passionate about deaf seniors’ advocacy, she is spearheading national efforts to ensure deaf older adults have resources, representation, and a strong voice in shaping age-friendly communities.
Dr. Lorne Farovitch is a deaf transdisciplinary biomedical researcher and multilingual signer, fluent in more than five sign languages, dedicated to advancing health equity for deaf communities worldwide through community-driven research. His past research spans quality of life surveillance, infectious disease, and inclusive public health across eight countries, collaborating with governments to break down barriers. As founder and Executive Director of the Global Deaf Research Institute (GDRI), he lead deaf-centered interventions, bridging gaps between services and deaf populations by deploying national deaf needs assessments. This approach is vital tools for policy change, improved services, and resource allocation to deaf communities.
