Julie Seewald Bornhoeft, grant writer

28 years old, grew up near Cut Bank, Montana

4-H member for 12 years

What do you do?

My current job status is as a contracted grant writer for the Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence out of Helena. I am seeking full-time employment in California currently and will continue to write grants for MCADSV. My professional background is in nonprofit management and development. I write grants, conduct fundraising, and administer nonprofit programs. To date this has been in the field of family violence.

As a contracted grant writer I am responsible for identifying funding sources for the agency. I do this primarily through internet research. I then write and submit grant proposals to private foundations and public funding agencies. I also use the internet to research new ideas and development in the field of family violence.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

My favorite part about my job is the ability to work from home and set my own hours. I also am able to maintain my ties with Montana through my work which has made the move a lot nicer. I also love being able to take an idea or concept, research supporting information, and develop a funding proposal for something that could help facilitate widespread change within Montana or anywhere.

Where are you from?

I currently live in Sacramento, California. I grew up on a farm north of Cut Bank, Montana. I moved to Bozeman in 1989 and resided there until July of 1997 when we moved to Sacramento.

Were you in 4-H?

Family?

Hobbies?

How did you learn about computers?

I have been using computers since high school. My education regarding the WEB has come almost entirely from my husband Andrew. Everything else is largely self-taught.

Do you have any advice for Montana 4-H'ers who are interested in computers and the Internet?

Advice would be to take as many classes on the topic as possible. Self-teaching is time consuming and often frustrating. There is a lot of adult ed and low cost workshops available. I don't think education has to always come from a classroom setting or cost a lot.

Also, for 4-H members I could suggest finding a mentor in the local community to explain a lot through workshops, etc. I would also have to say that anymore it is impossible to find work that doesn't involve computers to some extent. Even the idea of running a family farm is becoming largely dependent on computer technology. I also know that our purchase of a home computer made it possible for me to take my skills as a grantwriter and use them anywhere.

What is your e-mail address?