About the Author
Michael Wells has been working with nonprofits for over 30 years as staff, volunteer, board member, and consultant. In the early 1980s, he realized that he “had been working with all of these people in nonprofits who wanted to do good in the world and not spend all of their time thinking about money. But they spent all of their time thinking about money.” He got a job as a development director to learn how to raise funds, and after a couple of development staff positions, began consulting on grants in 1987.
Michael has worked with dozens of nonprofit agencies, health clinics, Indian tribes, school districts, and local governments, and has helped them raise over $50 million. His background in all aspects of nonprofit management gives him a broad perspective of organizational needs. His stints in the business world as a journalist and salesman help him recognize differences and similarities in the sectors. He likes grantwriting because it combines the opportunity to do good in the world with the chance to learn about a wide variety of subjects: “I get to develop all of these wonderful projects and get them funded, but I don’t have to run them.”
Michael is a partner in the consulting firm Grants Northwest. He is a Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and has a master’s degree in humanities. He is adjunct faculty at Portland State University, where he teaches grantwriting, and is a regular contributor to the online Charity Channel e-Newsletter, Grants and Foundation Review. Michael is a national board member of the American Association of Grant Professionals (AAGP) and of the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI). He lives with his wonderful wife Julie in Portland, Oregon. He has three grown daughters and three grandchildren.
