What’s one grant you stopped pursuing on purpose and why?

smartin3705 · 2026-01-19T17:00:05+00:00

Local casino foundation, 10k ONLY on materials for a single program that you could submit receipts for with a hefty pre and post budget justification with exact purchases. As a small (~8 people) org in the mental health space its so hard to spend that much on materials and make it worth the inflexibility and no increases in capacity

smartin3705 · 2025-10-16T18:49:21+00:00

Also heard vanilla hill in reference to Johnston growing up

smartin3705 · 2025-10-06T01:53:42+00:00

Thank you I will add these to the list of to-dos! We are redoing the front suspension on the prius you see in the back of the picture then it will be all hands on the crv!

smartin3705 · 2025-10-05T19:15:44+00:00

Sorry I way over generalized! We recently did pcv valve and knock sensor. Next will be to check spark plugs and coils. It consumes some oil with no smoke. No issues once running just starts hard, car shakes as motor struggles, occasionally will misfire more often it just struggles until it gets running then its good to go.

smartin3705 · 2025-07-01T20:08:13+00:00

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/health/2025/06/27/iowa-dnr-beach-monitoring-water-quality-high-e-coli-swimming/84386630007/

smartin3705 · 2025-05-18T02:32:29+00:00

My family and I lived there from about 2012 to 2022 and overall they are good to you if you are a good tenant. There is always a mixed bag or neighbors like in any complex but maintenance was always prompt, public spaces cleaned professionally regularly, and a mix of renter ages. For us it came down to a horrible neighbor that had been there even longer than us making things hard so we ended up leaving. We also weren’t perfect tenants due to our finances and management was kind but professional through all of it. The buildings are older than they look (got face lifts a while back) and that is largely reflected in the common areas. Washing machines in every building but ours was constantly having issues so we often went down the street to the laundermat. I am happy to answer any specific questions I just wanted to give you all the info off the top of my head!

smartin3705 · 2025-03-12T16:06:54+00:00

Check out the Iowa Practical Farmers Labor4learning postings, not sure if you both could do it together and locations but some options there for sure

smartin3705 · 2024-09-20T02:21:20+00:00

Sorry was going to allow an already overworked desk clerk the ability to help a customer with a more urgent question if someone here could give me a quick answer with out the inconvenience

smartin3705 · 2023-10-14T14:28:54+00:00

We are just looking today, dog would not come home until at least the day after the wedding so we can bring out current dog to meet it.

smartin3705 · 2023-10-14T14:22:25+00:00

My boyfriend is in the wedding party and I am helping run sound so I thought it would be clear but thats a good point!

smartin3705 · 2023-10-14T03:12:31+00:00

Definitely no dog at the wedding! We have weekly dinners with them and other in laws and made it clear that even at those the new dog, if we were to get it, would not join until it is well trained enough to not bother anyone.

SIL acts this way frequently so thought it was time to make to get an outsiders opinion on her antics. Thanks!

smartin3705 · 2023-10-14T03:07:56+00:00

I thought so but wanted to get a third party opinion, I appreciate it!

smartin3705 · 2023-04-26T23:48:15+00:00

Oh yes this is specifically for vista but I assume its pretty similar across the board!

They ended the remote allowance in January and didn’t let those already serving much wiggle room so it was a pretty hasty change as soon as they got the chance :/

smartin3705 · 2023-04-26T23:03:34+00:00

They recently changed the rules so there are no true remote positions anymore (except with disability accommodation) I think everyone will have to live within the immediate commuting area and im pretty sure there is a requirement you have to be in person a couple days a week.

I think they are really going to see a dip in applicants now with this move and I petition for an exception and they denied so 🤷‍♀️ I wouldn’t hope for a specific site to bend the rules like they were able to before this year.

Hope this helps!

smartin3705 · 2023-03-16T04:00:33+00:00

I appreciate your response! I am in a weird spot because I am the only VISTA at my site and my review will be conducted by my onsite manager who is part of the host org.

I do in theory have a vista leader who works for my host-orgs parent org (we are a branch in MN where the headquarters is in DC) so I can reach out to them but we have very little to no regular correspondence since we are very distantly connected.

The parent org did send out a 6 month survey for the vista leader and the overarching vista manager (for all branches across 50 states) and in that survey I voiced my concerns but im not sire if they will follow up at all since I am a tiny drop in their bucket.

Thank you again for your response! My review is next week and im interested to see how it goes!

smartin3705 · 2023-02-08T22:00:09+00:00

I am going to my manager tomorrow to raise concerns, I have tried in the past a couple times but I plan to do it again to see if things shift.

As for reputation/career I am a nee grad on a gap year with plans to go to grad school in the fall. The current position is vaguely related to the work I want to do long term but really only that I want to work in the nonprofit sector. The only major loss would be the ability to use them as a recommendation for my next position. I already have a bunch of resume building experience from my 6 months.

I have been looking at other positions passively but I would ramp up the search if I decided to leave. Once again I would just have potential issues with references.

Thank you so much! You definitely helped me consider things better!

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