Free Federal Grant Writing Workshop by OIC and South Central Workforce in Yakima for Spanish Speakers

An inside look at the Washington Department of Commerce's free federal grants workshop for Spanish speakers at OIC of Washington in Yakima, with Spanish slides, handouts, and live interpretation, and how local organizations can still get free grant writing help through June 2027.

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Training room at OIC of Washington set for the Spanish-language federal grants workshop, welcome slide on the screen and an orange squishy ball sat every seat

On Monday, October 19, attendees settled into a training room at OIC of Washington on Fruitvale Boulevard for something Yakima had not had before: a full-day federal grants workshop built, from the first slide to the last handout, for Spanish speakers.

The free workshop came from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Federal Funds Grant Writing Assistance Program, a Commerce initiative supported by Hagerty Consulting, in collaboration with South Central Workforce and hosted by OIC of Washington. It did not start with a state agency, though. It started with local businesses asking for help, and being listened to.

Yakima Valley Events stopped by for an inside look at what happened in the room, and why it matters.

What the program does, and who brought it

Federal grants can fund major community projects, but the application process is a barrier for many organizations. Finding the right opportunity, registering with the federal government, and writing a strong application all take time and expertise that many teams do not have.

The Federal Funds Grant Writing Assistance Program was created to close that gap. Run by the Department of Commerce with Hagerty Consulting, it offers free help to Washington community-based organizations, local governments, tribes, businesses, and other eligible organizations, including:

Finding federal grants that fit a project
Writing and reviewing grant applications
Registering on SAM.gov, the federal system every applicant needs
Support with compliance and reporting after a grant is awarded

The program gives priority to clean energy, climate, and resilience projects, and to organizations that serve rural and overburdened communities. It is funded by Washington’s Climate Commitment Act.

The presenter slide for the day named five presenters, with roles spanning program management, strategy, writing, and compliance: Crysty Skevington, Rob McCulloch, Bridget Huston, Kristen Kerr, and Kaylin Taylor. That breadth matters. Grant writing is not one skill, and the program brings strategy, writing, and compliance support under one roof, at no cost to the organizations in the room.

307

organizations helped in under a year

federal applications supported

$173M

in funding sought

It started at Chismecito y Cafecito

This workshop exists because business owners asked for it. Chismecito y Cafecito is South Central Workforce’s free, monthly networking group for Spanish-speaking business owners, usually meeting on Mondays at 10 in the morning at the WorkSource office in Union Gap, a place to get together, talk shop, and compare notes. When members said they wanted to learn about grant writing, South Central Workforce took the request and connected it to the people who could teach it.

“Our role is not to assume what businesses need, but to listen, build relationships, and connect them with the resources that can help them grow,” said Susy Moran, South Central Workforce’s senior manager of business services, who started the group.

A woman speaking into a microphone in front of a Spanish-language workshop slide — Susy Moran · South Central Workforce

That listening only works if the answer arrives in a language people can use. Localizing a workshop like this is real work: every slide and printed handout translated into Spanish, an opening introduction written and delivered in Spanish, and, because the main instruction ran in English, a live interpreter feeding Spanish to listening devices attendees could borrow. When the room was asked, about half of the attendees identified as Spanish-only speakers. For them, the translation was not a courtesy. It was the difference between being in the room and being able to use what was taught there.

Moran puts the stakes plainly: many local entrepreneurs are hardworking and full of ideas, but the grant process feels overwhelming when training is not available in the language they prefer. This session was the program’s answer to that, built with South Central Workforce and OIC for the Yakima Valley.

The interpretation ran both ways, and that detail was set up before anyone sat down. The translator had a microphone of their own, so a question asked in Spanish could be put to the presenter in English, and the answer came back in Spanish through the listening devices. Nothing about the morning felt rushed or improvised. People were at the podium early, sorting notes and getting ready, and the room had the calm of a day that had been planned well before the doors opened.

Three people talking at the podium before the workshop began, in the OIC of Washington training room — At the podium before the 10 a.m. start

Inside the workshop

Doors opened to a room already set: a notebook, handouts, and an orange squishy ball at every seat, breakfast items out, and space to spread out and work. The session ran from 10 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, with breaks built in, lunch provided, and room to step in as the day allowed. The feel of the place mattered. It was calm, organized, and welcoming, the kind of room where people stay after a session ends.

Early on, attendees were asked who already knew someone else in the room. Almost nobody did. So the day made space for what Chismecito y Cafecito does by design: people got up, introduced themselves, and talked about why they had come and what they were hoping to find. By the first break, a room of strangers had started to become a network. Judith Mendoza, who posts as Juditzhita La Regia, was in the room sharing live updates with her followers as the day went on.

The curriculum walked the full arc: deciding whether federal grants are the right fit, writing a strong application narrative, framing a project to meet funder priorities, budgeting, and managing a grant from award to closeout. Asked who had ever received a grant before, only two hands went up, one from construction, a field where grants are notoriously hard to land. That is the point of the program. Most of the room was starting at the beginning, and the day was built for exactly that.

Winning a federal grant also brings reporting and compliance work. The program keeps supporting organizations after an award, through June 2027. Teams that want one-on-one help should not wait until the final months of funding.

Workshop attendees talking between tables in the OIC of Washington training room, oranges on the tables in the foreground — Attendees talking in the OIC of Washington training room

How to get free grant help, and more like this

Organizations interested in one-on-one support can email the program directly at [email protected]. There is no application required. Requests are taken as capacity allows.

The program also offers a free Federal Funds Digital Library of grant resources and an email newsletter announcing future workshops.

More workshops like this one start the same way this one did. Moran says the ingredients are simple: businesses willing to say what they need, and organizations, funders, and subject-matter experts willing to collaborate and share what they know. The community helps by showing up, passing opportunities along to other business owners, and suggesting future topics. Owners who want a voice in what gets offered can start at Chismecito y Cafecito through South Central Workforce.

Want to know when the next workshop comes to Yakima? Keep an eye on workshops and classes on Yakima Valley Events, where we list free trainings and skill-building sessions from across the community.

Workshop materials and an orange squishy ball on each seat along the training room tables, ready for attendees — Materials set out for attendees at OIC of Washington

Thank you to South Central Workforce, OIC of Washington, Hagerty Consulting, and the Washington State Department of Commerce Federal Funds Grant Writing Assistance Program for welcoming us.

Credits and resources

Program: Washington State Department of Commerce, Federal Funds Grant Writing Assistance Program, a Commerce initiative supported by Hagerty Consulting.
Program figures: 307 organizations helped, 55 federal applications supported, and $173M in funding sought, from Hagerty Consulting’s case study on FFGWAP (“Achieving Results,” first-year totals).
Hosted by: OIC of Washington, in collaboration with South Central Workforce.
Presenters named on the day’s slide: Crysty Skevington, FFGWAP manager · Kaylin Taylor, federal grants manager · Kristen Kerr, federal grant writer · Bridget Huston and Rob McCulloch, grant and resilience strategists.
Photos: Forgepoint Studios
Community coverage: Judith Mendoza, Juditzhita La Regia on Facebook.

Chismecito y Cafecito, South Central Workforce’s monthly networking group for Spanish-speaking business owners.
Workshops and classes across the Yakima Valley.