Navigating the System

While searching for funding opportunities for our nonprofit, we found a grant on www.grants.gov.

A few of us read the 39-page instructions and we knew that we had to submit the proposal on http://www.sam.gov but what we did not understand is that, although our grant writer had set up our account over nine months ago, all of the other steps were not taken. First, we had not registered the company this year. Second, we had not appointed an entity administrator, which required a notarized form letter signed by the appointee, then, scanned and uploaded to this site www.fsd.gov

Ironically, the people who I communicated with from Sam.gov were all either Black, African American, or some other title of a person of color born in the U.S.A. Their names were Earline Fair Edwards, Jaylin, and his supervisor was a young lady named Lucky.

I made sure that we were on a recorded line and told each of them that this system was either rigged to be difficult to prevent a mass amount of people from accessing the grant monies or some similar scenario. It too from June 1, 2022, until August to get my address changed in this system. That is ridiculous. Ms. Edwards had to go into my account, physically, with me on the phone to affirm that the change got done.

Each conversation I had with a representative was recorded and I am so sure my frustration bled through. Then, I went to YouTube, where you can learn how to do anything, and I found this video collection that is only six months old. I suppose they got enough complaints about the site to inform people how to navigate it. The problem is that you must be computer savvy, you must register with three different sites, and you must remember what to do and where to go to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/@publicpolicymanagementcent7894

On January 10, 2023, I sent this message to

fsdsupport@gsa.gov

First, let me say that this is the most frustrating process that I have ever encountered.

I submitted our nonprofit to Sam.gov over nine months ago. It took two months just to get our address changed in this system. Now, I am trying to submit a NEH Grant and find out that our company is not verified. I uploaded a notarized letter appointing me as the Entity Administrator but it will take up to 6 days for someone to verify it. We need another person listed in order to upload the grant documentation.

Does that person need to have a notarized letter, too?

You cannot reach anyone at your office on the phone. Your instructions are click this, click that, click the other. This system is in sore need of simplifying. It is not user-friendly in any way at all.

I just called your number and was told the wait time is 63 minutes. That is absurd.

Can someone please call me at the number below, so I can get some help with this issue.

Thanks,

Dr. Joan Cartwright

Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc.

profjoancartwright@gmail.com

954-740-3398

Then, I got a message that there was no address on our letterhead, which is not true. I’m just sayin’.

Do you see our address?

This is an impossible system managed by incompetent and arrogant people. Only Mrs. Edwards gets my thumbs up. The rest of the staff is belligerent, arrogant, and not serving their citizenry. They need to learn some soft skills like customer service. I say this because Lucky hung up, after saying, “Our agents cannot stay on the phone with you. Contact your tax accountant for help.”

Then, Lucky called me back and made sure I got everything done. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

What do you think?

I’m just sayin’!

This system needs an overhaul and the people working there need customer service training.

That’s all I have to say.

Legacy on the Land and Homeless

In 1998, Frank and Audrey Peterman won the The Marjory Stoneman Douglas Award for Outstanding Citizen Advocacy on Behalf of the National Parks, 1998. Of course, I was proud of them and knew that they deserved this honor, after witnessing their hard work to bring African-Americans to the awareness of the splendor of our National Parks. But, in good consciousness, I had to ask Audrey if there would be as many homeless people in America, if the National Parks were accessible to everyone, like land was before the European colonialists arrived. My contention was and still is that a great percentage of human beings are nomadic and the forests are where they would live, if they were not designated as National Parks.

Since I knew the Petermans had the ear of National Parks administrators, I suggested that they propose that several acres of the parks could be developed as free camping grounds and lodges to house those who would normally travel from site to site, similar to how Native Americans did six centuries ago. To my chagrin, Audrey skimmed over my idea and the discussion ended abruptly.

Now, 11 years later, I’m reading their newly published book, LEGACY ON THE LAND and truly enjoying Audrey’s descriptive writing of the couples joyous romps through the Badlands and other vistas of our glorious country. Yet, homelessness is evident in higher numbers as thousands of American families are evicted from their apartments and foreclosed homes. Mothers and their children are living in their vehicles, while the National Parks stand in pristine and lavish splendor. There is definitely something immoral and downright wrong with this.

Continued at http://nativeamericablues.ning.com