Women’s employment has taken a heavy hit since the start of the pandemic. Women make up 39% of the global workforce but account for 54% of overall job loss. Not only have women’s finances been affected, but also people’s mental health. The rate of adults reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety has increased by over 30% in the past year.
To help mitigate some of these effects, this year’s theme for the Women for Success Virtual Conference is #investinyourself2021. We are proud to be presenting over 40 speakers who will be sharing actionable ways to improve your finances and wellness.
I had the great privilege of sitting down with one of our speakers to talk about how she is helping women invest in their organizations and businesses in strategic ways to help them grow. She is the self-described “Data Diva” - Anna Dilernia.
Tell me a bit about yourself.
I have a passion for social impact. My consulting firm, Level Up Impact Group, LLC, supports nonprofits and funders with integrated strategy, grants, and evaluation. I am the person to call when executive directors and CEO need support to prioritize their strategy and implement their innovative ideas. My skills in business strategy, project management, and data science act as a complement to community leaders that need support in engineering their impact.
I am somewhat of an expert in being efficient and making a dollar go a long way. I grew up in a family of 7 siblings and was very poor. We had no running water in our house besides a water hose strategically connected with a bungee cord. One of my responsibilities as a kid was to take one food stamp dollar to the store and buy the least expensive thing, so we could get change back to purchase toiletries and other essentials. This early need to make limited resources go a long way taught me the value of a dollar and how to maximize the money we had available to us.
This early need to make limited resources go a long way taught me the value of a dollar and how to maximize the money we had available to us.
Now, I help executive directors, boards, and funders prioritize and operationalize their strategies to provide actual value to the community by saving money and time and securing additional grants.
Was there ever a time you felt you were treated differently because you are a woman?
I have degrees in male-dominated fields - Economics, Business, and Data Science. And I found that as I moved on to upper-level courses, there were fewer women.
But I didn’t let the fact that I was a woman surrounded by men stop me from expressing myself. I was assertive with my peers and made sure I was heard.
So, to answer your question, I noticed that there were male-dominated spaces, but I did not allow others to treat me differently because I am a woman. I also learned early on to help support other women around me and advocate for them.
How are you making an impact?
The name of my firm is Level Up Impact Group, so I sure hope I’m making an impact.
Most of my business partners and clients are women. And they all work incredibly hard. I give them the support they need to execute projects and give them the resources they need to work smarter, not harder. I have clients across Florida, Alabama, California, and Hawaii, all women and/or minority lead organizations. They’re doing some very impactful things, from ensuring over 20% of Palm Beach County uninsured residents receive free access to medical care to ensuring thousands of low-income parents can send their child to summer camp. I am fortunate to get to support their work with strategy, evaluation, and grants.
As for grants, I work on both sides of the table helping secure grants and also helping funders strategically fund their priorities. I helped clients secure over $10 million in grant funding over the past year. And in the last five years, I helped funders strategically allocate over $128 million in grants.
It was such a pleasure speaking with Anna! She is a true Queen helping women build their Queendoms! Want to learn how to grow your organization? Don’t know where to get the money to start your business? You won’t want to miss Anna’s Masterclass titled “Let’s Talk About Grants, Baby!” during our month-long Women for Success Virtual Conference where she will be sharing all the best tips to get the funding you need to start or expand your business! The conference has over $250,000.00 worth of value for attendees, and over 40+ of Speakers and Masterclasses are included in your ticket. PLUS attendees can apply to win a small-business grant. woot woot! Get your ticket here.
WRITTEN BY
Lauren Marsicano