How to Get Multiple Grants, Avoid Pitfalls & Build Wealth with Stormi Banks

Summary

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Earn Your Leisure – "How to Get Multiple Grants, Avoid Pitfalls & Build Wealth with Stormi Banks"

Podcast: Earn Your Leisure (iHeartPodcasts)
Episode Date: July 1, 2026
Hosts: Rashad Bilal & Troy Millings
Guest: Stormi Banks, CEO of Pink Print

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Episode Overview

This episode of Earn Your Leisure centers on demystifying the world of business grants with grant writing expert and entrepreneur Stormi Banks, CEO of Pink Print. The conversation explores the process of applying for and managing multiple grants, smart strategies for leveraging grant funding to build lasting wealth, and common mistakes entrepreneurs make. Stormi shares practical advice, real-life examples, and actionable steps to help listeners use grant funding to launch or scale their ventures while avoiding common pitfalls.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Understanding Grant Capacity and Management

• You can hold multiple grants:
  • Stormi confirms that it's possible for one business to manage multiple grants at the same time, but cautions listeners to avoid getting "grant happy."
  • (Stormi, 03:17): "Grants are debt free but they're not tax free. So grants go on your taxes as additional income ... You have to be able to uphold the standard of how to utilize the actual grant."
• Importance of organization and reporting:
  • Successfully managing multiple grants requires strong organizational systems to track spending and report outcomes as committed in the application stages.

2. Oversight, Accountability, and Compliance

• Grant fund usage is monitored:
  • Depending on the funding source (federal, state, local), grant providers may verify that you spend funds as intended (e.g., purchasing a truck with a transportation grant).
  • (Stormi, 03:55): "Of course, you should always do what you said you’re going to do ... federal, state, local grants, yeah they’re going to be checking."
  • If there are leftover funds (e.g., budget overestimation), proactive communication with the grant provider is encouraged to reallocate.
• Failure to deliver can mean giving money back:
  • Grantors have the right to reclaim funds if deliverables are not met (e.g., promising to serve 500 people but only reaching 50).
  • (Stormi, 04:36): "I've seen a client, you know, get tax dollars taken back because they didn’t do what they were supposed to do with the funding ... There are definitely times where they can be like, oh, taking that back."

3. Tax Implications of Grants

• Grants are not tax-free:
  • Any grant awarded is treated as additional taxable income for businesses.
  • (Interviewer & Stormi, 04:14–04:23):
    • Interviewer: "If I made a hundred thousand, I got a grant for a hundred thousand. I’ve made 200."
    • Stormi: "Correct."
• Strategy is essential for high-level funding:
  • Having a CPA involved is strongly advised to navigate reporting and minimize tax burdens.
  • Stormi suggests structuring businesses to leverage both for-profit and nonprofit entities for optimal tax strategy.
  • (Stormi, 04:36): "Every for-profit should have a nonprofit foundation ... take 30% of what our for-profit is making and put it over into our for-profit side. And now we're creating that tax-free money ..."

4. Grant Databases and Funders’ Decision-Making

• Funders require full disclosure of other grants:
  • While there isn't a universal grant recipient database, you are expected to disclose current and previous grant awards during application.
  • (Stormi, 05:49): "They'll make you say ... what funding sources have you gotten all year?"
• Multiple grants can help, not hinder:
  • For nonprofits, showing diverse funding streams often increases your attractiveness to future funders.

5. Building and Training the Pink Print Team

• Team certification and methodology:
  • All team members go through certification and specialized Pink Print training.
  • (Stormi, 06:36): "We all go through the same certification process ... then we also have our internal methodology ... a couple weeks of training."
• Team structure:
  • 17 team members divided into grant writing, grant application specialists, and operations.

6. Marketing and Client Acquisition

• Get Grant Ready Summits:
  • Pink Print’s primary marketing tool is hosting "Get Grant Ready Summits” (virtual 3–5 day events) that provide education on grant mindsets, processes, proposal writing, application, and tax strategy.
  • (Stormi, 07:13): "We educate people ... the full process of like the mindset you need, where to find grants, how to write the proposal, how to apply to it, and then also how to scale with the tax code ..."

7. The Life-Changing Impact of Grant Access

• Personal growth and community transformation:
  • Stormi discusses how it was initially daunting to be viewed as a financial lifeline but has grown to embrace the mission as she sees real-world success stories.
  • (Stormi, 08:14): "It was really scary because ... people really look at you like they lifeline ... but ... we really do have access, information and skill set to do that."
• Real business owner wins:
  • Stormi shares a memorable summit moment where clients used Pink Print grants to rebrand, buy booths, and expand—underscoring the tangible outcomes of proper grant utilization.
  • (Stormi, 08:34): "13 of you guys, vendors were there because they won pink print grants... went around, was like, 'You had a grant, we won the 15,000, we paid for our booth, we here, we rebranded, selling out ...'"

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On over-applying for grants:

  • Stormi: "Don’t get grant happy ... it takes a really organized operation to handle that many grants at a time." (03:17)

• On grant accountability:

  • Stormi: "If you told them you were going to help 500 people and at the deadline mark you helped 50 ... they can be like, oh, taking that back." (04:36)

• On structuring for tax efficiency:

  • Stormi: "Every for-profit should have a nonprofit foundation ... creating that tax-free money that we got from that grant funding." (04:36)

• On client success and fulfillment:

  • Stormi: "Seeing it in real life—real business owners staying debt free, building their business, expanding ... because of grant funding ... it’s surreal. It really is. It’s humbling." (08:34)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:10 – Myth-busting: Can you hold multiple grants at once?
• 03:55 – Oversight: How closely do funders track your spending and outcomes?
• 04:14 – Taxes: Grant money as taxable income
• 04:36 – Structuring business for wealth & compliance
• 05:32 – Disclosure and funder collaboration on multiple grants
• 06:21 – Pink Print origin and team structure
• 07:13 – Marketing and education strategies
• 08:14 – Banks’ reflections on transformative impact and client stories

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Summary Takeaways

This episode offers a practical yet inspiring deep-dive into business grant funding, emphasizing:

• Grants are abundant but demand discipline, transparency, and compliance.
• Savvy entrepreneurs blend for-profit and nonprofit strategies to maximize financial and social impact.
• Education and preparation edge out simple application volume—seek knowledge before funding.
• Real-world stories prove that access to grant capital, leveraged effectively, can be life-changing for both entrepreneurs and communities.

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Transcript

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[Financial Advisor]

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[Grant Seeker]

Is there a thing you can have but so many grants at one time? Like can you have 10 grants running simultaneously?

[Grant Expert]

Yep, you can. But this is what I also tell people is don't get grant happy. Right? Because grants are debt free but they're not tax free. So grants goes on your taxes as additional income. And so you have to be able to uphold the standard of how to utilize the actual grant. So if you're like, okay, cool, Stormy said one grand a day. We Ballin. Now are you reporting back? Are you, you know, handling the funds how you said you would on the application? It takes a really organized, you know, operation to be able to handle that many grants at a time.

[Grant Seeker]

Is there any oversight to see? Okay, you act for a grant because you say you needed a truck. You have to like, do they check to see if you actually purchased the truck?

[Grant Expert]

Depends on the funding source. Of course, you should always do what you said you're going to do on a grant opportunity. But federal, state, local grants. Yeah, they're going to be checking now. You know, let's just say that you, you budgeted 30,000 and a truck end up being 25. You can, you know, talk to them, let them know, hey, we have this overage of 5,000, we're going to reallocate it to these areas.

[Interviewer]

Is that money tax at the, is it taxed as additional income?

[Grant Expert]

Right.

[Interviewer]

If I made a hundred thousand, I got a grant for a hundred thousand. I've made 200.

[Grant Expert]

Correct.

[Interviewer]

Okay, good to know. Yeah, so that's interesting because I wouldn't even think about the tax implication. Definitely have a cpa.

[Grant Expert]

Oh yeah.

[Interviewer]

Involved in this.

[Grant Expert]

But see this, this is when you're doing on a high level, this is when the real strategy really comes into play.

[Podcast Host]

Right.

[Grant Expert]

Because a, now you have a two hundred thousand dollar business. Right. On a for profit side. So one thing that I always tell my clients is like every, every for profit should have a nonprofit foundation. Right. Because now we can be able to take 30% of what our for profit is making and put it over into our for profit side. And now we creating that tax free money that we could, you know, that we got from that, from that grant funding. So it's really important to just. I'm not, I'm not a cpa, but it's really important to understand the implications of grants and it's important to be able to have strategy when you're going for grants because can get in trouble. And I've seen a client, you know, get tax dollars taken back because they didn't do what they were supposed to do with the funding. They didn't report on time. They told them that they were going to do, you know, help 500 people. And at the deadline mark, they helped 50. Right. So there are definitely times where they can be like, oh, taking that back,

[Grant Seeker]

are you in a database of like grants? So it's like, okay, this person already has three open grants, so they might not need the money. Like if somebody else is going to give you a grant, they see how many grants you already have or were given in the past and that might make the decision like, okay, they might not be in dire need because they already have a grant.

[Grant Expert]

Yeah, the departments are pretty separated. But what they will do is they'll make you, you know, tell them. Yeah, they'll make you say like, what funding sources have you gotten all year? But sometimes that can also be a help. Right. Especially on the nonprofit side of grant opportunities. Nonprofits give their money to people that can showcase they have other ways of funding. Like they don't want to be the only funder on the nonprofit side. They're like, do you have anybody else willing to help? Do you have anything else going? So they'll make you tell them on

[Interviewer]

the application in terms of you from a personal standpoint, pink print is the brand.

[Grant Expert]

Yeah.

[Interviewer]

Congratulations.

[Grant Expert]

Thank you.

[Interviewer]

I guess we should get the origin story of the name and all that.

[Financial Advisor]

But when you're building this team, do

[Interviewer]

they all have to go through the certification process, talk to us about how print was formed and where it stands internally?

[Grant Expert]

Yeah, so absolutely, we all go through the same certification process for sure. But then we also have our internal, you know, methodology that we utilize in our own internal formula. So then of course they're trained on what we do. That makes us different in our information, more proprietary. So it's a couple weeks of training. Typically they can get it done in like three, four weeks.

[Interviewer]

How many people on the team?

[Grant Expert]

17 right now?

[Interviewer]

17.

[Grant Expert]

17.

[Financial Advisor]

Okay.

[Grant Seeker]

Those are all reps that work with people individually.

[Grant Expert]

So there's different departments. So you have your grant writing department, you have your grant application specialist department, and then we have just our like operations and stuff.

[Grant Seeker]

So how have you been able to market your company?

[Grant Expert]

Marketed through our get grant ready summits. So our summits are really where a lot of people find us because at the basis of being a grant writer, I think we're. It started off as education first, right? And that's kind of where we keep it for the most part. It's like, hey, even if you don't hire us, we want you to know that this is possible. We want you to know that you're eligible and how it works. And we want you to go and do it and be excellent regardless whether it's us or not. So when we educate people, we do like three day, five day virtual summits to educate people on literally the full process of like the mindset you need, the, the where to find grants, how to write the proposal, how to apply to it, and then also how to scale with the tax code, because that's a really important part of it too.

[Interviewer]

Yeah. How liberating is this process for you? I know a lot of times we run into people and they're like, you changed my life. You changed my life. I wonder, as you're going through this journey yourself, how has that been? When people understand this is something that, that can really elevate their business, number one, but also from a personal standpoint, help them in, in their, in their, their journey. When it comes to financial education and

[Grant Expert]

debt, at first it was really scary because like, when it comes to money, it's like people really look at you like they lifeline. And at first I was like, hold on now, hold on now. And I, you know, as time has

[Financial Advisor]

gone, hold on now, you're still from

[Grant Expert]

Brooklyn, but that was Georgia.

[Wasabi Representative]

Come on, hold on.

[Financial Advisor]

You're still from Brooklyn,

[Grant Expert]

is it? You know, as I've built my confidence in like really seeing that a proof of concept more and more over the years, of course, I've just gotten more comfortable with and like we can change people's lives. Like, we really do have access, information and skill set to do that. 13 of you guys, vendors were there because they won pink print grants, you know, working with us. And I was going around, I was like, oh my God. It was like you had a grant that we won the 15,000. We got, we paid for our booth, we here, we rebranded, like selling out, you know what I'm saying? So it's like seeing it in real life, like real business owners staying debt free, building their business, expanding, getting these different opportunities because of grant funding, whether they came to a class or whether they work with us for their grant writing, it's just, it is, it's, it's surreal. It really is. It's humbling.

[Interviewer]

That's crazy. We gotta get that number up.

[Financial Advisor]

Earnest. What's up? Look, building wealth isn't just about making money. It's about knowing where your money is working for you. That's why we partner with Empower. Empower is all about helping you invest well so you can go out and live a little. Their free Empower Personal Dashboard gives you a complete view of your financial life in one place. Track your net worth, monitor your budget, analyze your investments, set retirement goals and more. You've worked hard for your money, now make sure it's working hard for you. Download the Empower Personal dashboard or visit empower.com not an empower client, paid or sponsored.

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[Kohler Ambassador]

When Kohler, global design leader in luxurious kitchen and bath products, asked me to be their ambassador for timeless, elegant, durable cast iron, I said I'm in. Soon after, I was in their Kohler Wisconsin foundry watching molten iron poured, enamel applied by hand and the beautiful finished pieces ready to ship. Since 1883, Kohler cast iron has been crafted by incredible artisans and seeing it firsthand gave me a whole new appreciation for their craftsmanship. Now I am proud to lend my stamp of approval to my favorite Kohler Cast Iron products for their durability, beauty and enduring style. Shop my curated picks at kohler. Com. As the Kohler Cast Iron Ambassador, I say, long live Cast Iron.

[Podcast Host]

This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.