$5,000 Grant Winner: How Building Audience Trust Helped Will C. De Man Secure the Trusted Creator Fellowship
Lessons in alignment, positioning, and opportunity.
Every grant win starts with curiosity, passion, and the courage to share your work.
Today, we’re celebrating what’s possible when you follow that spark.
Grants For Creators community member Will C. De Man was recently named a Trusted Creator Fellow by News Creator Corps, an opportunity that recognizes creators who are committed to accuracy, impact, and helping their audiences make sense of the world.
But what makes Will’s story especially compelling isn’t just the win, it’s how it all happened.
In this interview, you’ll see how following a genuine interest turned into a platform, how building trust with an audience can open doors to funding, and how aligning your work with the right opportunity matters more than chasing every grant out there.
1. Tell us about yourself and what inspired you to start creating content that eventually led to this grant opportunity?
My content is about the history of the national parks.
When I started National Park History in 2023, I had just visited many national parks and wanted to learn more about how these protected places were established.
I figured if I was interested in it, other people probably would be too.
I also wrote a short book called A Short History of the National Parks. I was hoping to promote it by creating a platform.
Things really took off last year, when NPS rangers were fired en masse. I had the historic context to help people make sense of it and the raw emotion to connect.
Over time, my content has morphed into a combination of education and advocacy, which is a perfect fit for News Creator Corps, the grant funder.
So much of what I’m putting out now focuses on bringing people context to understand the headlines. In history, accuracy is extremely important—and that was another natural fit for News Creator Corps (NCC), which emphasizes fighting misinformation.
People can follow @nationalparkhistory on Instagram and Threads. I write regular long-form history pieces on Substack over at Will C. De Man, that directly connect current events to the history of public lands.
I also recently released my second book on the origins of the national parks, titled Creating the National Parks: Yellowstone, Glacier, and Grand Teton.
2. What made you decide to go after the Trusted Creator Fellowship by News Creator Corps?
I do news-related content, but I don’t consider myself a journalist.
News Creator Corps is about accurately sharing news as it comes in (though it has also provided me with new skills for pursuing my own leads!). I decided to pursue the fellowship because I could see myself in the term “Trusted Creator.”
Over the past year, I knew my audience had grown to rely on me as a source for news and clear action steps. I am proud of that, but I also recognized I have some shortcomings.
I also saw the $5,000 stipend that accompanied the fellowship as a resource to open new creative opportunities and support my advocacy work.
3. How did you know you were a strong fit for this fellowship?
The term “Trusted Creator” resonated with me.
As a historian, I have to make sure the information I share is tied to accurate sources, and the same is true of the content I share as a creator.
I had concrete examples of ways I combatted misinformation, and I think combining that with my history work helped me land a spot.
4. You took our Grant Writing 101 course - what was one ‘aha’ moment or specific strategy from that training that changed the way you approach grant writing?
Grant Writing 101 For Creators helped me understand what each application question was actually asking, and that helped me to write more effective answers.
In many ways, it pulled back the veil on the grant writing process, so I could more clearly represent myself and my content.
5. Do you have a repeatable system for finding and applying for grants? What does that look like?
Not yet. I’m in a weird niche as a creator, and I’m still working on figuring out what grants might be a good fit for me, beyond NCC.
6. If a creator is thinking, “I’m not ready for grants yet,” what would you tell them?
As creators, we are reliant on so much that is out of our control. Algorithms, audience response, etc. Winning a grant that supports your work is an opportunity for you to get a little control back. It’s also a chance to have your good work recognized.
A big round of applause for Will. Congratulations on your Grant Win! 👏🏾
If you discovered and won a grant through Grants For Creators, email grantsforcreators@gmail.com with the subject line: “I Won a Grant.”
We’d love to celebrate your success!
Feeling inspired? Read other success stories in our ongoing Grant Win Series!
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Loved reading this story. I am so inspired by the other people in this community. Once a month, I go through all the listings and have a spurt of applying, and then the rejections start to pile up in my inbox, and I think about quitting. After researching ashrams I can go to and resign my life to prayer in the hills of Punjab, I need to hear about successes like this to remind myself to keep going!!! Great job Will!
Woo hoo!!!🙌 🎉🎉