A seasoned grant writer pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to fund an Indiana‑sized breast care service area with five pink mobile coaches and thousands of uninsured women.

In this episode, Anna Caballero explains how she matches The Rose’s mission with state programs, foundations, and local donors, why rural counties and maintenance funds matter as much as screening dollars, and how her own mother’s late‑stage breast cancer diagnosis shaped her passion for access and self‑advocacy. She shares how today’s funders expect data, outcomes, and systems change, and why she still believes every mammogram sits inside a much bigger story of community health, navigation, and follow‑up.

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Key Questions Answered

1. What does Anna’s role on The Rose’s development team involve, and how does she use writing to bring in funding?

2. How does the grant application process actually work, from simple email forms to complex portals and site visits?

3. What kinds of entities fund The Rose, and how do state, local, and foundation dollars fit together?

4. How does the Breast and Cervical Cancer Services Program combine state and CDC funds, and who does it serve?

5. Why is it so important that screening and diagnostic grants also connect women to treatment through a Medicaid‑like program?

6. How large is The Rose’s 45‑county service area, and why does Anna compare it to the state of Indiana?

7. How did Anna’s years at the American Cancer Society and her mother’s late breast cancer diagnosis shape her commitment to this work?

8. What did Anna learn about self‑advocacy from watching her mother answer “I’m fine” to questions about pain and sleep?

9. How do grants like Empower Her Sponsorship and Keep Mobile support uninsured women, rural communities, and the mobile coach fleet?

10. What do modern funders expect in terms of impact, data, and systems change, and how does Anna show that their money is doing more than “just a mammogram”?

Timestamped Overview

00:07 Roxann welcomes Anna and asks about her role at The Rose; Anna explains she is a development team member who writes grants to bring in funding.
00:43 Anna outlines how grant applications range from simple emailed forms to complex portals, site visits, and detailed reviews of The Rose’s finances and impact.
01:54 She highlights key funding, including the Breast and Cervical Cancer Services Program, which helps cover screening and diagnostics for uninsured, low‑income women and connects some to treatment.
03:06 Anna explains how geography matters: The Rose’s 45‑county service area must align with foundations’ local priorities, while larger funders support broader regions.
03:55 She describes partners like the Episcopal Health Foundation and frames mammography as one crucial piece of comprehensive community care, especially in areas without local imaging.
05:02 Anna compares The Rose’s 45‑county footprint to the landmass of Indiana and notes it serves more than nine million people across rural and metropolitan areas with high uninsured rates.
05:57 She shares that her first job was with the American Cancer Society, where she spent twenty years and discovered a passion for making even small differences in public health.
07:00 Anna recalls taking her mother for a free voucher mammogram, later finding out her mother did not return and was eventually diagnosed with aggressive, late‑stage breast cancer.
08:44 Watching her mother’s treatment taught Anna how vital self‑advocacy is and how often women minimize pain or symptoms to “be polite,” reinforcing her belief that someone must speak up in the exam room.
11:05 She says those habits still show up today, especially for young or uninsured women, and underscores why The Rose’s mission is to offer equal access regardless of insurance status.
12:44 Anna explains how she first encountered The Rose through a breast health collaborative years ago and later joined the staff after a former American Cancer Society colleague called about a job.
13:53 She describes the Empower Her Sponsorship Program, which uses grant dollars to cover the full continuum of breast care for uninsured women, from screening through diagnostic resolution.
14:35 Anna talks about the importance of “Keep Mobile”–type funds that maintain the five pink coaches, noting that a broken coach can mean losing twenty to twenty‑five screenings a day in communities with no other options.
16:25 She notes that the funding climate has shifted, with partners affected by federal changes and funders increasingly focused on measurable impact and systems change.
17:22 Anna explains that foundations want to see how The Rose improves access to care, not just provides mammograms, and that she must back the story with data and outcomes.
18:37 To grant officers, she stresses that funding mammograms means supporting comprehensive care for women who anchor families and economies, and helping The Rose plug gaps in local health systems.
19:35 Anna emphasizes that the relationship with patients does not end with a normal or abnormal mammogram; navigators connect women to treatment, primary care, and reminders for future screening.
21:08 Roxann closes by thanking Anna for explaining how every dollar is stewarded; Anna credits clinic and community staff for doing the on‑the‑ground work that makes her grant writing possible.