Foundation grants
Private, family, and community foundation requests, including letters of inquiry and the follow up full proposal when you are invited.
Services
We specialize in nonprofits. We write all types of grants.
Take the whole process or take one piece of it. Most organizations start with research and a single proposal, then move to a calendar once they see how the work runs.
Primary specialty
Nonprofit grant writing
Program grants, capacity grants, capital requests, and renewals for 501(c)(3) organizations. We work from your existing materials wherever possible: your last 990, your strategic plan, your program descriptions, your outcome data. If those documents are thin, we will tell you and help you build the pieces you are missing.
Typical clients are youth and family services, health and wellness programs, arts and education organizations, food security programs, and community development groups.
Before you write a word
Grant research and opportunity matching
The most expensive mistake in fundraising is a well written proposal sent to a funder who was never going to fund you. We screen opportunities against your eligibility, your geography, your budget size, your program type, and the funder's actual giving history, then hand you a ranked list with deadlines and required attachments already noted.
You end up with a shortlist you can defend to your board instead of a spreadsheet of maybes.
The main event
Full proposal development
Everything from the first interview to the submission confirmation email. We write the narrative, build the budget and budget narrative, assemble the attachments, format to the funder's specifications, and submit through their portal when you want us to.
- Statement of need with current, sourced local data
- Program design, activities, staffing, and timeline
- Measurable outcomes and an evaluation plan
- Line item budget with a matching narrative
- Organizational capacity and sustainability
- Attachments assembled to the funder's checklist
Beyond 501(c)(3)
Government grants
Federal, state, county, and city funding. Compliance heavy applications with tight formatting rules, registrations, and required forms.
Corporate giving
Corporate foundation applications, sponsorship proposals, and employee giving programs, written for a business audience rather than a program officer.
Ongoing
Grant strategy and funder relationships
A funding calendar built around your fiscal year, renewal dates, and reporting deadlines. Guidance on when to call a program officer and what to say. Post award support so the reports that keep the money coming actually get filed.
This is the part that compounds. The second year of a well run grant program is far easier than the first.
What we will not do
Work on commission
We do not take a percentage of awarded funds. Most funders prohibit it and professional fundraising ethics standards discourage it. You pay for hours worked.
Promise you an award
Grant decisions belong to the funder. We will tell you honestly when we think an opportunity is a poor fit, even when it costs us the work.
Next step
Tell us what you need funded.
The intake form takes about ten minutes. We read every submission ourselves and reply within one business day with next steps and an honest estimate.