Grant Strategy & Development
Time for some tea.
A lot of organizations are pursuing misaligned funders, making asks that aren’t backed by data, and describing their work without ever making the case for why it matters to the person reading it.
On top of that, some of their best funding opportunities are sitting within their existing relationships and communities.
I have spent over 10,000 hours writing and winning grants, asking major donors for money, and designing the grant processes that organizations apply to. That perspective changes everything about how a funding strategy gets built.
How it works.
Every engagement starts with a Funding Audit. Before we talk about proposals or partnerships or strategies, I need to see your full picture. Your grants, your donor data, your existing relationships, your wealth screening. What you have tried, what worked, and what quietly did not.
Some organizations come out of the audit with a grant opportunity they had completely overlooked. Others find a major donor already in their community who has never been asked the right questions. Some find both. Occasionally the audit reveals the timing is not right and the honest answer is to wait. That clarity alone is worth the investment.
If there is real opportunity and you want help pursuing it, we talk about what working together looks like.
What pricing looks like.
Funding Audit I’ll look at what you have tried, what worked, and what quietly did not. Findings come with specific recommendations on where to focus and why. If it makes sense to keep working together the audit rolls directly into proposal support or an ongoing partnership. $3,500.
Proposal Support You have a funder in front of you and a deadline. Bring me the opportunity and together we’ll write the proposal. We can work from a list you already have or build one together. One high value proposal starts at $4,500, with packages available depending on scope and number of submissions.
Strategic Partnership Funder research and prioritization, proposal development, donor pipeline coaching, report support, and honest guidance on what to pursue and what to skip. A significant part of the work is thinking creatively about how to connect with funders in ways that go beyond a cold application. Who already knows them. What angle opens the door. $4,500 per month, minimum 8 months.
What clients say.
Types of projects.
Street Roots: A complete building renovation that now serves as a daily hub for hundreds of houseless entrepreneurs, offering programming, showers, and wraparound services to people who had nowhere else to go.
INCIGHT: Job fairs that connect roughly 1,000 people with disabilities to 40 employers actively hiring, every year.
Friends of Noise: A full venue remodel that brought Portland’s only all-ages music space back to life. Concerts are happening there right now.
Results.
Client successes range from $75,000 to $500,000 in grants over the course of 8 to 14 months.
Grant strategy and development is not a commodity. Done well, it changes how an organization relates to its funding and the people behind it.
Examples include:
Our Village Gardens had an executive director and staff with no real participation in the grant process. Proposals were being written in isolation, disconnected from the people closest to the work. By the time the engagement ended, staff were contributing to proposals, sitting in on funder conversations, and taking ownership of relationships they had previously left to others entirely.
Street Roots had very few relationships with major donors and was focused entirely on annual funding. When we ran a wealth screen on their existing donor base for the first time, we found a dozen four, five, and six figure donors who had never been asked the right question.
Let’s have a conversation.
I’m interested to learn who is involved in the project, where you’re going, and how you plan to get there. If it sounds like a fit I will tell you that honestly. If it does not I will tell you that too.