Additional Services
Ignite Relationships🧨
The grants field is changing rapidly, and your organization must adapt to the new landscape to secure grant funding for its work to people overcome adversity and change systems that hold them back from thriving. Trends indicate that an increasing number of grant opportunities are invitation-only and are driven by strong relationships between nonprofits and funders. We can no longer rely on submitting a high volume of grant applications without building relationships and having conversations first. How can you stand out above a crowded field of nonprofit applicants to get the coveted invitation to apply for grant awards?
Our team of expert grant consultants will do the heavy lifting to research grant funders, write attention-grabbing materials, and provide coaching on the best ways to approach grant funders and tailor your messaging to the funder’s goals. Let us handle the time-consuming research and writing, so you can focus on what matters most: building trusted, authentic relationships with grant funders who share your organization’s goals. We’ll hold regular calls to keep your leadership on track with funder outreach and relationship-building, and we’ll even review and edit proposals so that you have the strongest, most compelling application possible.
Don’t get left behind the field. Get help from expert grant professionals who can guide your organization to evolve and thrive in the new grant landscape.
| Deliverables | Outcomes |
|---|---|
| A grant calendar that outlines clear deadlines, aligns with your nonprofit’s priorities, and is backed by careful grant funder research | We'll conduct prospect research to find up to 20 of the most aligned grant opportunities that you have the best chance of winning, and present them in a calendar format so you don’t ever have to scramble or miss a deadline |
| Three concept notes for your organization’s top three priorities | Three 2-page concept notes for your organization’s top three priorities, with concise, impactful language you can use to grab grant funders’ attention, build relationships, and secure invitations to apply |
| Customized written collateral to build relationships with the most highly aligned funders on your grant calendar | Detailed funder briefs with suggested language, themes, and work to highlight; cultivation email templates; and/or cultivation talking points so that you can be well-prepared to meet with grant funders and wow them with your mission and plans |
| Regular support from your expert grant consultant through monthly hour-long coaching meetings and reviewing and editing up to 2 grants per month | Coaching from expert grant consultants on building grant funder relationships using moves management strategies, aligning your nonprofit’s goals with grant funders’ priorities, and careful editing of grant proposals written in-house |
| Access to our Leadership Lunch & Learns and Client Resource Library | Grant-seeking tips, templates, and a community of support that will enhance your grant seeking |
Board Fundraising Training & Engagement
The board plays a crucial role in ensuring the financial health, stability, and resiliency of a nonprofit organization; yet many board members don’t fully understand how to accomplish this mandate. A smooth-functioning, well-aligned board is the foundation of successful fundraising and long-term sustainability.
Furthermore, with fundraising in particular, many nonprofit leaders frequently encounter resistance from board members. There are numerous myths and misconceptions about boards and their roles in development and governance that limit nonprofits’ ability to seek and secure funding. Yet there are powerful, effective boards that model a strong culture of fundraising, grounded in clear governance and shared accountability, and many of them are securing large, multi-year grants and the diverse funding base that your organization craves.
How can you learn from effective boards that are visionary leaders and incredible fundraisers for impactful, respected, resilient nonprofits? You can’t rely on cookie-cutter, one-off trainings to change deeply entrenched mindsets. It takes sustained effort, best practices tailored to your board, and an empathetic, supportive approach to bring board members along on the journey to becoming powerhouses — clarifying roles, strengthening alignment, and creating the conditions that allow fundraising to thrive.
We’ll provide customized training sessions, coaching, and resources to help your board understand and fulfill their role with zeal, strengthening both governance effectiveness and fundraising confidence.
Grant Review & Editing
The grant landscape is increasingly competitive. It’s challenging to make your proposal stand out above the rest, especially when you have to meet complex requirements and stay within tight character limits. And, sometimes you spend so much time on the application that your eyes start to cross! You don’t have any more time to spare to complete an airtight proposal, but you know what’s at stake: staff salaries, people in need of help, and budget gaps to fill.
Let our expert grant professionals help you with the critical review and editing stage. As grant experts who aren’t embedded in the day-to-day operations of your organization, we can offer a crucial, objective review of your proposal to ensure that it truly meets the mark.
We’ll conduct a detailed quality control review and editing for grants written by your staff. We’ll research the funder’s giving history, background, and application criteria and develop a review document to score the application from a funder’s perspective. We’ll utilize our in-depth expertise to anticipate potential questions funders may have, identify areas for improvement, and recommend strategies to enhance your application, thereby maximizing the chances of securing a grant award.
Post-Award Grant Management
You secured a grant award (or two, or three, or twenty!)…now what? After you celebrate the win, it’s time to sit down and carefully review your grant agreements so you can execute the project, wow the funder with on-time reports, and set your organization up for a grant renewal (and maybe even a larger, multi-year grant award).
Post-award grant management is a key part of the grant life cycle, and it’s easy to let tasks and deadlines fall through the cracks. Funders can cancel grant awards and future payments — and even claw back funding — if grantees fail to comply with grant terms and conditions. Set your organization up for successful grant management so that you not only secure the funding but also lay the foundation for a long-term relationship with the funder. We’ll create a calendar of grant reporting deadlines and assist you with completing and submitting required grant reports, provide coaching on compliance with grant terms, and help draft and audit policies required by grant funders.
It’s not just about getting the grant money; it’s about demonstrating that your organization is a good steward of grant funds and a trusted partner to funders that share your mission. Let our expert grant professionals guide your staff and set up systems that make post-award grant management seamless.
Grant Funder Stewardship
Grant experts — and yes, that includes grant makers — will tell you that grant funding increasingly hinges on strong relationships between nonprofits and grant funders. But strong relationships don’t stop when the grant award hits your inbox and the grant agreement is signed. Strong relationships happen when you communicate regularly, share what you’re seeing and learning on the frontlines, and demonstrate honesty and transparency even when things are challenging.
Grant funders want to be treated like the people they are, and they want trusted grantee partners who help them achieve their funding goals. Stewardship is often an overlooked aspect of the grant life cycle. It’s more than just submitting reports and grant renewals; it’s about staying in touch, celebrating successes, and seeking advice when you encounter obstacles. We’ll help you steward funding relationships so that you’re not just asking for money when it’s time to renew, you’re viewed as a true partner and collaborator who’s indispensable to the funder’s mission.
Our expert grant consultants will create a stewardship calendar and help your staff write reports and updates tailored to each of your grant funders. This enables your organization to strengthen its relationships using moves management strategies, highlight successes, learn lessons, be transparent about challenges, and maintain regular contact, ensuring you stay top of mind.
Fundraising Strategies
With so many changes in the philanthropic landscape, the stakes are high and the stress is real. Your organization needs to meet ambitious budget goals and determine the best fundraising approach to make it happen. You know there are multiple ways to raise money so that your organization has diverse funding streams, but you want to choose the ones that are feasible so that your team isn’t spread too thin and your board has a clear understanding of how they can play their part.
Effective fundraising happens when nonprofit leaders plan carefully and align the organization’s budget goals with its strategic plan, values and culture, and fundraising capacity. We’ll work with your staff and board fundraising committee to develop a comprehensive fundraising plan to complement your nonprofit’s goals and budget. Don’t go into another new fiscal year with a comprehensive fundraising plan. Get help from expert consultants who can guide your team along a clear pathway to revenue success.
Grant Training
The grant landscape has been drastically altered, and you’ve got whiplash from all of the changes and uncertainty. It’s increasingly competitive to secure a grant award, and funders are relying more heavily on invitation-only grantmaking processes. You’ve got a talented staff team that’s eager to learn and motivated to fundraise. They just need some education and support to gain the skills they need to research funders, build relationships with grant makers, and write eye-catching proposals that grant makers will find irresistible.
We’ve got your back. Our expert grant consultants will provide customized training sessions for your staff or members on grant seeking and post-award management. We’ll equip you with tips, best practices, and new ideas that help your team level up its grant-seeking game and make it easier and more fun to tackle your organization’s grant calendar.