Grant Strategy & Management
Your grants program, handled.
Senior-level expertise for proposal writing, funder research, grants strategy, or full program management.
65%
of our clients' proposals are funded
National average: 17%
$68.85
raised for every $1 invested in grant proposal development
2014
founded to serve nonprofits across Arkansas and nationwide
Grant work doesn't have to feel this way.
The deadline is in two weeks, and no one has time to write the proposal. Your grants person just gave notice...again. You know you need a grants program, but no one on staff actually understands grants.You're applying to funders and not hearing back, and you don't know why. Grants feel like a black box. You put proposals in and hope something comes out.
If any of that sounds familiar, you're not alone. These are the most common reasons organizations come to us, and every single one is solvable.
The problem usually isn't that your organization isn't fundable.
It's that grants work requires specific expertise that most nonprofits don't have in-house and can't afford to hire at the level they actually need.
That's where we come in.
Reality check:
What grants won't do
Before we talk about what we can help you accomplish, we want to be straight with you about what grants can and can't do — because a lot of organizations come to us with expectations that set them up for frustration.
❌ Grants won't fix a budget shortfall. Funders invest in strong programs, not financial emergencies. If you're in crisis mode, we'll tell you and help you think through what will actually help.
❌ There isn't money just waiting for you to apply for it. Grant funding is competitive. The organizations that win consistently are the ones with strong programs, clear outcomes, and a strategic approach to which funders they pursue.
❌ No one can guarantee a grant will be funded. Anyone who promises you a certain number of awards is not being straight with you. What we can promise is that we'll tell you honestly when an opportunity is a good fit and when it isn't.
❌ Writing is actually the smallest part of grants work. Strategy, funder research, relationship building, budget development, outcome tracking — these are what make or break a grants program. That's where our expertise lives.
Three ways to work with us on grants
Most organizations start with one of these and grow from there. All three are built around the same commitment: senior-level expertise, honest guidance, and a grants program that actually works.
Mobile Grants Office
Your outsourced grants department.
WHAT THIS IS
Our retainer clients essentially hand their grants program to us.
We handle everything: research, strategy, proposal writing, reporting, and funder stewardship, while keeping your team informed and involved at every step. For many organizations, this is more cost-effective than hiring a senior grants professional, and it eliminates the vulnerability that comes with staff turnover.
In several of our long-term client organizations, we are the longest-tenured members of their development team.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
-Full grants calendar management
-Funder research & opportunity identification
-Proposal writing & submission (including funder portals)
-Grant report preparation
-Funder stewardship strategy
-Budget development
-Grants strategy as part of overall fundraising plan
-Internal team coordination & training
Engagement length
12-month contracts, renewed annually.
Grant Prospect Research
Know which funders are worth your time.
WHAT THIS IS
Before you write a single word of a proposal, you need to know who you're writing to and why they're a good fit.
Our research reports give you a comprehensive picture of the funding landscape for your organization, so you're pursuing the right opportunities, not just the ones that show up in a Google search.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
-Identification of good-fit funders
-Contact information & deadlines
-Focus areas, restrictions & geographic scope
-Previous giving history
-Demographic funding priorities
-Recommended cultivation strategy for each funder
Engagement length
Approximately one month. Research reports are often the entry point for our longer-term work together.
Ad Hoc Proposal Writing
Expert help when you need it.
Note: Federal grants are a specialty. If your staff is experienced with foundation grants but unfamiliar with federal funding, this is a particularly high-value engagement — federal and foundation grants are very different animals, and the expertise required is not the same.
WHAT THIS IS
Sometimes you just need someone to write a proposal or two.
Whether your grants person is on leave, you've had unexpected turnover, you're facing a deadline crunch, or you have a major federal opportunity that's beyond your current staff's experience, we can step in and handle it.
No long-term contract required.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
-Complete proposal preparation
-Budget development & narrative
-All attachments & supplemental materials
-Funder portal submission
-Grant report preparation (available as add-on)
Engagement length
ypically one month per proposal. Federal grant proposals may vary.
When it comes to writing grants, it matters who you hire.
Anyone can call themselves a grant writer. "Grant writer" is an unregulated title. There are no requirements, no credentials, no code of ethics anyone has to follow to use it. Which means the range of quality and expertise in this field is enormous — and the stakes of hiring the wrong firm are real.
Credentials that mean something.
Our team includes Grant Professional Certified (GPC) consultants — among the few in Arkansas with this specialized credential — as well as CFRE-certified fundraising professionals. These aren't honorary titles. They require demonstrated expertise, continuing education, and adherence to a professional code of ethics.
We are industry
leaders.
Our team has held leadership positions at the Grant Professionals Association at both the state and national level. We don't just follow best practices — we help set them.
We never work on
commission.
Contingency-based fees — where a consultant takes a percentage of grant awards — are considered unethical by the Grant Professionals Association and illegal in federal grants. We work on a flat fee basis, always. Our compensation is never included in a grant budget.
We see the
whole picture.
Most grants firms only do grants. Because we are fundraising experts across all areas of development, we can help you understand how grants fit into your overall fundraising strategy.
Building more — in every direction.
Beyond proposals funded and dollars raised, here's what we consistently see shift in the organizations we work with long-term.
More Money
Stronger fundraising across the board
A well-run grants program raises all fundraising ships. Case statements get repurposed for major gift asks. Program budgets open doors to corporate funders. Outcome data strengthens every ask you make.
More Capacity
A more capable team
We teach, not just do. Everyone we work with becomes a more knowledgeable fundraiser in grant seeking, funder relations, project management, budgeting, and program evaluation
More Strategy
Systems that last
Communication practices between programs and development, outcome tracking strategies, and frameworks for deciding which funders to pursue are long-term systems that make a grants program sustainable long after any single proposal is submitted.
More Time
Experience less stress
Our clients stop dreading their grants program and start trusting that it's handled without adding more to their plate. This is one of the most important outcomes we deliver.
FAQs
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Most grant writers write. We strategize, research, build relationships, manage deadlines, develop budgets, train your team, and write — and we do all of it with credentials most grant writers don't have. Our team includes Grant Professional Certified (GPC) and CFRE-certified professionals bound to a code of ethics.
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No — and anyone who tells you they can isn't being straight with you. What we can promise is that we'll tell you honestly when an opportunity is a good fit and when it isn't, that we'll put our best work into every proposal we write, and that our track record speaks for itself.
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All sizes. One of the things that sets us apart is that we specifically understand how small and mid-sized nonprofits can get the best ROI with limited resources.
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It depends on where you're starting. If you don't yet have relationships with funders, you're building from scratch, and funders typically want to see an organization before they fund it. A realistic timeline for a new grants program is 12-18 months before you start seeing consistent results.
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We work alongside in-house staff all the time. Some organizations bring us in to handle overflow when deadlines pile up. Others have a development director who's strong in major gifts or annual giving but less experienced in grants — we complement what they already do well. And some organizations use us specifically for federal grants, which require a different expertise than foundation grants. We're not here to replace your team. We're here to fill the gaps.
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This is actually one of our favorite questions — and one most grants firms can't answer because they only do grants. Grants should be one piece of a diversified funding strategy, not the whole picture. Part of what we do is help you figure out what parts of your budget are most "grant fundable" and what should be funded through other means. Over-dependence on grants is a real vulnerability, and we'll tell you when we see it.
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Yes — and federal grants are a specialty worth calling out specifically, because they are genuinely different from foundation grants. The application process, compliance requirements, reporting structure, and review criteria are all distinct. A staff member who is experienced and successful with foundation grants may have very little federal experience, and that gap can be costly. If you have a federal opportunity on your radar, that's a conversation worth having sooner rather than later.
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Never. Contingency-based fees — where a consultant's pay depends on whether a grant is funded — are considered unethical by the Grant Professionals Association and illegal in federal grants. We work on a flat fee basis, always. Our compensation is never included in a proposed grant budget.
Ready to take grants off your plate?
Let's start with a conversation about where your grants program is right now and what it could look like. No pressure, no jargon — just an honest look at what would actually help.