Empowering nonprofits: Insights and inspiration for mission-driven leaders

Win the Grants Game with Three Plays for Program Staff

Who in your organization is responsible for getting grants? If development staff are the only players in the grant seeking process, it’s time to rethink your game. Grant seeking requires the whole team—including program staff—to achieve maximum success. Want to...

What Does Tax Reform Mean for Grant Funding?

Since sweeping changes to the federal tax code were signed into law in December, experts have speculated how they will influence how, when, and how much donors give to nonprofits in 2018 and beyond. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has called...

Hallmarks of Effective Grant Writing
Part 4: Write to Persuade

A grant proposal must not only inform but also inspire. It’s up to the writer of a proposal to persuade the reader that a project or organization rises above the competition and is worthy of funding. Persuasive grant writing begins...

Hallmarks of Effective Grant Writing
Part 3: Conveying the Core Compelling Idea

A successful grant proposal needs sufficient data and detail to be credible and complete. But while facts and figures are necessary to strengthen your proposal, they alone don’t win the grant. What can set your proposal apart is a clear,...

Hallmarks of Effective Grant Writing
Part 2: Be Clear

Under pressure to get past all the hurdles of preparing a grant proposal, what can sometimes fall short is the grant writer’s most important job of all: communicating ideas clearly. It’s frustrating to struggle through unclear writing. Consider the times you’ve...

Grants Plus Featured for NEO Success Award in Inside Business Magazine

Grants Plus was featured in the March/April 2014 edition of Inside Business Magazine when the firm received a 2014 NEO Success Award. President Lauren Steiner said of the honor: “All my clients are changing the world in some way. This...

Grants Plus interviewed on WCPN 90.3 The Sound of Ideas

President Lauren Steiner and Director of Client Engagement Dana Textoris were interviewed on WCPN 90.3 The Sound of Ideas (March 2, 2016) to discuss how creating a psychologically healthy workplace produces happier, healthier employees — and translates into higher-quality services for Grants...

Grants Plus featured in Crain’s Cleveland Business

Crain’s Cleveland Business featured Grants Plus and interviewed President Lauren Steiner for the firm’s track record helping nonprofit organizations across the country secure hard-to-raise grant dollars. “We are setting the standard for the sector when it comes to higher quality grant writing.”...

Grant Prospect Research

Four Truths About Grants that Board (and Staff!) Members Should Know

“Just get a grant!” Have you heard this before from a board member or senior staff leader? This statement—though well-intentioned—often suggests that the speaker may misunderstand the grant seeking process and assume getting a grant is easier said than done....

Hallmarks of Effective Grant Writing
Part 1: Tailoring the Proposal

There’s a saying in the world of grant seeking: “If you’ve met one funder, you’ve met one funder.” Part of what makes grant seeking challenging is that every funder wants something different. The essence of what they want is the same—what...

Federal Grant Writing, Grant Writing Support

Tips for Finding Grant Makers Most Likely to Fund Your Nonprofit

You just know it: there is grant funding out there for your nonprofit. The question is how to find it? The answer is by taking a strategic approach to identifying grant opportunities. We offer you these tips to efficiently and...

Federal Grant Writing, Grant Writing Support, Partner Plan

Five Reasons to Wait on Hiring a Grant Writer

This post by Grants Plus appeared on the Foundation Center’s Grantspace blog. I recently got a call from a board member of an organization with one paid staff person, less than a $200,000 operating budget, and no history of winning grants. This...