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How to Use Retainers in Your Consulting Business
“I have a nonprofit client who isn’t using all my consulting retainer hours, but they’re still paying me. What should I do?” Getting paid simply to be on-call sounds like a dream for many nonprofit consultants. Earning more while doing less? Most of us would...
What Are Matching Grants – and How to Create the Match
For those of you new to grant writing, guidelines vary from donor-to-donor and agency-to-agency. As grant writers often say, “If you have seen one application, you have seen one application.” Keep this in mind as you read through guidelines.
How to Write a Great Grant Report
Do you ever wonder if anyone at a foundation actually reads your grant reports? If so, you are not alone. Let’s be honest: writing a grant report can be time-consuming, frustrating, and stressful. But grant reporting is also incredibly important. So, let’s talk...
Unsolicited Proposals and Pre-Selected Orgs
We get a lot of questions about how organizations could access private foundations that operate on a “by invitation only” funding model. It is quite common for private/family foundations to pre-select organizations they are interested in supporting.
Rejected: What to Do if Your Grant Proposal is Denied
You just received a grant rejection letter. Ouch! You found a great foundation prospect and did your due diligence. You even asked all the right questions to make sure your organization was a good fit. But still, your proposal was turned down. And with a...
Managing Client Personalities
I have had tough calls and meetings with clients over the years. Our personalities and communication styles clash sometimes. Sometimes, it's what we say or how we say it. Sometimes, it's the examples we use, how fast or slow we speak, the questions we ask, or...
How to Communicate with Foundations: Clarifying Questions for Grant Fundraising
Recently, we’ve been sharing our best tips for how to find well-suited grant prospects for your organization. But what do you do once you’ve got a list of incredible foundation prospects? Step one is outreach. When connecting with new potential funders, you...
How to Balance Business and Wellness
"I have so much to do. There is never enough time!" This was how I felt nearly every day in my early years of nonprofit consulting. I was working what seemed like endless hours to make my business as successful as possible. I took on every client that came my...
Starting a Newsletter as a Consultant
"You should start a newsletter for your consulting business." As a nonprofit consultant, you’ve probably heard this advice more times than you can count. If you're considering how to market your upcoming or existing business, you might be tossing around the...
Working Efficiently with Hybrid or Remote Teams
There are so many benefits to embracing a hybrid or remote workplace. It can make life easier for parents and people with disabilities. It can improve work-life balance, freeing up time from commuting to focus on health, family, or other personal priorities....
Comparing Grant Research Databases
There are lots of articles out there comparing grant research databases, but most are just lists of features. They don't tell you how different tools stack up with hands-on use. Which databases are easy to navigate? Which ones are clunky? Which ones save you...
Time-Saving Tools You Need Today
As leaders, our most valuable asset is our time. Yet too often, we give our time away to unimportant tasks. Endless meetings. Constant interruptions. Hours wasted troubleshooting IT problems because our organization doesn’t have the budget to hire real support....
Finding Your Consulting Niche
Have you found your consulting niche yet? Many nonprofit consultants start with a general desire to support the nonprofit sector and a wide range of potential services they could provide. They have experience with fundraising, program development, strategy,...
Getting More Out of Your Grant Funding
When it comes to sustainability, some grants are better than others. Usually, your first grant from a foundation will be a one-year project grant. These grants fund very specific activities and often have limited overhead rates. This means most of the funds go...
How to Read and Use 990s in Grant Research
Before you get worried that you are going to have to pay a fee or get a subscription to starting incorporating 990s into your research process, you can access 990s for free online.
Get Inspired: 7 Great Books for Nonprofit Consultants
Here at Funding for Good we are big readers. So we've rounded up seven great books for nonprofit consultants. Get ready to get inspired! 1) Books that change how you think about MONEY Our first book recommendation comes from attendees of our 2023...
How to Answer Grant Questions About Funding Sustainability
If you’ve ever written a grant, you’ve likely encountered the dreaded “sustainability question.” How will you sustain this work after the grant term? Well-intentioned funders are looking to be sure the programs they invest in will continue after they write a...
Cost-effective Strategies for Business Growth
When it comes to achieving your business goals, research shows that business coaching is one of the best investments you can make. Studies have shown that for every $1 you invest in coaching you gain $5 back in value. But coaching comes in many different...
Which Business Investments Get Results?
We know investing in our goals works. But which investments will help us achieve our business goals—and even pay us back for the money spent? To find out, we decided to do a little research on the return on investment (ROI) for different types of business...
Considerations When Hiring a Grant Writer
If you’re a nonprofit leader, finding a great grant writer is like winning the lottery. These grant writers transform your organization’s programs into written materials that move donors to write your organization a check. All while freeing up your time to...
Achieving Your Business Goals – Research-Backed Strategies
Congratulations, you’ve set business goals that are simultaneously challenging, achievable, and motivating! Now, do you have a plan to achieve those goals? Too often, we set goals, but our follow-through stops there. That’s one reason why up to 80% of New...
