Grant & Proposal Development

Build the case before polishing the prose.

I help nonprofit and community organizations turn a real project into a clear, evidence-based application: funder fit, need, objectives, activities, outcomes, supporting evidence and a coherent narrative.

What I can support

  • Funding-opportunity and background research
  • Application planning and proposal development
  • Needs and problem statements
  • Program and project descriptions
  • Objectives, outcomes and impact language
  • Evidence integration and source review
  • Supporting-document review
  • Revision of existing applications
  • Final review for clarity, consistency and responsiveness

How I approach grant work

A strong application is a constrained research and writing problem. It has to respond to the funder’s criteria, make a credible case for the proposed work, and remain internally consistent from the statement of need through activities, outcomes and supporting evidence.

I begin with the funder requirements and the organization’s existing material, then identify what is strong, what is missing, what needs research, and what the application can responsibly claim. I do not invent evidence, partnerships, outcomes, budgets or organizational history to make an application sound stronger.

Grant work is accepted only where the funding program and jurisdiction fit my competence and where there is enough organizational information to support a credible application.

Professional fees are for the work performed. They are never contingent on whether funding is awarded, and I do not accept in-kind compensation.
Working process

From source material to a funder-ready document.

The scope depends on what already exists. Some organizations need a careful revision of a nearly complete application; others need research, project framing and development from an earlier stage.

1. Scope & funder fit

Review the opportunity, eligibility, evaluation criteria, deadline, existing organizational material and the actual work being proposed.

2. Build the case

Develop the needs rationale, project logic, objectives, activities and supporting evidence so the application answers the funder’s questions rather than merely describing the organization.

3. Draft & integrate

Shape the material into a coherent application, reconcile inconsistencies, identify gaps and ensure the narrative reflects the evidence and the project as it can actually be delivered.

4. Final review

Check clarity, responsiveness, internal consistency, required components and submission readiness. New questions or major changes in scope are treated as new work rather than hidden inside revisions.

Documented example

Community-based nonprofit proposal development.

Historical client and organizational materials are used here to demonstrate experience, not as public downloadable grant samples.

White Pony Lodge Inc. · 2018

kis kow tame Safe Spaces Project

Proposal work connected to Victims and Survivors of Crime Week. The application framed White Pony Lodge’s mandate and community context, established the need for the project, described a public-resource website and community roundtable, identified intended beneficiaries, and translated the project into defined objectives and future strategic-planning work.

This is the kind of proposal work I am prepared to do now: understand the project, organize the evidence, make the rationale explicit, and turn a large amount of organizational and community information into a focused application.

CRIAW · Collaborative Proposal Development

Restorative Justice: A Toolkit for Gender and Trauma-Informed Principles, Policies, and Procedures

As a research assistant, I was a significant contributor to development of this multi-year proposal. CRIAW was the lead applicant. The proposal developed a victim-centred restorative-justice toolkit, identified project components and partnerships, and set out a staged three-year implementation plan.

This was collaborative proposal work rather than sole authorship, and it is presented here on that basis.

Related experience

Proposal development and work inside grant-funded environments.

SSHRC Insight Development Grant · University of Regina · 2015

Doctoral research-assistant work within a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council funded project, including contribution to a peer-reviewed paper, case study and conference abstract, together with review and editing of a conference paper for submission.

Why that experience matters

Grant-funded projects do not end when an application is approved. Research, writing, reporting, publication and knowledge-mobilization work must remain connected to the project purpose and deliverables. My experience includes working on that funded-project side as well as nonprofit proposal development.

Budget development

Available by prior agreement.

I can assist with project-budget structure, staffing scenarios, eligible in-kind contributions, cost allocation, and alignment between the financial and narrative portions of an application.

Because grant budgets often depend on funder-specific rules and internal decisions about staffing, volunteer contributions, in-kind valuation, and organizational priorities, budget development is separately scoped and requires a designated client decision-maker.

Repeated revisions arising from changing or unresolved internal allocations are additional work. I can model options and translate approved assumptions into a coherent budget; the organization remains responsible for deciding which assumptions and allocations it authorizes for submission.

Engagement structure

Defined work. Defined payment.

Smaller assignments are generally prepaid. Larger or multi-stage proposals use agreed progress payments tied to clear milestones. Budget determines scope—not the value of the work.

Defined application

A particular funding opportunity with known requirements and a defined deliverable can often be quoted as a fixed-fee project.

Research-intensive proposal

Applications requiring substantial background research, project development or multiple components may be divided into prepaid stages with explicit boundaries at each step.

Planning a funding application?

Send the funder information, deadline, existing materials, your available project budget and a short description of the proposed program or project. I will tell you whether the work fits my practice and what scope is realistically achievable.

Discuss a grant project
See pricing & engagement options