Grants Consultant

I’m a contract nonprofit grants consultant. I do some sub-contracting work for a small consultancy and manage a small client base of my own. I work with nonprofit organizations of all sizes to manage their grants portfolios, including organizing their calendar of deadlines, advising on strategy, collaborating on program design, developing budgets, and, of course, writing proposals and reports.

Writing is at the core of my work. In any given day or week, half or more of my time is dedicated to writing grant proposals and reports, funder updates, and occasionally ghostwriting emails for clients to send to program officers. My focus is primarily on foundation grants, though I occasionally take on a government grant. Within that, the writing ranges from very technical, with complex, multi-part questions requiring detailed explanations and the integration of multiple data points, to more creative narrative where the funder is seeking compelling client success stories that illustrate impact and create an emotional connection. 

I moved to the mountains in Colorado almost immediately following graduation and, for those first several years, worked in hospitality while taking on freelance writing gigs here and there. I found my way into nonprofit work through a communications internship at the Vail Symposium, where I later moved into a development and marketing role and, eventually, became the organization’s executive director. I stayed in the nonprofit sector and, over the last 16 years, have held both executive director and development director roles. In 2023, I realized I was happiest when I was focused on grants fundraising, and I was fortunate to be in a position where I could leave my staff role and start building a consulting practice.

I often think about how well the diversity of courses I took in pursuit of my degree prepared me for my career. I’ve used the skills I gained through those courses at different stages of my journey. Journalism classes prepared me for the freelance article writing I did early in my career, and that experience made me a stronger grant writer by forcing me to be direct and concise. I’ve drawn on design skills when promoting programs and fundraisers, and I still tap into the creative writing classes I took when sharing client stories in a way that honors their dignity while also appealing to donors. I feel lucky to be able to say I use my degree in my job every day—the older you get, you realize how rare that is!

Writing has been the throughline in my career, or is it my North Star? I’m still working out the metaphor there. But writing was my way into my career and has been part of every role I’ve stepped into since. In moments when I’ve become discontent in a role, it’s often because my focus has drifted too far away from writing. Time and again, I’ve found my way back to fulfillment by pivoting toward work that has writing at its core. 

So my advice is this: let writing—or whatever part of being a writing major calls to you most—be your North Star, and don’t be afraid to take or pursue opportunities as they arise, even if they don’t seem directly connected to writing (though I’ll say, strong writing benefits nearly every role). The worst that can happen is you realize you’ve drifted too far from your center and you redirect, having picked up new skills along the way.