Grant Writing & Funding

2020 Mash-Up 8 Tips on Freelance Grant Writing & Nonprofits Oh my goodness! This podcast was SO much fun to edit. I got to go through some of the MOST-listened podcasts of 2020 and grab some snacks for ya. That's right. I grabbed the gold of the good. This is caramel boutique popcorn for you to snack on. I pulled some excellent snippets to start off with nonprofit tips, then went into pricing and packaging for freelancers. But this episode is super unique because it's a historical archive of highlights from 2020. It showcases how we pivoted - and continue to pivot - in our nonprofit and grant world.  See who is featured! Jenni Hargrove: Jenni Hargrove is a Charitable Marketing Coach and hosts a podcast for nonprofit leaders called the Nonprofit Jenni Show. With a background in market research and corporate philanthropy, Jenni loves training nonprofit leaders in best practices for building a robust Marketing and Fundraising Strategy. Angela Braren of Instrumentl: Writing, winning & awarding grant

What is your new year's resolution for your nonprofit? "This is the time not to drink, but to think." Dr. Beverly Browning The first thing on your list should be (before you even file for a nonprofit) in your state should be to learn the entire process from start-up to sustainability. If you have the right board of directors, a strategic plan, a financial outline, and the right branding, then you can do this! (Join the Nonprofit Start-Up Academy if you want this entire system) But let's face it, 2021 has changed the priorities and funding systems for many nonprofits. So it is time to make a new resolution for your nonprofit! 1) Reflect on what is most important in how your nonprofit will operate 2) Are there new goals for your nonprofit (include your board of directors!) 3) Writing your values down and seeing if they fit in your mission and vision statements 4) Do you need to create new projects or programs? These questions will help you define what your nonprofit's New Year's Resolutions should be!

✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to sign up for the Nonprofit Start-Up Academy ✨✨ OMG. Branding is important and here to stay. Yes, even for nonprofit organizations. But Holly, I don't have a budget for my programs how do I fund a swanky website or social media posts? Don't you know we are living off peanuts here? Okay, the second question there is worth another podcast all on its own. For reals. We gotta pull up a seat for that one. The first question, though, here is your answer. You don't need a big budget for branding. Sometimes it's as simple as having business cards for your staff. But let's be real, it's almost 2021 (or maybe your reading this in 2021 and beyond), and you need a website. Not just a Facebook page. Not just an Instagram account. You need a website and there are a lot of very affordable and user-friendly options out there. It can be overwhelming, though. So that's why Dr. Beverly Browning and I put together this podcast so that you would get a crash course on some great tips

Is your nonprofit struggling financially? Do you only get grants or only do fundraising for your nonprofit? If you nodded your head to either of these questions and if you are a nonprofit board director, executive director, or even a freelance grant writer looking to expand your services, then this podcast is for you. But first, guess who is back on the Grant Writing & Funding podcast with me this week? Dr. Beverly Browning! Woot-woot! In this podcast, we discover diverse funding streams for your nonprofit, and we discuss the following: ✔️ How your board of directors can contribute financially ✔️ Why your start-up nonprofit should do monthly fundraisers and how it doesn't have to be hard ✔️ Why it's critical your nonprofit is on Guidestar.org How you can get money to start a nonprofit ✔️ How you can raise $40,000+ in more than a year ✔️ What your funding should consist of (it's not all grants) ✔️ Why social media is intertwined with funding opportunities If you are looking to improve your nonprofit's

Don't know where to start with strategic planning? This week, I have Dr. Beverly Browning back on the show with me as we give you tips to stop chasing the money, but to actually develop a strategic plan for 2021. ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https

Welcome to the December Nonprofit Series! Dr. Beverly Browning will be my co-host throughout the entire month! Eek! In this week's podcast, we cover the Red Flags in starting or growing a nonprofit! Make sure to visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com/147 for more info! Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

GivingTuesday is a global movement that began in 2012, and (wowza!) has it gained momentum. This was originally a day to create a movement from shopping to giving and has been very focused on nonprofit organizations.  Who is this important for: ✔️ If you are a nonprofit leader ✔️ If you are a freelance grant writer of nonprofit consultant Why is this day important? ✔️ You can gain buzz about the nonprofit ✔️ You can get donations and funding on this day ✔️ You can kick off a nonprofit end-of-year campaign ✔️ (Freelancer) You can earn an additional stream of income by making this a service you help nonprofits with Listen to the podcast to get 6 tips to help you join in on this international movement :) Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with yo

This year is definitely a bit different when thinking for end of year fundraising. Let's be real.  But not doing fundraisers may not be an option (and shouldn't be) for your nonprofit, or the nonprofits that you serve.  Let's be real. People still want to give to your nonprofit. And some people may have some extra cash this year as they aren't traveling and doing all the normal holiday things. Other people may even realize the impact your nonprofit really has in the community and understand that you haven't been getting the funding you normally do. Therefore, I encourage you to do your fundraising events. But I also realize that you may not be able to do the good ole brick n' mortar (or live) ones that you usually do. So here are some great ideas for nonprofits to do some virtual fundraisers over this Thanksgiving or over the holidays in 2020 and beyond. 1. Build Relationships - Thank Your Current Donors Before you start asking for money, you want to make sure you first have given thanks. This is your ti

Has your nonprofit, or the nonprofits you work with, received any CARES Act Funding? If not, you will want to listen to this full podcast! This week Mr. Tim Butler comes on the Grant Writing & Funding Podcast to discuss how your nonprofit can tap into CARES Act Funding before this round is gone. Yes, certain stipulations have been made so that states and cities distribute their portion of CARES Act funding by a certain time. In some cases, it's as soon as November 15th, 2020. However, there will be some extensions, but it's better to jump in on this now rather than later. About Tim Butler: Long have the disparities in America existed between the haves and have nots. But Tim is here to close the gap and shrink that great divide. Tim Butler, Founder & Owner of Freelance Soul Professional Services, an unapologetically black male-owned grant writing and fundraising consulting firm. Headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Historic Black Wall Street), Tim specializes in working with individuals and entities f

Oh yes. Those pesky grant writing qualms.  Here are the top questions that I get.  #1: How Do You Get Funding From Grants for General Operating Expenses? You can get funding for general operating expenses through 3 ways: Pursue specific grants that target general operating  Include a certain percentage of your general operating expenses within the direct categories of a grant project budget Include up to 10% of the grant amount in the indirect category in a grant budget #2: As a non-US grant seeker, is there funding available? Yes! There is absolutely funding available! You can get that through the following: There are certain U.S. federal grants that give specifically to nonprofits (both U.S. organizations based abroad and to non-U.S. nonprofits) Certain foundations give out money to nonprofits around the world (think Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation) There are many international funding sources, such as EU organizations, UN organizations, foundations, Canadian funding, etc. #3: Do you recommend

Anytime you’re trying to find the best-fit grants, it can be hard. Because in the beginning, everything’s new.  Things like figuring out the best grant search platform, knowing which grant programs are the best-fit, and knowing when to submit grant applications can be overwhelming. And you can see that as you grow, you come up against new challenges. Even if you have experience with grant writing already, you’re always looking for the 80/20.  You don’t have time to waste, so you want to find the 20% that’s going to produce 80% of the results. Well to know that you need to know what types of grants are out there. And there are 3 types of grants: ✔️ Federal ✔️ State Grants ✔️ Foundation We discuss all of these in the podcast today! ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I r

In last week’s podcast, we talked about a process for creating award-winning grant applications. I shared how this is going to immediately help you simplify grant lingo, so you feel less overwhelmed in Episode 140: Grant Language Made Easy. So let’s get into the meat and potatoes of today’s video starting with these 5 Hacks to Write a Grant Proposal. Okay, so when starting to write a grant application the first thing you need to do is: #1) Get the Funding Opportunity Announcement or Request for Proposal I never start with a blank page because I copy and paste what it is in the FOA for the criteria directly into my Word document or Google doc. #2) Research the Needs To create a compelling case for a grant application, you need to provide statistics and facts. A flowery statement about how awful the situation might get some tears, but it will not get grants won. #3) Articulate the Goals & Narrow Your Objectives The goal or goals in a grant is the overarching outcome. This needs to be clear for b

As you may or may not know acronyms are grants best-friends. If you’ve heard the terms FOA, RFP, SAM, DUNS, or a number of other terms, then you are in the grant world. I once heard a grant writer speak an entire sentence using only acronyms. Ugh! If you are overwhelmed already, don’t worry, I’m going to start breaking it down right now! Let’s first dissect the main different types of grants and contracts. There are federal grants, state contracts, and foundation grants. Think of those like your three main hubs. Federal grants are monies allocated from the federal government. State and local government contracts often receive much of their funding from the federal government as they can promote economic efficiency due to localized knowledge to implement a program more efficiently and effectively than the federal government (i.e., pass-through funding). A foundation grant is a monetary assistance provided to individuals and small businesses by companies, citizens, government, and non-government orga

✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ Navigating the road of freelance grant writing can feel lonely and overwhelming at times.  That's why I was so excited when Tawanda Ellis reached out to me via a mutual friend, Dr. Beveraly Browning. I was inspired to hear about Tawanda's roadmap and success as a freelancer. Honestly, the people who follow a roadmap normally do end up in the same place of success as Tawanda. But the type of person who commits to this is few and far between. That's why I get so excited when talking to other freelance grant writers who have built a business out of their house and from their talents.  This lady has done precisely that, and I know you will be just as encouraged and inspired as I was! Plus, you can download Tawanda's downloadable, the "Write it Out Method." In this podcast and YouTube episode, we discuss: ✔️ How Tawanda got 25+ clients in less than 3 years with only word-of-mouth advertising ✔️ How she s

✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ In this week's podcast, I have special guests, Shinedelight Enterprises! This is definitely for you if: ✨ You want your nonprofit to be ADA compliant ✨ You want more donors through digital marketing What we discuss: ✔️ Simple Tech Solutions to be ADA Compliant Online ✔️ How to Conduct Digital Marketing ✔️ Simple (and free) Online Hacks for Marketing ✔️ Ways to Attract Donors in 2020 ✔️ Case Studies on Nonprofit Digital Marketing Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-07

✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com/137 to join the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course ✨✨ There always comes a time when starting a business that stumps people. Creating the best name for your grant writing business is one of those times. Sometimes it completely throws people off the tracks that they never get back on and actually start their business. Don’t let this stop you! To help you navigate this process I have identified three different ways (and the pros and cons) to help you find the best name for you grant writing business. Using Your Name Pros:  It is more personalized  If you have a unique name it won’t be taken!  It works for the 80% connection of social media (I am commenting on other people’s post, not a business name).  It is easier to get started (you don’t need to spend months trying to figure it out) Cons:  If you have a common name, you will need to add a little more in, i.e. “Holly Rustick Grant Writing Consultancy”  If your name changes (get married, divorced, etc.) the

This episode is for you, if: ● You are tired of getting in your own way ● You are not confident in submitting a grant application ● You are not confident in securing nonprofit clients or partnerships What you will learn, is: ● You will gain confidence in approaching clients or funding sources ● You will learn how to believe in yourself in your business or nonprofit ● You will become the person you want to be What is impostor syndrome? You may have heard this term kicked around on social media, podcasts, books, and more. But it is real. According to Very Well Mind, Impostor syndrome is defined as “the experience of feeling like a phony—you feel as though at any moment you are going to be found out as a fraud—like you don't belong where you are, and you only got there through dumb luck.” Learn the five different types of impostor syndrome and how to overcome them in your nonprofit or freelance grant writing biz in this podcast! Check out www.grantwritingandfunding.com/136 for more info! If you have any qu

Have you ever known deep in your gut what your dream is, but you aren’t currently living in it? Or maybe you commit to living your dream but don’t even know where to start. If you could sit down and have coffee with someone who turned $1,000 into $15,000 during the pandemic while helping others and working less, then would you? Because today we are doing just that as we listen to how Dr. Omotola Akinsola as she shares all her secrets and how she overcame challenges. But even if you are not looking to open a freelance grant writing biz, and you run a nonprofit, you will also want to catch this as she is going to spill all in how she has also continued to grow a thriving nonprofit after doing a needs assessment. Due to that, her nonprofit has served more than 8,000 students and teachers in Nigeria. This episode is definitely for you if: ✔️ You want to start or grow a nonprofit ✔️ You want to turn leads from being those that ghost you into high paying customers ✔️ You are a parent and need to balance runnin

*Sign up for the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course Waitlist and get a Bonus Downloadable today: www.grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance.* In this podcast you will learn how to get clear on who you want to serve as a freelance grant writer or nonprofit consultant, as well as what types of grants are best suited to you to write. This is super important as serving all nonprofits isn’t always the best place to start. Why not? Well, it is hard to really market specifically, cultivate clients, and get experience and expertise in a certain field. You may have heard that creating an avatar or ideal client is important in any business. That’s true – even in this business. You want to know what types of nonprofits you enjoy serving otherwise you might either take on clients that drive you crazy or have a hard time getting any clients because your message is too large. • If you just don’t even know how to market, or • wonder why your clients drive you crazy and end up being WAY too much work, or • just

Have you ever dreamed of becoming a freelance grant writer, but don't know where to start? Or maybe you opened your business awhile ago but have hit a plateau.  In either case, this podcast discusses the fundamentals of growing a freelance grant writer business. Yes, there are some fundamentals and if you skip these you are going to struggle. Big time. And the thing is, you won't know why. You will just feel like you are never focused and always doing. You will get stuck in the hamster wheel syndrome. So this podcast is breaking it down! Big time.  This week, we will go over the top 3 fundamentals and next week we will go over 2 more fundamentals.  If you want more of this, be sure to sign up to the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course Waitlist to get the accompanying downloadable: Freelance Grant Writer 5 Actions Steps to Make It Real. Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com/133. I only open the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course 1 to 2 times per year, so get on the waitlist to start on September 7