Grant Writing & Funding

How are other nonprofits making money? Can nonprofits even do that? Yes! You are still a business, there are just key differences for nonprofit organizations and what you do with earned income. ✨✨ 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 iT...

No matter how well you plan your fundraising event, things can still go wrong. A sudden storm, a keynote speaker canceling last minute, or even a power outage—these unexpected disruptions can quickly derail your event if you’re not prepared. That’s why having a contingency plan isn’t optional—it’s essential. In this episode, we dive into how to proactively plan for the unexpected so your event can...

Values are a critical part of your nonprofit organization. Knowing your organization's values is important in decision making, interactions and implementing programs and projects. This often overlooked component has powerful influence on the culture of your nonprofit! ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ Favor, please? If you...

While running your nonprofit, you may find yourself in a bit of a pickle. You know you need support. You’d love to hire a consultant to write your grants, run your crowdfunding campaigns, develop donors, or lead your next big fundraiser—but the reality is, you just don’t have the budget to bring in those experts. So what do you do? In this episode, we explore a powerful (and often overlooked) solu...

Are you Frustrating your Volunteers? Here are 8 Ways to Recruit and Retain Volunteers for your Nonprofit. Volunteers can provide help, support, and manpower for nonprofits. However, does your nonprofit have the necessary processes in place to take full of advantage of your volunteers? Many nonprofits I have come across understand the importance of volunteers and even WANT more volunteers, but unfo...

Seven steps to help guide the review of foundations and grant guidelines. Be sure the foundation and your organization are aligned before you pursue funding opportunities. 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...

Writing a grant proposal can feel overwhelming. It can be the looming monster in the back of your mind because you know a deadline is coming up, but you just can’t seem to make the time to sit down, read over the application guidelines and start writing. 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...

Volunteers CANNOT be given a tax-deduction based on their hours, but they CAN be given a tax-deduction on a number of other items, such as travel expenses, uniforms, donates supplies etc. as long as the nonprofit is a registered IRS Tax-exempt 501(c)3. 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 fi...

In this episode, Holly Rustick dives into what to do when your workload feels overwhelming and grant writing keeps getting pushed to the bottom of your to-do list. If you’ve ever felt buried under endless tasks, overcommitted by saying “yes” too often, or struggled to find enough time in the day, this episode is for you.  Holly shares practical strategies to manage your time more effectively, set...

You are developing a really cool solution to a problem or providing a service/product that can benefit others, but the thing is you are a for-profit. You want to help others, but you also need cash to run this part of your business. You aren’t sure if you can get grants for your idea/product/service as you have been getting mixed messages from those around you. ABOUT HOLLY RUSTICK Grant Writing &a...

Here is the thing. It takes focus to write a grant. But the real thing that it takes is a project. If you do not have a specific project that you know you need funding for, then it’s like trying to paint a picture with rocks. It will be sloppy, awkward, and unprofessional. The grant reviewers will know that you are just trying to make something work and are trying to fit a square into a circle. Fa...

Did you know that you can make money while becoming a better grant writer? What?! Yes, indeed. You can also learn about the federal grant process and meet other specialists. How? By becoming a federal grant reviewer. Check out this podcast on how to 10x your grant writing skills while getting PAID to be a federal grant peer reviewer. Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me...

Is your nonprofit including an indirect cost rate in your budget and grant applications? Did you know you can have a maximum 10% indirect cost rate according to federal regulations? Learn why your organization should include this line item to your budget. 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...

You’ve put your heart and soul into it. You may have lost sleep. You definitely missed the latest Breaking Bad episode. Or you paid a grant writer a hefty sum. For all of that, what you got was a mass email that started with the lines, “We regret to inform you…” Your heart plunges and you decide to write off grants for the rest of the year… or for the rest of your life. You might have at some poin...

Have you been stuck when it comes to writing grants? Leone Williams-Rohr shares her secret weapon of Mind Mapping for your Nonprofit grant writing. Leone is the executive director of a nonprofit, Parents Empowering Parents of Children with Disabilities (PEP) and is CEO of Crafting My Powerful Life. Leone is the executive director of a nonprofit, Parents Empowering Parents of Children with Disabili...

Are you getting funding for your nonprofit or project? Yay! That’s amazing! Just don’t forget to give thanks to the funders and donors who are supporting your project. In this episode, Holly shares 15 Creative Ideas to say Thank You to Funders. Are you racking your brain trying to find cost-effective ways to say, "Thank you"? Or, worse yet, did you totally forget to thank those foundations or corp...

Are you struggling to secure foundation grants, facing constant rejections, or unsure where to even begin your search? In this episode, Holly Rustick breaks down how to use GuideStar.org as a powerful and accessible resource to find the best-fit foundations for your nonprofit projects. She walks you through four key elements to look for when researching funders so you can stop wasting time on poor...

Do you know the difference between a grant and a contract? And more importantly—are you leveraging contracts as a funding stream for your nonprofit? In this episode, we break down the key differences between grants and contracts, and why contracts can be an incredibly powerful (and often overlooked) way to fund your organization—especially when it comes to covering operational costs. We dive into...

Have you been seeing a flood of emails asking you to “opt in” or confirm your subscription? That’s not a coincidence—it’s because of GDPR. In this episode, we break down what GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) actually is, why it doesn’t just affect organizations in the EU, and what it means for nonprofits and grant writing consultants around the world. Even if you’re not based in Europe, G...

Ready for a crash course in federal grants?  If you’ve ever opened up Grants.gov and immediately felt overwhelmed—you’re not alone. And if you’ve been searching for grant writing tips that actually help you move toward an awarded grant, this episode is exactly what you need. In this episode, we break down how to navigate federal grant announcements in a way that’s clear and manageable. You’ll lear...

We made it. Grants.gov. For those of you who have been following this podcast series on How to Find Grants , you are probably ready to dive in and start finding grants. We ain’t quite ready, yet, though. Believe you, me, it’s all about getting SET up and understanding the layout of the grant world before you dive in and get overwhelmed. You may have been using Grants.gov for years, but have only e...

Grants.gov is the haven for federal grants. Are you registered? Need some tips on all the "pre" enrollments, such as EIN, DUNS, and SAM to then be able to register on Grants.gov. Check out this short podcast on the process and go to www.grantwritingandfunding.com to see the short video on how to apply on Grants.gov and getting the new templates for SAM notarization. Favor, please? If you love this...

“Obscurity is a bigger problem than money,” quotes Grant Cardone and this could not be truer when it comes to finding grant funding sources. If these funding sources are hidden away in some obscure world to your nonprofit, then this becomes the main root of not having any grant money. If you cannot find the sources that hold the money, then you will never be able to tap into the funding. Thanks so...

To find grants, it is first important to understand what they are and what they are not. Let’s start with what they are not. Let me say this very clearly. 1) Grants are NOT free money. I mean, sure if you handle them correctly it is money given to you that you do not have to pay back. Holly, how is that not free money? Well, because you have to spend the money on what you said you were going to sp...

First you will want to know what the needs are (through the Needs & Strengths Assessment), identify potential projects, and then evaluate those projects and refine your objectives. Don’t get scared by the term “Data Management Plan” which sounds super academic. Basically what this means is that you need to show: Why you are getting information? What are your project goal(s) What are your objec...