Our team is focused on supporting the philanthropic priorities of your organization and stand ready to help you:
create a strategic plan to fulfill your vital mission
find fundraising professionals to join your team
research potential funders & build a customized grant program
conduct a feasibility study
evaluate prospects for major and planned gifts
implement a comprehensive capital campaign
We provide a number of services to the non-profit world, including:
Strategic Planning
Strategic Planning enables organizations to move forward with an intentional purpose and on a definitive path. As the saying goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” We will help take you to your intended destination. Our consultants will assist your organization in determining your mission, vision, goals and strategic initiatives. We believe that your board, volunteers and staff will perform better and more efficiently with a living, workable Strategic Plan.
Grant Research, Writing & Submission
Our grant consulting professionals are skilled in all aspects of the grant process, and work with you on the continuum from funding needs assessment and research to building relationships and writing grants to help you reach your funding goals. Though we cannot guarantee funding, we will do everything in our power to assist you in submitting a successful grant application.
We work with organizations in different ways, depending on the need. For some, we prepare grant applications on an “as needed” basis. Others have outsourced their grant writing process to the Columns team, and our grant consulting professionals deliver a specific number of completed applications to targeted funders each month. Each proposal is written with a customized approach, taking into consideration how the client’s strengths fit a funder’s priorities. Some of the planning and writing services we provide include:
Funder Research – Targeted funder research is essential to the grant writing process. We help you identify funding sources by reviewing subject matter terms, geographic area, the target populations you serve, and then create a master grant calendar of potential state/federal funding and corporate/private foundations. We then confirm that prospective funders are a good fit for your organization and its programs.
Grant Writing – Our in-house team provides a range of grant writing services, including preparation of letters of intent (LOI), cover letters, federal forms, proposal narratives, budgets and required attachments (resumes, service areas, organizational charts, letters of support, etc.). Grants are written for city, state, federal, corporate and private foundation proposals/applications. We submit final proposals and assist in preparation for a site visit and/or funder review.
Grant Readiness Review – Our organizational and grant readiness reviews constructively examine your current policies, systems, and procedures and offer best practices recommendations from highly successful grant seeking organizations so you end up with a stronger operation. We use a checklist system to determine if you have all the documents in place to begin writing, and review your program and strategic plan to accurately pin-point your message to funders.