Build a focused grant strategy your organization can actually carry out
Applying for more grants is not always the answer. When your team lacks a clear strategy, it can spend significant time pursuing opportunities that are poorly aligned, overly restrictive, or unlikely to be funded.
The Strategic Funding Intensive is a focused, 4–8 week engagement that helps nonprofit leaders make better grant decisions. We assess what has and has not worked, identify realistic opportunities, strengthen your grant readiness, and create an actionable funding plan based on your mission and capacity.
This service focuses specifically on private foundation and corporate grant funding. It is not a comprehensive fundraising plan.
This intensive may be right for you if…
✔ Your organization has submitted multiple proposals without receiving awards.
✔ Your team is unsure which opportunities are worth pursuing.
✔ Grant deadlines are driving your work instead of supporting an intentional plan.
✔ Your board wants to help but doesn’t understand its role in grant funding.
✔ Your grant materials, budget, data, or supporting documents need improvement.
✔ You need expert guidance but are not ready to hire a development director or retain a grant consultant long term.
What the intensive includes
Every engagement includes:
An assessment of your grant history, readiness, and competitiveness
A grant opportunity screening tool to help you pursue, cultivate, defer, or decline opportunities
Guidance on mission alignment, eligibility, award size, restrictions, workload, reporting requirements, and organizational readiness
A board session on realistic grant expectations and appropriate board roles
A written grant funding plan with priorities and recommended next steps
You don’t need to pursue every opportunity - you need a clear path for finding and focusing on the right ones.
This service focuses specifically on private foundation and corporate grant funding. It is not a comprehensive fundraising plan.
Every engagement includes:
An assessment of your grant history, readiness, and competitiveness
A grant opportunity screening tool to help you pursue, cultivate, defer, or decline opportunities
Guidance on mission alignment, eligibility, award size, restrictions, workload, reporting requirements, and organizational readiness
A board session on realistic grant expectations and appropriate board roles
A written grant funding plan with priorities and recommended next steps
Depending on the option selected, the engagement may also include:
Detailed critiques of previous proposals
Research on best-fit foundation and corporate prospects
Funder profiles and strategy notes
A 12-month grant calendar
Grant document inventories, trackers, and readiness tools
A funder cultivation plan
Development of a private-foundation proposal
Follow-up support as implementation begins
Pricing: Flat-fee support starting at $2,500
Choose the level of support you need
Grant Funding Direction
A four-week engagement for organizations that need immediate clarity and a manageable starting point.
You’ll leave with a focused 90-day action plan, a small set of opportunities to prioritize, and practical guidance to improve your grant process.
Grant Funding Roadmap
A six-week engagement for organizations ready to develop a strategic, year-long grant-funding approach.
This option adds deeper research, a 12-month opportunity calendar, stronger grant documentation, proposal feedback, and clearer board responsibilities.
Grant Funding Activation
An eight-week engagement for organizations that want both a strategic roadmap and help getting started on implementation.
This option adds a larger prospect pool, proposal development, a funder relationship plan, reusable proposal content, and a follow-up session after the intensive.
A strategy grounded in experience
Lightmaker Grants & Strategy combines senior fundraising experience with strong research, writing, data, and compliance expertise. Founder Dr. Ginny Blankenship, CFRE, brings more than 25 years of nonprofit and fundraising experience. Since 2023, Lightmaker has helped clients secure more than $4.5 million in funding.
Our goal is not to encourage your organization to pursue every available grant. It is to help you focus your limited time on the opportunities most likely to advance your mission.
Ready to build a more focused grant strategy?
Schedule a discovery conversation to discuss your organization’s goals, grant history, and current capacity. We will recommend the appropriate level of support and develop a clear scope for the engagement.