Grant Writer’s Blog

I still have challenges with clients not getting information to me on time, resulting in some last-minute panic.

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Dear Experienced Grant Writer:   I’ve been developing my grant writing business for about a year and a half. I still have challenges with clients not getting information to me on time, resulting in some last-minute panic. You seem like someone who has worked out a solution for this. I’m wondering if you have a resource you can pass along? Thanks so much!   Patient…

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19 Of Our Favorite Grant Writing Resources

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19 YEARS! Our team is so excited to be celebrating 19 years of supporting incredible nonprofits that are creating tremendous impact in their communities.  Since 2006, we have helped secure over $121M in grant awards and trained over 86,863 professionals. WOW! To help celebrate 19 years, our team put together 19 of our favorite grant resources/things we use every day to help with our grant…

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20 Suggested Must-Reads for 2024

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Our team comprises of book lovers who read books from all genres. This year, we decided to hold a Secret Santa book exchange and it was a lot of fun sending books to each other. As we begin 2024, we realized that we needed a list of must-read books and decided to ask for your recommendations. We were not disappointed with the suggestions we received….

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2024 Top Grant Writing Blogs to Follow

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We’re so excited to announce the 2024 Top Grant Writing Blogs to Follow.  2024 Top Blogs to Follow based on what we were reading from them in 2023. It is the goal of DH Leonard Consulting & Grant Writing Services to assist nonprofit organizations with competitively researching, applying for, and receiving grant funding to best serve our clients and have a significant impact in their…

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Productivity Is An Inside Job: Measuring Personal Happiness As A Means To Success

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Over more than 25 years of researching, prioritizing, writing, developing objectives, creating evaluation plans, and tangling with logic models, I never spent much time measuring a crucial aspect of work that affects all those tasks and more—my happiness. I am not saying that I expected every day to be a Disney cartoon of winsome talking animals that burst into song and happy endings. The singing…

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Grant Pros: What is Your Why?

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For a long time, I struggled with my work as a grant professional. Don’t get me wrong. I loved tackling a challenging federal grant proposal. And I loved it even more when we got an award letter. Managing federal grants was my jam – I loved putting my organizational skills to work and totally geeked out about a well-put-together 3-ring binder.   So, what was…

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The Competitive Advantage and Head Start of Pre-planning for Large Grants

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Imagine you are standing on the starting line of a running race. The race official says when my arm drops and the gun goes off, you all get to start. Then they point at you and say, BUT, before I do that, YOU get to start NOW before the rest of the field. After you get over the surprise of the unexpected head start, off…

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How to Rebound from a Grant Writing Rejection

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Having raised more than $101 million “the hard way” through 90% private foundation and individual fundraising over the last 20+ years, I have experienced my share of rejections.  What I mean is that this total represents dozens, if not hundreds, of proposals with request amounts ranging between $10,000 and $200,000 for every $1million+ ask. Why so many? The truth is, it’s a competitive process, and…

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Key Takeaways for the GWBC Session as a Seasoned Grant Professional

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Recently, I attended MyFedTrainer’s Grant Writing Boot Camp (GWBC) hosted by our team’s founder and President, Diane H. Leonard, GPC, RST. Having written many federal grants in the past, I was excited to hear insights from another seasoned grant professional. There was helpful new information provided, as well as important reminders to remember when working on federal grant applications. Some of those takeaways are below:…

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Don’t Let “Perfect” Be the Enemy Of Good Grant Writing

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Once upon a time, in a cubicle far, far away, I saw an announcement for a senior grant writing position at a national organization. At first glance, it seemed like a dream job. Then, I read further. Under the qualifications heading, it stated that they were looking for a grant writer who never made a mistake—that perfection was the goal for every grant submitted. What…

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