About
I'm a grant writer with 15 years of experience raising funds for youth development, education, workforce development, and social justice. I specialize in securing private foundation and corporate grants, but also have experience with city and county proposals and the federal AmeriCorps application process.
I received my B.A. in English and Elementary Education with a Concentration in Creative Writing from Hollins University, and my M.A. in Writing and Publishing from Emerson College and am now based in and focus on Austin and the surrounding area. I'm a trained copyeditor and published writer and love leveraging words to win funding for worthy programs that affect needed change here in my beloved city.
I spent 12 years of my career working on the staff of a nonprofit development team, helping secure millions in grant funding and working to build long-lasting partnerships with grantmakers. In 2024 I earned Spark the Fire's Certificate in Grant Writing, an assessment-based professional certification for writing grants. I have served on grant review panels, held a Board position for the Austin Grant Professionals Association, and am a two-time chair of the Austin Funders Forum.
Services
Grant Writing
Preparation of grant proposals and reports for foundation and corporate funders. These services may include:
- Review of funder requirements including deadlines and attachments
- Guidance on approach, request amount, and cultivation tactics
- Meetings to gather information to support grant narrative
- Assistance with project budget forms
- Preparation of template letters of support
- Writing and editing the application narrative
- Preparing attachments such as logic models and forms
Grant Research
Research grant opportunities for funding, typically as part of a grant writing retainer contract. Services include:
- Analysis of funding prospects, gathered through a professional grants database
- Delivery of a spreadsheet with the names of the foundations, why they are a potential match for the nonprofit, how to apply, when to apply, and key contacts
Recent Grants
- $3,750,000 - Two separate grant awards to scale programs that support college student success from Moody Foundation and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation
- $200,000 - For leadership development and flexible funding from Bank of America Neighborhood Builders
- $50,000 - For workforce development initiatives from Texas Mutual
- $15,000 - For summer learning programming to support youth from low-income communities from Silicon Labs