Grant coaching and grant readiness project work
Starting in July 2025, we’re excited to expand Canary Consulting Group’s nonprofit consulting services to include grant coaching and readiness services offered by Trace Hoekstra. Trace has 25+ years of experience as a grant professional, and she is excited to spend her time connecting with nonprofit professionals to share grant tools and expertise. If your organization or fundraising team is new to grants, or your primary grant strategy is crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, this work is for you!
We don’t offer grant writing services; instead, our work focuses on equipping your team with the technical and strategic skills to win and manage grants effectively. Our clients can choose from two options – grant coaching to build skill development on your internal team, and grant readiness project work to assess organization readiness, improve your storytelling, build a library of grant materials, and identify organizations most interested in contributing to your cause.
Grant coaching
Grant critique package
Are you an experiential learner? Are you trying to level up your grant writing skills or figure out why you aren’t getting the returns you expect? Our grant critique package offers a practical opportunity to perfect your skills in real-time.
This isn’t a comprehensive fundraising strategy or a mentor-for-life relationship. Instead, we are looking for the big rocks — things we can tackle to make immediate and replicable improvements in your grant applications and awards. Our goal is progress.
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Customized coaching specific to a set of (typically a half dozen) grants. We’ll provide guidance, you’ll write the grant, and then we’ll critique your work and offer suggestions before you submit your grant proposal.
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We’ll check out your list of upcoming grant targets and pick several (typically a half dozen) that you plan to complete within a set window of time.
Before you start each proposal, we’ll review the guidelines and identify a value proposition or ‘angle’ that fits the funder’s interests and keeps you moving toward your mission.
Together, we’ll check out the application questions, discuss what the funder wants to know, and what you want them to hear.
Armed with a plan, you’ll draft the proposal by yourself or with your team.
Ahead of the deadline, you’ll send the grant proposal to Trace, and she’ll review and provide written or verbal feedback (your choice!) to help your application shine.
Here is the secret sauce: Instead of a simple edit (telling you what to change to make it better), Trace will suggest changes and share WHY those changes will improve the outcome. Though you’ll be doing all the writing, her advice and perspective are designed to improve your skills and knowledge over time.
Grant coaching package
It’s hard to find an experienced and effective grant professional. It’s a field that requires technical skill and strategy, but there’s no grant writing degree, and most certificates are pay-to-play. Legitimate credentials, such as CFRE and GPC, require years of experience and an intensive exam.
Given the constraints, many nonprofits hire a skilled writer with no grant writing background. Sound familiar? Grant coaching is a fantastic opportunity for inexperienced but motivated development staff to grow into their roles!
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Weekly or bi-weekly coaching sessions with our resident grant expert, Trace Hoekstra.
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These sessions are tailored to your needs and can be any combination of one-on-one coaching, grant critiques, or hands-on assistance, but are more flexible, intensive, and holistic than grant critiques alone.
Goals can be broad (exploring the feasibility of grant funding for a nonprofit) or targeted (planning for data collection and building evaluation skills). So, grab your coffee, your questions, your ideas, and your challenges, and let’s connect.
Grant readiness project work
Grant readiness assessment
Our advice? Don’t dive right in and start writing grant proposals - especially large or complex ones - until you’re sure your nonprofit is ready. You will struggle to succeed. Our grant readiness assessment will save you time, dollars, and a whole lot of frustration by helping you understand some of the unwritten “rules” of grant seeking. We’ll look at how you govern, manage, evaluate, and share your work, and identify any gaps you need to fill before you make that first request.
Readiness isn’t about being perfect. It’s about meeting the minimum requirements. It’s work that increases the odds your request will land in front of the review committee for consideration, rather than in the recycling bin.
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A prioritized set of grant readiness recommendations, with activities to complete to prepare for effective grant writing
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We’ll meet with you for one full day or two half-day sessions to assess grant readiness; no advance preparation is required.
After we create your grant readiness recommendation, we’ll schedule time with you to review the plan and answer your questions about next steps.
Strategic storytelling
Do you struggle with your elevator speech? Do your discussions with donors leave them confused about your impact? Does the community confuse you and similar nonprofits?
We find that nonprofits are often doing great work but struggle to tell their story in a compelling way. Our strategic storytelling workshop is designed to uncover your unique story. We’ll leave you with a framework that will help you navigate conversations with ease. This is a great first step before working on a grant case statement or working with marketing professionals.
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A strategic storytelling framework - we’ll customize this to meet your specific needs, but for many clients it’s a graphic that explains your complex nonprofit in a simple way
We’ll also share a short ‘elevator speech’ that conveys the heart of your story
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Before our first meeting, we’ll ask you to share about what you do … in a single sentence and in one paragraph - no more than 15 minutes of time is required from you!
In our first session, we’ll explore how you’re currently explaining your story through your website and online presence and make sure we understand the audiences you serve.
In our second session, we’ll focus on understanding the programs you deliver and how you’ve been talking about those programs to your donors
In our third session, we’ll focus on how you can most effectively communicate your impact to the community
In our fourth session, we’ll deliver a storytelling framework, refining these ideas and leaving you with a newfound ability to articulate your value and community impact
Grant case statement and toolkit development
Case statements are the foundation of grant writing; they explain why you exist, what you’re trying to accomplish, and why funders should support you. Beyond grants, this case for support can be used for donor outreach, marketing materials, and capital campaigns.
Beyond the case statement, good grant writing requires access to a wide variety of supporting documents. This collection of materials – your grant toolkit – provides you with a library of content you can customize for specific grant applications.
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Three versions of your case statement (short, medium, and extended)
A grant toolkit inventory checklist, including a recommended structure for how to organize your materials
Optional support to create grant toolkit materials on your behalf
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We’ll start by asking you to gather several documents; we’ll review and organize these existing materials into your grant toolkit, noting any missing information
We’ll dive into who you serve, what programming you deliver, and how you quantify your work, and we’ll provide insight about what data you can use to best communicate your impact.
We’ll use what we learn to draft the extended version of your case statement, and we’ll review this together to be sure it captures your story effectively
From there, we’ll create the short and medium length versions of your case statement, so you have options that work for all types of grant requirements
Optionally, we’ll act as ghostwriters and create/refine other grant toolkit materials (per hour fees apply)
Clients who participate in our Strategic Storytelling workshop will receive this service at a discounted price
Grant prospecting
Once your nonprofit is grant-ready, you have a compelling story, and you’ve assembled your grant toolkit and case statement, you’re ready to find some grants! Right?
Unfortunately, we find that many nonprofits waste an incredible amount of time pursuing grants they have no chance of winning, choosing grants with limited return on investment (where time spent on grant management exceeds the income), or focusing on opportunities that are too small because they aren’t familiar with funders who would invest in transforming their work.
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Our grant prospecting service provides you with a ‘top 10’ list of prioritized funding targets, along with your value proposition (why you’re a good fit for the funding and what ‘angle’ you should take in your grant application). We also make sure you’re aware of the typical cycle and deadlines for each opportunity.
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We’ll spend time in conversation with you to better understand what led you here … what’s happening, why you’re seeking funding, and how you plan to use it. We’ll ask clarifying questions to understand your readiness and intent.
From there, we’ll compile the list of prospects and share how you can connect with these opportunities.
A credible authority on grant strategy:
Year to date
Secured $27M in grant funding
Created grant proposals for $100+M and $95M projects
Since 2020
Averaged 252 grants per year
Secured $145M in grant funding with largest grant award of $23.5M
All time
Wrote approximately 2000+ grant applications
Average nonprofit investment vs. grant return is pennies on the dollar
“I have been working with Trace Hoekstra for nearly seven years, and her work is top-notch and beyond. Her ability to weave data and stories into a succinct, impactful message is like no other and our annual grant revenue has increased year after year.
Although technically a grant consultant, she is like another team member and is sought after for her insight and perspective when it comes to grant strategy. She is a teacher as well, always encouraging our team to think outside the box, ask good questions, and seek more information. She is not just a grant writer, but a grant master, and possesses the magic to pull all elements together to make the best case for support.”
In our client’s words …
Bergetta Beardsley
Vice President of Philanthropy
Nervous about grant writing?
Don’t be. Here’s why.
At Canary Consulting Group, we focus on the ‘consulting’ part of grant readiness. Our goal is to share tools and strategies to prepare you to write your own grants as effectively as possible. If you don’t have the time or desire to do that, we get it. We’ll happily recommend a grant writer who can pick up where we leave off.
In our client’s words …
When we set out to find a grant writer, we were simply looking for someone to write our proposals. With Trace, we got so much more. She took the time to understand the mission and heart behind Puppy Jake, diving deep into the “what” and the “why.”
Trace guided us through putting together a tool kit so we weren’t always starting from scratch. While we are now ready to take on the process ourselves, she’s there when we need help with strategy or an extra set of hands. We have seen dramatic improvement in grant success rate thanks to her work. Trace is a true partner, and we’re incredibly grateful to have her in our corner.
Lisa Russell
CEO