NOW ACCEPTING CLIENTS FOR 2025
Let us take care of the grants while you focus on that mile-long to-do list.
You know there are grants that will help you fully fund your services and make a bigger impact in your community. But it’s impossible to find time to write those grants when you have so many other responsibilities.
Imagine what it would look like if you let someone else worry about the grants...
- No more missed deadlines
- No more staying up all night cutting characters
- No more scaling back the services your community desperately needs
Instead, you could breathe easier knowing a dependable professional is working hard to secure the funds you need to achieve your mission.
There are plenty of consultants who can help you write grants. But we do more than that.
Winning grants requires a lot more than just writing great grant proposals. That’s why we have an entire system that will help you stand out among the thousands of other nonprofits competing for the same funding.
We only work with health and social service organizations. All of our consultants have extensive experience in these two fields, so we understand the hard work you do every day. Our narrow focus also saves you time - you won’t have to explain your work the way you would if you worked with a general grant writer.
We take the time to get to know you, your staff, your programs, and your community—just like we would if we were an employee. This allows us to write strong grant proposals that represent all aspects of your organization.
“Upstream Consulting has helped Coastal Children’s Advocacy Center (CCAC) grow over the past two years in ways that would have not been possible without their insight and expertise. CCAC had only 2 full-time and 3 part-time employees, and the number of children we serve was increasing every year. But with growth, we needed more full-time employees, which meant more money. As an Executive Director, it was my responsibility to look for grants but still handle the day to day operations as well. I could handle writing small grants, but I did not have the time to look for and write those more lucrative grants. My board of directors was hesitant about contracting with a grant writer, since this was a service that was not in our budget. But investing in Upstream Consulting has allowed us to be more marketable to grant sources who had never heard of our agency and has resulted in a 35% increase in our grant revenues. After seeing the growth in our grant funding, the board of directors stated that working with Upstream Consulting was a great decision.”
We'll meet with you and your staff to learn about your organization. We'll discuss your current funding and how much money you'd like to raise.
We’ll review all your documents and organization information and help you strengthen any areas that will make you more competitive for grants.
We'll use your goals to find the perfect grants for your organization and then get busy crafting well-written proposals with your organization’s voice in mind.
Once you start winning grants, we’ll help you keep your funders happy by tracking reporting requirements and writing grant reports.
Nonprofit budgets can be tight. But can you afford to not invest in raising more grant funds for your organization?
In 2023 our clients won $37 for every single dollar they paid us. And that doesn’t include funds they secured because they had more time to focus on other fundraising efforts! What impact could you make with a return on investment like that?
“I’ve worked with Melissa at Upstream Consulting to consult on projects and to find grants for my clients on several occasions. Melissa gives sound professional advice and she is my go-to person for finding grants. Each time, they were able to quickly find grants that were a perfect match for the organizations and programs that needed funding. She is extremely efficient and finds comprehensive information on grant opportunities. I have learned so much about the process of finding grants from Melissa and will continue to utilize Upstream’s services.”
We abide by the Grant Professionals Association Code of Ethics and will not accept a percentage of a grant award as compensation for grant writing. This means that payment for grant services must be made from existing revenue sources.
This is a done-for-you service, but you should plan to dedicate 3-5 hours/month working with us. You can expect to spend time sharing documents and information about your organization, contacting funders, securing MOAs/MOUs or letters of support from partners (if needed), and reviewing final drafts of all grant proposals. Beyond that, we take care of everything!
If you’re a health or social service organization that provides direct services to people, there’s a good chance we’ve worked with an organization like yours. When we review your client application, we’ll let you know if we’re a good fit for you. You can also check out some of our past clients on our home page.
This varies based on the organization, types of grants we’re writing, and fundraising goals. Keep in mind, we do much more than just write grants so we stay busy helping you become more competitive for grants, finding new grants, and reporting on the grants you’ve already won.
Our service is designed for organizations that have been operating for at least 3 years. We recommend new nonprofits invest their resources securing non-grant funding in their early years.
Yes. If you just need one grant written, please complete our single grant application form.