Leolah Brown's Page

Hi Leolah - I have spent some time in your website. You have a passion that is awesome. I am convinced you WILL have people come on board to help you. I'd love to help with sourcing grant funds (finding and applying for grants). I specialize in Foundation grants. I chase grant money for a lot of one-time, project or purchase needs for homeless shelters and other non-profits. Your current needs for vehicles, furniture, and the like are a good fit for Foundational giving. Foundations, in general, do not like to give money for operational expenses (salaries, rent, insurance, employee benefits, grant writer fees, etc.). It is also standard for a foundation to require a copy of the non-profit's audited financials and their 501c3 status letter from the IRS. This can be a challenge for newly established non-profits.

Okay - challenges aside. There is a lot of money out there. While knowing where the money lies is important, it is equally important that the grant need aligns with the mission of the targeted foundation. Foundations want to fund causes that fit their foundational mission. I submitted a grant application package this afternoon to a foundation located in Seattle that has as its mission the desire to help children in crisis. This is an excellent fit for the grant request we're submitting on behalf of a women and children's shelter. That particular foundation will not likely fund any request that doesn't match their mission. A men's shelter, an animal welfare program, a community education program, an arts program (unless it serves children who are in a desperate situation; i.e. homeless, abused, incarcerated, etc.).

Please know that I am located in Northwestern Washington State, which puts me at the other end of the country from you. I am known to work odd and long hours. After all, grant writing is a deadline-based effort. I have found that 70% of the effort is research and writing (sourcing the best foundations and then researching as necessary so as to write the most persuasive application for funding). 20% is review & discussion with the client non-profit and the remaining 10% of my time is spent in pre-discussions with the targeted foundation(s).

I work on both a flat fee or hourly basis. You will find this with professional grant writers as foundations will not award a grant that includes the cost for the grant writer.

I am hoping I have given you some good preliminary information to consider. My greatest strength as a grant writer is in my persuasive writing style. I believe this is the key to getting a grant funded. When a grant writer believes in the mission of the organization, her conviction will come out in her written word. This is an area that I believe you have already been gifted in. Your website is quite compelling. Whether or not you consider me, I wish you success as you go forward to help the underserved and forgotten in your community. Those that do not have a voice, need a voice such as yours. God bless you in this effort.

Julie Watt
julieannwatt@msn.com