Discuss your grant prep plan!
A strong proposal starts long before the writing.
This is where the real work happens - strategy, alignment, logic models, and a team that knows how each piece connects.
When everyone understands the plan, the proposal stops being chaos … and comes together for a win.
Common Grant Writing Mistakes 10/12: No Sustainability Plan
You have a strong launch plan, but no credible plan for what continues after the grant ends—staffing, service delivery, operating costs, ownership, handoff.
State what continues after the grant period.
#GrantWriter #Nonprofit #Grants
Common Grant writing Mistake 9: Superficial partnerships
“Support” letters that don’t state partners’ roles, contributions, deliverables, and accountability (space, referrals, data sharing etc.) aren’t taken seriously in review.
#Grants #GrantWriter #Nonprofit #ProposalDevelopment #GrantWriting
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Common Grant Writing Mistakes 8/12: Weak evidence base
If the evidence base isn’t clear, reviewers can’t tell whether the approach is proven or just preference. Name the model/intervention, summarize strongest support, explain why it fits this population and setting. #GrantWriter #Grants #Nonprofit
Most organizations fail to compete for grant funding because their strategy, writing, design and compliance are not strong enough to compete.
Winning proposals come from strategy, planning, clarity, credibility and strong execution. Not templates and chaos.
#grantwriter #fundraising
Data tells the story.
The difference between a good proposal and a winning proposal? Data that tells a compelling story. I help clients find their narrative in the numbers. Link in bio.
#Nonprofit #Fundraising #Development #ProposalSuccess #NonprofitFunding
#healthresearch
Common Grant Writing Mistakes 7/12: Budget doesn’t match the narrative described
Your budget has missing personnel, math errors, unallowable costs, or simply can’t actually deliver the work.
Do a budget-to-workplan reconciliation: every major activity is resourced; every cost is justified.
Common Grant Writing Mistake 6/12: Weak Evaluation Plans. When outcomes aren’t SMART, indicators are unclear, data sources and tools aren’t named, roles and timing are missing and no analysis plan exists, reviewers can’t see how results will be measured or reported.
#GrantWriter #Evaluation #Funding
Common Grant Writing Mistakes 5/12: Outcomes that aren’t measurable.
Big goals like “increase awareness” or “improve access” mean nothing without a baseline, target, timeframe, or data source. Write outcomes as metric + baseline + target + timeframe + source. #GrantWriter #Nonprofit #GrantsCommon
Common Grant Writing Mistakes 4/12
Solutions have to make sense in the real world. Programs can’t be everything but the kitchen sink and be effective.
Before submitting, build the backbone of your program on reality, not idealism.
#GrantWriter #ProposalDevelopment #NonprofitGrants #FederalFunding
Where can I find grant opportunities?
Grant databases can help!:
Try these:
Grants.gov
Candid (foundations)h
Instrumentl
GrantStation
GrantForward
Pivot
GrantWatch
Grant Gopher
Devex Pro Funding GrantScape The Catholic Funding Guide
#GrantWriter #GrantWriting ##Nonprofit
Common Grant Writing Mistakes Part 3: Vague problem statement.
“There’s a need” without credible local stats, baselines or who’s affected.
Do this: Use logic chain: who is affected → how many → what happens if not addressed → why current systems fail.
Cite local data #frantwriter #nonprofits
Weak alignment to scoring criteria
Great writing, but reviewers can’t easily award points.
HDo this:
Convert scoring rubric into an outline (same order, same labels).
Use “point-earning” structure: claim → evidence → method → output/outcome → measures. #grantwriter #nonprofit #federalcontract
Answer the Question! Pretty writing doesn’t win funding if the proposal doesn’t answer what was asked. Reviewers score what they can find, verify, and award points for—clear responses to each requirement, in the order of scoring criteria.
#GrantWriter #ProposalWriter #federalcontracts #Nonprofit
Grant & Contract Proposal Expert | 25+ Years
A.B Brown University
M.S. Howard University
1.4B grant/contract values secured
Obama/Biden Invited White House Speaker for Cancer Moonshot Symposium
DC Fundraiser of the Year AFP AADP
Complete services at link in bio.
Common Grant Writing Mistake 2.
Weak alignment to criteria
Great narrative, but reviewers can’t easily award points.
To avoid this scenario:
-Convert scoring rubric to an outline
-Use “point-earning” structure: claim →evidence→method → output/outcome→ measures. #grantwriter #grants
Link in bio
Common Grant Writing Mistakes 1/12: Not answering the funder’s question. A nice program write-up won’t score if it misses priorities, eligibility, or who the grant is for. Build a quick compliance map and write in the order they score.
See link in bio for service.
#grants #grantwriter #nonprofit
Is it me, or does this blue sky platform feel like we’re all walking past one another with a sign. But no one reads it, no one talks about it and no one cares?
Foundations are carrying more of the load, but they’re not a neutral replacement. Awards are fewer, reporting is heavier, and many dollars now favor practice over research. This is the funding environment researchers are navigating right now. 4/4
#Foundations #ResearchPolicy #Nonprofits
Outside NIH, agencies like AHRQ, HRSA, CDC, and VA still fund access and systems work, but instability is the risk. Funding cycles shorten, priorities shift midstream, and assumptions about renewals no longer hold.
3/4
#HealthSystems #PolicyWatch #GrantWriters
Some NIH institutes and federal agencies still fund work touching disparities, but framing matters more than ever. Identity-forward language draws scrutiny. Review behavior has changed, and language audits are real, even when the science is solid. 2/4
#FederalFunding #PublicHealth #Grants
NIH funding hasn’t vanished, but it no longer moves the way it used to. Health equity work can still be viable if it’s tightly anchored to mission, outcomes, and service delivery. Continuation years are now risk points, not formalities. 1/4
#HealthPolicy #GrantFunding #ResearchFunding
HHS + DEA announced a 4th extension of telehealth prescribing flexibilities for controlled meds through Dec 31, 2026 (effective Jan 1). This prevents a “telehealth cliff” for patients relying on remote care while permanent rules are finalized. #Telehealth #HealthPolicy #grantwriter #grants
So the Wegovy pill is here, but that wont make it “easy” to get. Self pay pricing is reported around $149 to $299 per month, many plans will still require prior authorization, and dosing is strict (empty stomach, water, wait 30 minutes). We shall see… #Wegovy #HealthEquity #GrantWriter
CDC moved COVID shots for kids to shared clinical decision making. That can blur what is routine vs optional and may lower uptake among higher risk kids who need protection most. Watch how insurers and schools interpret this shift. #COVID19 #VaccinePolicy #GrantWriter
Parents of small children, Happy New Year. HHS has decided it’s freezing child care funds nationwide. Is this our government’s way of making women “stay-at-home” moms, or just another means to push the working poor, especially single mothers, to the breaking point?
#grants
#healthpolicy
#writer
Part 6:
CDC Autism and Fragile X opportunity (CDC RFA DD 26 0025), “resources and opportunities… across the lifespan.” Application period expected to begin Feb 2026. Estimated post Feb 24, due Apr 24. #CDC #Autism #FragileX #Disability #FederalGrants
Part 5:
SAMHSA Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). Estimated post Jan 30, 2026. Behavioral health systems funding that can reduce crisis churn and stabilize families. #SAMHSA #BehavioralHealth #MentalHealth #FederalGrants #CommunityCare
Part 4:
CDC/ONDCP Drug Free Communities (DFC) Support Program, NEW Year 1. Estimated post Jan 27, 2026. Estimated due Apr 14, 2026. Community coalitions preventing youth substance use. #CDC #DFC #YouthPrevention #SubstanceUse #FederalGrants