Grant Strategy

Many come to Rhonda not knowing where to begin and others come mid-stream wanting to improve their efforts. Regardless the organizational posture, Rhonda has the ability to sift through the current efforts for a best-practices approach. She pulls from experience across government, foundation and corporate grant awards ranging from small non-profit to large corporate recipients.

Grant Research

Rhonda sits with you, learning your organization’s mission and associated goals and your community’s needs. From there, she completes an exhaustive search for appropriate funders. This phase of the grant-writing process is crucial. Grant funders (public, corporate and private) appreciate applications that are clearly crafted based on the funder’s specifications-geography, focus area, scope, requested amount and restrictions. There are many possibilities for funding; knowing which to pursue is an art.

Grant Writing

Grant writing is like painting a house; good preparation is essential for painting. Good preparation is essential for grant writing. Be it a foundation/corporate grant or a government grant, the writer must adequately and succinctly define the key components (need statement, goals and objectives, program elements, evaluation and budget) before the writing process begins. Rhonda has extensive experience in fact-gathering, detail-sifting and plan-mapping for a solid proposal.

Additional Grant Submissions

Often, a requesting organization will want to approach multiple funders simultaneously for the same program. Certain content is core to all submissions. Rhonda helps the requesting organization modify the original grant content to meet the additional funders’ criteria.

Grant Management

Funders want to know that their precious resources are being used according to plan. A conscientious awardee will keep copious records, gather relevant testimonials and report back timely and accurately. Funders associate these business practices with integrity and solid stewardship. Rhonda has always valued the funding relationship and works diligently to maintain the funder’s respect. She assists her clients, encouraging best practices and increasing their repeat-funding possibilities.

Content Review

A wise colleague once said, “If you drop something you wrote as you are walking along, I should be able to come behind you, pick it up, and understand it regardless the content. That is the sign of a good writer.” Rhonda abides by this philosophy in her own work and holds others to the same standard. Whether she is the author or reviews content written by a topical expert, the end product must always relay a provoking call to action that is brief, accurate, well-written, and grammatically correct.

The world of fundraising is extremely confusing to someone who never performed this function. We needed a grant to install a new heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system. But the big question was: how do I navigate through the myriad of information? How do I create the right appeal for our non-profit? It turned out to be simple… The Dry Dock [a 365-day-a-year recovery support community] selected Rhonda Poppen at GrantDog after analyzing available fundraisers. I am grateful to Rhonda for her patience and guidance throughout the process. Under her direction we were led to the ultimate funder. We are definitely going to request her help with future grant projects.

Sandy B.

Executive Director

Dry Dock San Francisco