Grant Writing & Funding

Do you know the difference between a grant and a contract?And more importantly—are you leveraging contracts as a funding stream for your nonprofit?In this episode, we break down the key differences between grants and contracts, and why contracts can be an incredibly powerful (and often overlooked) way to fund your organization—especially when it comes to covering operational costs.We dive into how contracts work, why they can provide more consistent and flexible funding, and how they fit into a diversified funding strategy.Plus, you’ll learn the four best places to find city, state, and federal contracts for your nonprofit, along with the pros and cons of each platform—so you can start identifying the right opportunities faster.If you’re ready to expand beyond grants and explore new ways to bring funding into your nonprofit, this episode will open up a whole new world of possibilities.ABOUT HOLLY RUSTICKGrant Writing & Funding (GWF) has a Global Movement to Secure $1 Billion in Grant Funding for Good and $30 Million in Grant Writing Businesses by 2030. Holly Rustick, CEO of GWF, is leading the movement; a world-renowned grant writer with 20+ years of experience, bestselling author, and business coach for new and seasoned grant writers to replace their full-time income writing grants part-time from home through her signature programs: the Freelance Grant Writer Academy and the Grant Professional Mentorship.Rustick is the host of the top grant writing podcast “Grant Writing & Funding” and the author of the Bestselling book, The Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing. With an MA in International Political Economy, past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce, serving on numerous boards of directors, Holly is also an unapologetic feminist. She lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella. CONNECT WITH HOLLY RUSTICKWebsite: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/RESOURCES:Weekly Newsletter: “Write Grants. Get Paid” - Get thought leadership on grant and freelance grant writing strategies every week in your inbox. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/Freelance Grant Writer Academy: Replace your Full-Time Income Writing Grants Part-Time from Home.https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/Grant Professional Mentorship: Double your Monthly Revenue with an Income Stream Outside of Grant Writing.https://grantwritingandfunding.com/mentorshipRATE, REVIEW, & FOLLOW THE PODCASTFavor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener?This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review!“Every time I listen to Holly’s show, I learn something” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the Grant Writing & Funding podcast to get grant and freelance grant writing proven strategies and conversations in your podcast player every single week.Thanks for listening!Warmly,Holly RustickLeading the $1 Billion for Good Movement: By 2030, aspiring and seasoned grant writers inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy & Grant Professional Mentorship will 1) WIN $1 Billion in Grants, and 2) MAKE $30 Million in their Grant Writing Businesses. We are on our way already.

Have you been seeing a flood of emails asking you to “opt in” or confirm your subscription?That’s not a coincidence—it’s because of GDPR.In this episode, we break down what GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) actually is, why it doesn’t just affect organizations in the EU, and what it means for nonprofits and grant writing consultants around the world. Even if you’re not based in Europe, GDPR has global implications. If your organization collects or uses data from EU citizens, you are required to comply. That’s why this regulation has created such a massive shift in how organizations handle data privacy.We dive into what this means in practical terms—how nonprofits and consultants need to think about data collection, email lists, and privacy policies moving forward. You’ll also get actionable tips on how to become GDPR compliant, along with access to free downloadable templates and resources to help you implement these changes with confidence.If you’ve been confused about GDPR or unsure how it impacts your work, this episode will give you clarity—and the tools to take action.Be sure to give it a listen!ABOUT HOLLY RUSTICKGrant Writing & Funding (GWF) has a Global Movement to Secure $1 Billion in Grant Funding for Good and $30 Million in Grant Writing Businesses by 2030. Holly Rustick, CEO of GWF, is leading the movement; a world-renowned grant writer with 20+ years of experience, bestselling author, and business coach for new and seasoned grant writers to replace their full-time income writing grants part-time from home through her signature programs: the Freelance Grant Writer Academy and the Grant Professional Mentorship.Rustick is the host of the top grant writing podcast “Grant Writing & Funding” and the author of the Bestselling book, The Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing. With an MA in International Political Economy, past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce, serving on numerous boards of directors, Holly is also an unapologetic feminist. She lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella. CONNECT WITH HOLLY RUSTICKWebsite: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/RESOURCES:Weekly Newsletter: “Write Grants. Get Paid” - Get thought leadership on grant and freelance grant writing strategies every week in your inbox. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/Freelance Grant Writer Academy: Replace your Full-Time Income Writing Grants Part-Time from Home. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/Grant Professional Mentorship: Double your Monthly Revenue with an Income Stream Outside of Grant Writing.https://grantwritingandfunding.com/mentorshipRATE, REVIEW, & FOLLOW THE PODCASTFavor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener?This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review!“Every time I listen to Holly’s show, I learn something” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the Grant Writing & Funding podcast to get grant and freelance grant writing proven strategies and conversations in your podcast player every single week.Thanks for listening!Warmly,Holly RustickLeading the $1 Billion for Good Movement: By 2030, aspiring and seasoned grant writers inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy & Grant Professional Mentorship will 1) WIN $1 Billion in Grants, and 2) MAKE $30 Million in their Grant Writing Businesses. We are on our way already.

Ready for a crash course in federal grants? If you’ve ever opened up Grants.gov and immediately felt overwhelmed—you’re not alone.And if you’ve been searching for grant writing tips that actually help you move toward an awarded grant, this episode is exactly what you need.In this episode, we break down how to navigate federal grant announcements in a way that’s clear and manageable. You’ll learn how to review opportunities on Grants.gov without getting lost in the details—and how to identify the key information you actually need to move forward.We also cover essential grant writing tips to help you strengthen your proposals, align with funder priorities, and increase your chances of success.If federal grants have felt confusing or intimidating, this episode will give you the clarity and confidence to get started.ABOUT HOLLY RUSTICKGrant Writing & Funding (GWF) has a Global Movement to Secure $1 Billion in Grant Funding for Good and $30 Million in Grant Writing Businesses by 2030. Holly Rustick, CEO of GWF, is leading the movement; a world-renowned grant writer with 20+ years of experience, bestselling author, and business coach for new and seasoned grant writers to replace their full-time income writing grants part-time from home through her signature programs: the Freelance Grant Writer Academy and the Grant Professional Mentorship.Rustick is the host of the top grant writing podcast “Grant Writing & Funding” and the author of the Bestselling book, The Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing. With an MA in International Political Economy, past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce, serving on numerous boards of directors, Holly is also an unapologetic feminist. She lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella. CONNECT WITH HOLLY RUSTICKWebsite: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/RESOURCES:Weekly Newsletter: “Write Grants. Get Paid” - Get thought leadership on grant and freelance grant writing strategies every week in your inbox.https://grantwritingandfunding.com/Freelance Grant Writer Academy: Replace your Full-Time Income Writing Grants Part-Time from Home. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/Grant Professional Mentorship: Double your Monthly Revenue with an Income Stream Outside of Grant Writing. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/mentorshipRATE, REVIEW, & FOLLOW THE PODCASTFavor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener?This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review!“Every time I listen to Holly’s show, I learn something” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show!Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the Grant Writing & Funding podcast to get grant and freelance grant writing proven strategies and conversations in your podcast player every single week.Thanks for listening!Warmly,Holly RustickLeading the $1 Billion for Good Movement: By 2030, aspiring and seasoned grant writers inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy & Grant Professional Mentorship will 1) WIN $1 Billion in Grants, and 2) MAKE $30 Million in their Grant Writing Businesses. We are on our way already.

We made it. Grants.gov. For those of you who have been following this podcast series on How to Find Grants, you are probably ready to dive in and start finding grants. We ain’t quite ready, yet, though. Believe you, me, it’s all about getting SET up and understanding the layout of the grant world before you dive in and get overwhelmed.You may have been using Grants.gov for years, but have only ever used it to search or apply for grants. Or you may be new to Grants.gov and have never visited the website. Either way, you are in for a real treat.Next week we are going to go over what to look for specifically in the grants search on Grants.gov (oh, yeah, we will nerd out), but today I am going to explain the functions offered on the website and give you my favorite tools.This is great information for you grant writers or for those who aspire to be grant writers. The reason I am breaking down Grants.gov is that it is a mammoth website for federal grants, and being such, it is very busy. As of May 2018, the website is in need of an update. It has that very busy mid-2000s website feel, with an overload of information outlined in different ways, which can lead to paralysis. Like, seriously. I have been going there for years but tend to stick to looking for grants and applying for grants. So I decided to dive in and find out the full capacity of the website, so all of us grant writers might actually use it.The main menu has nine headers or tabs. These headers/tabs include:HomeLearn GrantsSearch GrantsApplicantsGrantorsSystem-to-SystemFormsConnectSupportThe drop-downs under any of these headers contain a bunch of info. So let’s break it down in layman’s terms.Tab #1 HomeOkay, it just brings you back to the Home Page. That’s it. Easy. But what you might find useful on the Grants.gov Homepage is that they now have a free app.  This is good for any alerts on upcoming grants or those that you started to apply to.For those of you who prefer using your smartphone rather than a desktop, this app is very useful and user-friendly. The app itemizes searches a little bit more where there is a separate tab for eligibility at the bottom of the search rather than integrating it into the page like the desktop version. Pretty cool. You can just go to your app store on your phone and search for Grants.gov, and it will pop up.Tab #2: Learn GrantsGrants.gov has a ‘grants learning center’ on its website and includes a community blog, articles, and a Twitter account (@grantsdotgov). The community blog offers ongoing updated information about – you guessed it – grants. The article sidebar tab is where it gets a little confusing. Once you are on the community learning page, you can click on the side to access different topics, which will then bring you to a slew of articles that may include links to PDFs, hyperlinks to relevant blogs, and so forth. The topics include the following:Grants 101Grant PoliciesGrant EligibilityGrant TerminologyGrant AgenciesGrant SystemsGrant ProgramsGrant ReportingGrant FraudGrant EventsThere is a slew of information available, but I wouldn’t recommend sitting down in one day and reading through it all. It’s a lot of information. But there are some great resources located here that might give you the answers you need. I like that they have a Twitter account, but since I’m not on Twitter, I can’t vouch for any of their social media posts.Pros: A lot of grant and grant-related information; on social mediaCons: It is very busyTab #3 Search GrantsMost of you will be using Grants.gov to search and apply for federal grants. Honestly, the other stuff is awesome, but in reality, it’s supplemental fluff. The ‘Search’ performance is great and is akin to searching on Google. For example, if you have two or more words and want the search to show up all of those words you put them in quotations. So if you are looking for youth conservation projects, you would put “youth conservation” in quotations. This helps narrow the search.You can also narrow the search more by selecting one or more of the following:Opportunity status (i.e. is it a forecasted, posted, closed, or an archived grant). This is really good if you are familiar with certain grants and have a general idea of the time of year that they are awarded, want to check on old grants, or only want to know the grants that are currently open.Funding Instrument Type: This includes the type of funding that is offered, such as Cooperative Agreement, Grants, Other, and Procurement Contract.As mentioned previously, Cooperative Agreements are grants that have a higher level of interaction with the federal government that include the feds scrutinizing your budget more closely and approving your staff and oftentimes include monthly webinars, technical assistance, and other involvement. Cooperative Agreements are very popular under research categories, and are the next most prevalent after Regular Grants.A Grant is a normal grant agreement, which still includes involvement with the federal government on programmatic reporting and fiscal reporting, but it is not as interactive as Cooperative Agreements. Regular Grants are by far the most popular.“Other” is a mixture of other types of grants that might include contracts, earmarked grants, research grants, and other types of funding.Procurement Contracts are different than grants, as they are contracts and are legally binding agreements. As this falls under ‘procurement’, these types of funding instruments are for the feds to buy services or products.Eligibility: This category is very effective in narrowing down what your organization is actually eligible to apply for. For instance, if you are an IRS 501(c)3 nonprofit that is an animal shelter and provide services for stray animals, then you would click on the ‘Nonprofits having a 501(c)3 status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education’ category. If you are a city government applying for grants for urban planning, then you would click on the ‘City or Township governments’. In this way, you aren’t sifting through a huge number of grants and then finding out that you are not eligible. That’s a waste of your precious time.Category: This search box is for a certain type of projects that you are looking to fund. I am not going to list all the categories as there are quite a few, but to give you an idea, these include categories such as agriculture, business and commerce, housing, and science and technology. The federal agencies will include what category their grant will be under, so this narrows down your search into ‘better fit’ grants.Agency: The agency search box includes all of the 31 agencies that list grants on Grants.gov. These include agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, and so forth.If you know the exact grant you would like to apply to, you can also insert the Opportunity Number or the Catalog for Domestic Assistance Number.Pros: The search page is super good. Love it.Cons: NoneTab #4 For Applicants<...

Grants.gov is the haven for federal grants. Are you registered? Need some tips on all the "pre" enrollments, such as EIN, DUNS, and SAM to then be able to register on Grants.gov. Check out this short podcast on the process and go to www.grantwritingandfunding.com to see the short video on how to apply on Grants.gov and getting the new templates for SAM notarization. Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

“Obscurity is a bigger problem than money,” quotes Grant Cardone and this could not be truer when it comes to finding grant funding sources. If these funding sources are hidden away in some obscure world to your nonprofit, then this becomes the main root of not having any grant money. If you cannot find the sources that hold the money, then you will never be able to tap into the funding. Thanks so much for listening! Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

To find grants, it is first important to understand what they are and what they are not. Let’s start with what they are not. Let me say this very clearly. 1) Grants are NOT free money. I mean, sure if you handle them correctly it is money given to you that you do not have to pay back. Holly, how is that not free money? Well, because you have to spend the money on what you said you were going to spend it on, reach the objectives you stated you were going to reach, and send a report to the funding source on how you will achieve all of this. Want to read more about What Grants Are, What they Are NOT, and the Different Types of Grants? Go to www.grantwritingandfunding.com for more information and for Grant Opportunities! Thanks so much for listening! Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

First you will want to know what the needs are (through the Needs & Strengths Assessment), identify potential projects, and then evaluate those projects and refine your objectives. Don’t get scared by the term “Data Management Plan” which sounds super academic. Basically what this means is that you need to show: Why you are getting information? What are your project goal(s) What are your objective(s)/ data elements? What information do you desire? What data needs to be collected? Who collects the data? How will the data be collected? What is the frequency of the collection of data? Where will the data be stored? Why will this data be useful? Who will you share this data with? That sounds like a lot, but it makes sense, right? Just think if you were to hire someone to do this job or if you assigned this role to an existing employee or peer. You could hand over this Data Management Plan and they could run this initiative. Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨

“Why should I evaluate a project and why we even talking about that before we just start the project? Can’t I just make the project happen and then look back at it and give my review of it worked or didn’t work?” I hear these types of questions when nonprofits may just want to move. Heck, I asked these same sorts of questions when I was just starting out as a grant writer myself. When we are all pressed for time and ready to go this may seem to make more sense, the ‘do it imperfectly and get it done approach,’ rather than spending a bit more time planning. I get it. I understand sometimes the ‘over planning’ and ‘too-many-meetings’ syndrome. But projects that will really make a great impact to meet the numerous needs in your community aren’t a simple blog post to just get done imperfectly and publish online to move you forward. Projects have deeper repercussions and should have a major impact on your beneficiaries to initiate change. Setting up and Evaluation Plan is vital in the success of how you will meet your desired goals and make real change in your community. This podcast will give you the roadmap on how to do that. Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/

Where to begin. You have the information of what the need is in the community, now it’s time to establish what your team needs for the the specific project. If you found that there is a huge need for transporting clients to services, what do you need to help overcome the transportation barrier? Would it be possible to create an Uber-like project? By establishing local or regional programs in areas that are easily accessible, giving out bus passes, creating a carpooling activity, connecting with the local transportation system, implementing more online courses, etc? Let's look at how to identify projects and how to manage those projects... Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener? This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review! If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWzIfwJt0az9KKwKz1Uc8vg Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyrustick LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-rustick-0765b817/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/grantwritingandfunding/ Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/ ✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨