The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is a 12-month Group Coaching Program where aspiring and seasoned grant writers replace their FT income, on flexible hours, writing grants from home.
You don’t need a huge list of potential clients
You don’t need a grant writing certification
You don’t need to be an extrovert
You don’t need a business degree
You don’t need 10,000 hours of grant writing training
You don’t need 40 hours a week to be an entrepreneur
I’ve spent 20 years writing grants, worked inside nonprofits as a grant writer, and have had a full-time freelance grant writing business. When I worked inside a nonprofit , I was working 50+ hours a week in a toxic environment and making less than $50K per year. It wasn’t until I started freelance grant writing that I reduced my workload and stress, while increasing my freelance income to 6 figures per year.
You started a freelance grant writing business, but you don't have consistent clients, and you are constantly undercharging, giving discounts, and working too many hours.
You’re stuck in a toxic job where you are reliant on grants to get awarded or fundraising goals to get met to pay your salary.
Your current job is exhausting. You feel ‘guilted’ and end up working evenings and weekends to feel like you can get that next promotion, or just keep your job.
You have 0 or few clients because you don’t know what to charge for your services, or how to structure your services (and you keep giving deep discounts or working pro bono).
You have no grant writing experience and aren’t sure if nonprofits would even pay you and you don’t know if they can pay you.
Even thinking about sales calls with nonprofits makes your palms sweat. Imposter syndrome rears its head with you just thinking about being public about having a business!
Coaches and a community where you get support so you aren’t paralyzed with making business decisions.
A solid grant writing system, including UNLIMITED grant reviews to overcome imposter syndrome.
A simple and ethical system to have high-converting sales calls with nonprofit clients.
Writing Grants Changes the World.
Grant Writing & Business Acumen are Legacy Skills that Help you Live a Quality Life for the Rest of Your Life.
You Will Never Be out of Work. Ever.
Get out of a toxic workplace or retire with financial stability and flexibility.
Break the cycle of poverty and glass ceilings. You might be stuck in a peanuts income at a nonprofit. No more.
Earn a high 5 to 6 figure income while working part-time hours. Your business will finally be set up so you have financial peace and stability.
Be the go-to grant writer in your community and cause area.
Work from home so you can pick up the kids from school, care for littles or loved ones, or move with your spouse’s job without finding a new job with each move.
Learn our grant writing system through our 30-day master grant template challenge.
The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is an approved Education Provider in the GPCI Accepted Education Program.
We offer 31 Education Credits inside the Academy:
1) Freelance Grant Writer Academy Business Acumen, 2) 30-Day Master Grant Template, and 3) Grant Writer Master Course.
Get personalized feedback on your grants before you hand them into clients!
This will boost your grant writing skills (and more importantly confidence) by getting an expert’s eyes on your grants. And winning more grants, means getting more clients and charging more.
Holly does grant reviews as a stand-alone service starting at $2,500 as she has been a federal and foundation grant reviewer for a decade. You get this included in at no extra cost inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy!
Get personalized, expert WEEKLY coaching via Zoom, on any questions you are facing in your grant writing or business. Maybe you aren’t sure what to charge a potential client, how to reach out to get a client, or how to write a logic model. You will get over paralysis in your business by showing up to get coaching or listening in on others getting coached. Can’t make it? We got you. These coaching calls are recorded with replays available in the Hub to watch and in a private podcast to listen to in your car, on a walk, or while cooking.
Are you unsure of what type of nonprofit to work with? Or what type of business to open? Or want feedback on your Change Statement?
Get personalized feedback on the set up of your business, website reviews, and more. Inside the Academy, you can submit your pricing, package ideas, contracts, LinkedIn profile, services, and more. After working with hundreds of freelance grant writers and in the industry for 20 years, we know what works, and we also know not getting feedback can paralyze you in your business.
In just 10-15 minutes per day, for 30 days, you will learn a concept in writing a master grant proposal.
At the end of 30 days, (and along the way), you will get feedback on your Master Grant Application Template. You will also learn the exact grant writing process we use for onboarding clients and for making systems in your business to save you time. Even if you have written grants before, learn how to create a Master Grant Template as a product for your clients.
You will get a Grant Writing Certificate and can get 31 Education Credit Hours towards your GPC.
Bonuses: Inside the Academy, you also get access to Bonus curriculum that includes: Nonprofit Strategic Planning, Nonprofit Wellness Audit (for Grant Readiness), Become a Federal Grant Reviewer, and MORE. These are all additional services you can offer, or you can roll them into your service offerings. You will learn how to offer these services and get template reports ready for your clients.
Benefits: We love doing live bonus trainings, challenges, and working groups throughout the year. We also invite amazing Featured Guests into the program, do live challenges like the “Freedom to FAIL Challenge,” and so much more!
Industry Partners & Discounts: We work with Industry partner grant research, grant management, grant AI partners. Our students love to save hundreds of dollars every month by partnering with others in the Academy and getting grant research platforms. Plus, they get coupon code discounts for these research and management platforms by being in the Academy - and backdoor access to the top grant Industry partners in the world.
Our Freedom Circle benefits club has two levels:
1: Once you secure 4 grants and get 1 grant reviewed by our team, you will be listed in our GW&F Grant Writer for Hire Directory! Our students book Discovery Sales Calls every week! Only students in our programs can be listed on the Grant Writer Directory.
2: Once you reach $50K in your business as a grant writer, then you get private group coaching with more advanced strategies to scale your business.
Get the top-ranked curriculum in grant writing systems and business acumen so you write winning grants, set up your freelance business, identify your ideal clients, put together your services and pricing, have high-converting sales, and deliver top-quality client services.
All our curriculum to our infamous frameworks is On-Demand, and you get access immediately.
Get access to our freelance grant writer community in our daily Slack channel. Have a business question you want answered before the next coaching session, want to share a client win, or need some mindset coaching? The Freelance Grant Writer Academy Slack Channel gives you instant access to a community of freelance grant writers and grant writing coaches.
Mindset and personal growth are HUGE as an entrepreneur. Inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, you will get access to our self-coaching model, as well as get coaching on your thinking! Believe me, your thoughts create feelings which create actions and then results. It ALL starts with your thoughts. We work on empowering your thoughts so you set healthy boundaries and thrive in your business. The Academy Self-Coaching Formula works!
The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is an approved Education Provider in the GPCI Accepted Education Program.
We offer 31 Education Credits inside the Academy:
1) Freelance Grant Writer Academy Business Acumen, 2) 30-Day Master Grant Template, and 3) Grant Writer Master Course.
IN ADDITION TO THE COACHING AND COMMUNITY, YOU GET:
Grant Writing Certificate and Education Credits towards GPCI
Grant Writing Master Course WITH 70+ TEMPLATES
Learn our High-Quality Grant Writing Systems
Inside the Curriculum
UNLIMITED Grant Reviews – the only coaching program in the industry!
30-Day Master Grant Template Challenge
Grant Writing Skills, Systems, & Feedback
The Modules
Module 2: CEO Mindset, Money, & Management
Learn how to use grant research platforms and how to get reduced prices with other folks in the Academy.
Module 6: Client Delivery & Issues
BONUS: Nonprofit Strategic Planning Course
BONUS: Nonprofit Wellness Audit Course
BONUS: Become a Federal Grant Reviewer Course
Curriculum includes workbooks, templates, and samples, and shareable docs. You don’t need to create anything from scratch.
We got you.
Module 4: Services & Pricing
Module 3: Identify Your Niche & Marketing
Change Statement Formula and Marketing
Learn Client Onboarding Policies and how to create your own Standard Operating Procedures
Get a list of Client Onboarding Questions.
Get sample contracts to ensure you get paid before you start work and that your boundaries are set (no working weekends and going out of scope of contract).
Module 5: Sales Confidence & Getting Clients
Module 1: Business Foundations
Business Acumen Skills, Systems, & Feedback
Create a Successful Entrepreneur Mindset
From A to Z in Business Set-Up: Bank Set-Up, Naming your Business, and More
How to Create a CEO Part-Time Schedule
Manage Money – Profit Allocations
Self-Coaching 101 – Mindset
Your Niche Client
Identify 50 Ideal Nonprofit Clients in an Hour
SOPs in your Service Offerings
Get your First Paying Nonprofit Client
Value-Based Pricing Method
Pricing Packages and Retainers
Ethical Nonprofit Sales System
Booking High-Converting Sales Calls
Discovery Sales Calls questions and Sales Pitch
We offer UNLIMITED grant reviews at no extra cost inside the Academy. To the public, we charge $2,500 PER grant review, and inside the Academy, you get UNLIMITED Grant Reviews. We have 20+ years of federal, state, and foundation grant writing experience and 10+ years of federal grant review expertise. We have literally reviewed hundreds of grants. We know what gets funded and what doesn’t.
If you have hundreds of hours of content, weekly long sessions, and lots of homework you are not going to do it. You get short, bite-sized training videos and templates for what you need, when you need it. The content is simple, but loaded with the vital steps to move forward.
When you have a community where you can place questions, wins, or resources every single day for 12 months, that changes things. We offer weekly LIVE coaching calls AND a daily Slack channel so you get feedback as you implement the curriculum AND you get to meet up with your peers. Many students in the Academy even subcontract one another or partner on proposals with their peers.
No matter if you have never written a grant before or if you have been writing grants for decades, we have resources for you. We work with you to improve your grant writing skills and get your business acumen so that it replaces your full-time income while working part-time.
Many of the students inside the Academy get their first client as their current job. Others get another anchor client first before they even let their current job know. We help you quit your current job by first having your business set up with clients.
The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is an approved Education Provider in the GPCI Accepted Education Program.
We offer 31 Education Credits inside the Academy:
1) Freelance Grant Writer Academy Business Acumen, 2) 30-Day Master Grant Template, and 3) Grant Writer Master Course.
You will eliminate imposter syndrome of not feeling confident in grant writing because you learn how to write a grant with a proven formula!
1. 30-DAY MASTER GRANT TEMPLATE CHALLENGE
Through the Master Grant Template Challenge, you will learn our proven process of writing winning grants and securing more than $46 million, and our students securing $88 million in grant funding. Plus, you will learn how to do this as a paid service for your clients. We encourage you to roll a Master Grant Template into your grant writing services as it will save you hundreds of hours of writing grants AND it is a deliverable for your clients!
Learn our 30-Day Master Grant Template System in the first 30 days. Whether you are a new or seasoned grant writer, you will learn our Master Grant Template System.
You will get a 10-15 minute video every day, walking you through each section of developing a Master Grant Template.
When you are done with the 30-day Challenge, you can submit your Master Grant Application Template and Get Personalized Feedback on your Grant Template.
Client Delivery: We support you along the way in developing contracts, onboarding clients, and working in client services. We help you with client renewal, problem clients, and releasing clients neutrally (when needed).
2. IN THE FIRST 90 DAYS WE WILL SET UP YOUR BUSINESS ACUMEN SYSTEMS & GET YOUR FIRST PAYING CLIENTS
Change Statement: You will define what types of organizations you want to help get grant funding and define your service offerings and our retainers and packages.
Value- Based Pricing Method: You will use our Method to get clear on your pricing and submit it for review.
Ethical Nonprofit Sales System: You will set up your Discovery Sales Calls Systems and start booking out clients with high-converting (and non-sleazy) sales calls. You will also learn how to market without feeling pushy or weird (introvert-approved!).
First, we have to define the word success. If you’re hoping to find a silver bullet that requires very little work on your part and still guarantees your freelance company is successful, then this program isn’t for you.
However, if you are looking for a system that has a proven track record of helping individuals replace their full-time income by writing grants from home, then the Freelance Grant Writer Academy is a perfect fit!
There are more than 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S. alone. As a freelance grant writer, you will never be desperate for clients.
The Academy students on average earn more than $41,530 in the first five months of being in the program!
We immediately have ways that you can start earning revenue in your business through our Ethical Nonprofit Sales Strategy and Value-Based Pricing.
We have many changemakers that come in with no grant writing experience and 1) get confident in writing grants, and 2) secure clients within the year!
Immediately upon joining, you can access the 30-Day Master Grant Template, where you will get a short 5-15 minute video every day on how to write one component of a Master Grant Template (you can use a client’s program or you get an example and you can write a mock one).
By the end of 30 days, you will go through this process with your peers and get feedback on your Master Grant Template. You can submit this for review AND get 10 Education Credits towards your GPC and a Certificate!
Not only will you learn how to write a grant, but you will learn the system of creating a Master Grant Template for your current or future clients. This Master Grant Template will be a product and deliverable in your services AND will help you find the best fit grant prospects AND save tons of time to write your future grants for that program.
Literally, the entire Academy program will be paid for just for this challenge as that is something I used to charge $3,000 as a stand-alone!
Grant Writing Master Course: This has helped over a thousand people learn our simple grant formula and win grants. We have had senators take it, teachers, volunteers, lawyers, nonprofit staff, content writers, retired folks, and so many more who have literally never written a grant – learn how to write grants and secure literally millions of dollars in grant funds! You can submit this for review AND get 11 Education Credits towards your GPC and a Certificate!
Our Unlimited Grant Review area is the real amazing kicker, because you can have us review any grant application draft or grant template draft and we give you feedback on areas to improve.
WE are the only program that offers Unlimited Grant Reviews. Just this alone is worth the entire cost of the program.
We also have an entire part of our curriculum on how you go from Free to your first Paying Client. So if you do want to volunteer for 3 months at a nonprofit to write grants, we show you how you will transition that into a paying job. Some folks feel more comfortable doing that so they get more grant writing experience first, although not necessary.
You don’t have to worry if you are new to grant writing. We teach you the skill of grant writing AND the skill of pricing and selling to nonprofit clients.
You will learn how to set up a freelance grant writing business in the first 90 days and figure out your services, pricing, marketing plan, and ethical sales strategies utilizing our methods. AND you get feedback on them!
You have instant access to all curriculum. You will also get access to weekly live coaching in Zoom and access to our Daily Slack Channel where you can start getting feedback immediately!
Yes! As long as you are utilizing the grant reviews and Grant Writing Master Course to help them with grants, we don’t see why not. This is a popular way to get your 9-5 to invest in the program.
Our spicy belief is that every grant writer must open a freelance grant writing business! However, a lot of aspiring grant writers first want to join the Academy with their 9-5 to learn how to write grants really well first!
Even if you join just to access the Grant Writing portion of the Academy, you still get a high ROI on your investment as we help you write winning grants (in 15 months, Academy students have secured $88+ million in grants and $2.2+million in their businesses).
You get access for 12 months for all program curriculum and coaching. You can always renew if you’d like to extend after your 12 months is over.
As long as you have internet you can access the Academy and learn the systems to create a business anywhere. One thing to mention is that this course is geared more towards opening a business in the United States, but it gives more general suggestions as even in the United States, each state has its own process and requirements.
Overall, I have lived in Belgium, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Guam, and the States and been a freelance grant writer in each and every place. Additionally, we have had people in the Academy that live in Mexico, Germany, Guam, and operate in Africa.
Yes! In fact, we teach you how to overcome common objections that nonprofits have around paying consultants. You will say ‘no’ to working for free and you will get ideal nonprofit clients that pay. Our students are making high 5 – 6 figure incomes as freelance grant writers with only a few clients!
The thing is nonprofits know they need you. We teach you our Ethical Sales Process so you that can overcome objections and they will be getting on waitlists to hire you!
First, we have to define the word success. If you’re hoping to find a silver bullet that requires very little work on your part and still guarantees your freelance company is successful, then this program isn’t for you.
However, if you are looking for a system that has a proven track record of helping individuals replace their full-time income by writing grants from home, then the Freelance Grant Writer Academy is a perfect fit!
There are more than 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S. alone. As a freelance grant writer, you will never be desperate for clients.
The Academy students on average earn more than $41,530 in the first five months of being in the program!
We immediately have ways that you can start earning revenue in your business through our Ethical Nonprofit Sales Strategy and Value-Based Pricing.
You have instant access to all curriculum. You will also get access to weekly live coaching in Zoom and access to our Daily Slack Channel where you can start getting feedback immediately!
We have nonprofit CEOs/EDs and former CEOs in the program. What is great is you know how EDs/CEOs think. In the program we teach you how to sell to CEOs/EDs, price your services fairly, get your services clear, and how to do CEO management in your own business.
We also discuss questions that come up from CEOs/EDs, like “I don’t want to compete with my current job. How do I do that while still freelancing in my niche?”
We want you to really think about your current 9-5 as a client. This is going to be helpful – even if you are not wanting to quit and just want to earn extra income as a freelancer OR you want to set up an exit plan from your 9-5.
We meet weekly on Tuesday nights from 6:30 pm EST - 7:30 pm EST. If you cannot come live, we have replays on a private podcast. You have access to the curriculum for 12 months and can work your way through it in a way that makes sense for you (some people binge it in a weekend and others like to spread it out throughout the year).
We also have a daily Slack channel for you to submit any questions and get feedback and interact with your peers :)
We have people inside the Academy who have full-time jobs with kids at home who we help develop a manageable plan to start taking on their first client all the way to folks who are retired or have available time and want this to be a full-time career.
We are the only Coaching program that provides Unlimited Grant Reviews. We have 20+ years as grant writers and 10+ years as federal grant reviewers.
We know what grants get awarded and what grants don’t. We provide a thorough review so you can update your grant.
We charge $2,500 for nonprofits outside the Academy for ONE grant review. Inside the Academy, you get unlimited grant reviews for 12 entire months.
Here at Grant Writing & Funding we have a no refund policy or guarantees. Holly cares about the success of each and everyone of her students. She also cares about value of respecting one another’s time. She encourages you to take the time to read the sales page and email her (team@grantwritingandfunding.com) if you have any questions.
Additionally, this is NOT a membership program. This is an annual group coaching program and it is an investment for 12 months. We do offer a payment plan, but that does not mean it is a membership.
Yes! As long as you are utilizing the grant reviews and Grant Writing Master Course to help them with grants, we don’t see why not. This is a popular way to get your 9-5 to invest in the program.
Our spicy belief is that every grant writer must open a freelance grant writing business! However, a lot of aspiring grant writers first want to join the Academy with their 9-5 to learn how to write grants really well first!
Even if you join just to access the Grant Writing portion of the Academy, you still get a high ROI on your investment as we help you write winning grants (our students have secured $88+ million in grants and $2.2+million in their businesses).
As long as you have internet you can access the Academy and learn the systems to create a business anywhere. One thing to mention is that this course is geared more towards opening a business in the United States, but it gives more general suggestions as even in the United States, each state has its own process and requirements.
Overall, I have lived in Belgium, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Guam, and the States and been a freelance grant writer in each and every place. Additionally, we have had people in the Academy that live in Mexico, Germany, Guam, and operate in Africa.
Yes! In fact, we teach you how to overcome common objections that nonprofits have around paying consultants. You will say ‘no’ to working for free and you will get ideal nonprofit clients that pay. Our students are making high 5 – 6 figure incomes as freelance grant writers with only a few clients!
The thing is nonprofits know they need you. We teach you our Ethical Sales Process so you that can overcome objections and they will be getting on waitlists to hire you!
You get access for 12 months for all program curriculum and coaching. You can always renew if you’d like to extend after your 12 months is over.
We have many changemakers that come in with no grant writing experience and 1) get confident in writing grants, and 2) secure clients within the year!
Immediately upon joining, you can access the 30-Day Master Grant Template, where you will get a short 5-15 minute video every day on how to write one component of a Master Grant Template (you can use a client’s program or you get an example and you can write a mock one).
By the end of 30 days, you will go through this process with your peers and get feedback on your Master Grant Template. You can submit this for review AND get 10 Education Credits towards your GPC and a Certificate!
Not only will you learn how to write a grant, but you will learn the system of creating a Master Grant Template for your current or future clients. This Master Grant Template will be a product and deliverable in your services AND will help you find the best fit grant prospects AND save tons of time to write your future grants for that program.
Literally, the entire Academy program will be paid for just for this challenge as that is something I used to charge $3,000 as a stand-alone!
Grant Writing Master Course: This has helped over a thousand people learn our simple grant formula and win grants. We have had senators take it, teachers, volunteers, lawyers, nonprofit staff, content writers, retired folks, and so many more who have literally never written a grant – learn how to write grants and secure literally millions of dollars in grant funds! You can submit this for review AND get 11 Education Credits towards your GPC and a Certificate!
Our Unlimited Grant Review area is the real amazing kicker, because you can have us review any grant application draft or grant template draft and we give you feedback on areas to improve.
WE are the only program that offers Unlimited Grant Reviews. Just this alone is worth the entire cost of the program.
We also have an entire part of our curriculum on how you go from Free to your first Paying Client. So if you do want to volunteer for 3 months at a nonprofit to write grants, we show you how you will transition that into a paying job. Some folks feel more comfortable doing that so they get more grant writing experience first, although not necessary.
You don’t have to worry if you are new to grant writing. We teach you the skill of grant writing AND the skill of pricing and selling to nonprofit clients. You will learn how to set up a freelance grant writing business in the first 90 days and figure out your services, pricing, marketing plan, and ethical sales strategies utilizing our methods. AND you get feedback on them!