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Think and Ink Grant Consulting®
in Atlanta, Georgia
Grant Writers and Nonprofit Consultants

We provide customized, real-world solutions to help you think through grant-seeking strategies and 
ink competitive proposals.

We specialize in grants supporting women,
children, health, and education.

Hi, I'm Shavonn.

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It's nice to meet you. 

 

Why are you here?  You are here because grant writing is hard work.  It takes time and talent to find and write grants that win.

My team and I are here to help your organization increase your ability to win grants. Learn more about me here.

In service,

- Shavonn

Shavonn Richardson, MBA, GPC

Founder, Think and Ink Grants®

About Think and Ink Grants® 

Founded in 2016 in Atlanta, GA, Think and Ink Grant Consulting® (Think and Ink Grants®) provides customized solutions to help nonprofits “think” through strategy and “ink” competitive proposals to transform how organizations find grants, connect with funders, solve problems, and deepen community impact. Our firm specializes in grants supporting women, children, health, and education- the most vulnerable areas of our society. 

We take a comprehensive approach to helping nonprofits increase their grant funding, offering an array of outsourced, end-to-end grant-seeking services, which includes (1) grant-seeking strategic planning, (2) grant research, (3) grant writing, (4) grant reporting, and (5) evaluation support.

Our team at Think and Ink Grants® provides grant writing and consulting services to a variety of organizations, including large 501(c)(3) nonprofits with budgets of $ 3 million or more, colleges, universities, and institutions of higher education, city and county municipalities, mental health and behavioral health organizations, and more. Our team has a successful track record of helping organizations nationwide deepen community impact.

 

Our newest initiative, Get.Grants.Better.®  provides training, education, and discounted services to underserved and emerging 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

We are proud to be a Black-owned, women-owned, and DBE and MBE-certified firm.

What makes Think and Ink Grants® different?

Think and Ink Grants® is different because we offer highly customized services with real-world solutions built specifically to help your organization increase grant funding.  As we help craft your narrative, we highlight the uniqueness of your organization, helping you stand out from the crowded sea of endless proposals funders receive on a daily basis.

We are unique because we:

1. "Think" through strategy and how to demonstrate impact before we "ink" competitive proposals.  Many often skip the "think" step.

2. Specialize in grants supporting women, children, health, and education. We believe if we focus on improving these four focus areas, we can help change the world.

3. Share insight based on 150 years of combined actionable experience as former employees of foundations, reviewers, and nonprofit leaders.  We even have two in-house university-level evaluators. 

4. Provide all the value-added grant-seeking services most nonprofits would ever need under one roof- one firm, one relationship.

5. Offer the most advanced cutting-edge techniques in the grant professionals industry -our curated and time-proven approach is unmatched.

Who is our typical client?

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We are not a firm that churns out grant proposals, hoping for a win.  We work with clients committed to entering a partnership of applying thoughtful strategies to grant seeking.  

Most clients outsource their grant-seeking efforts to our firm.  We either operate as an outsourced grant office or fill in as little or as much as you need us as we collaborate with your existing team.  Our clients often have operating budgets of $3 million or more and include large 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, colleges, universities, and institutions of higher education, city and county municipalities, mental health and behavioral health organizations, and more.

We do not provide services to individuals or businesses.

 

Does this sound like you*?  Talk to us today.

Here is a sample of our current and past clients:

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Black Innovation Alliance
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Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative
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Atlanta Technical College
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What is our service offering?

Our service offering has been thoughtfully curated to help transform your grant seeking strategy.

We provide full-service end-to-end grant-seeking support through five in-house services: grant-seeking strategic planning, grant research, grant writing, grant management, and evaluation support. 

Think and Ink Grants can help you improve your grant seeking. 

Get in touch with one of our talented grant writers

in Atlanta, Georgia today:

Not ready yet?  Learn more here.

Get Started

Your journey starts now.

 

Are you looking for grant writers in Atlanta, Georgia or across the United States, to fuel your specific organization’s needs?

There are thousands of different grants available through funders.
 
Yes, it's a long list—but there are a few things you can do to hone in on the ones that will specifically support your goals.
 
Based in Atlanta, GA, Think and Ink Grants® helps you "think" then "ink" your next grant opportunity.  Our mission is to find the perfect grants, win them, and manage them so our clients build a consistent and strong relationship with funders. 

 

If you’re interested in getting the right grants for your organization and building amazing funder relationships, continue reading...

Let us help your nonprofit maximize your grant seeking.

Grant Research and Grant Consulting

It all starts with finding the right grant opportunities to help you achieve your goals.

 

Our approach to Grant Research and Grant Consulting helps you clearly articulate and define your organization's grant-seeking strategy with each specific funder in mind.

Our Grant Research services develop an initial funder list with funders with a history of supporting organizations just like yours.   We’ll take a comprehensive look at all the funders available to you and then match their giving history with your organization's initiatives. This results in a highly targeted list (we believe in quality over quantity) of funder opportunities that appeal to the funders’ interests while also fulfilling your organizational needs.  

 

Our Grant Consulting* services are vital in helping you align the internal working of your nonprofit and ensure every part of your organization supports grant seeking.  We help your organization meet your organizational goals of developing a(n): 

  • Theory of Change

  • Organizational Strategy

  • Capacity Building

  • Board of Director Engagement

  • Nonprofit Goals, Mission, and Vision Statement

  • Program Design (Goals, Objective, and Outcomes Development)

  • Community Needs Assessment

  • Identify Collaborators

  • Mock Review and Editing

  • Evaluation Planning

*Additional topics are available on request.

Potential Deliverables include:

 

  • Logic Model

  • Theory of Change Summary

  • Annual Strategic Plan

  • A Data-Based Statement of Needs

  • Capacity Improvement Plan

  • Evaluation Plan

  • Partnership Identification Plan

  • Collaborative Application Strategic Plan

Once our Grant Consulting is completed, we examine each part of your organization and recommend a customized strategy of how your organization should pursue grants to improve your organization's ability to submit competitive proposals.  Within our Grant Consulting services, we deploy our Relationship Cultivation and Stewardship strategies to build new relationships with funders before submitting a proposal and to help make receiving new funding from existing funders' renewal that much easier.  Both of these services help you be on the front line in building impactful relationships with funders.  We help you approach each funder with the confidence and knowledge to succeed.

Grant Writing 

Wondering about the most effective way to win grants and find the perfect grant writer?  

 

One thing you probably know is that funders are inundated with grant applications. So, naturally, finding a way to stand out is important. That’s why we use a specific formula to submit competitive grant applications through our Think and Ink Grants Grant Writing process. 

 

We know that funders are looking for a very specific set of items in each application they get—and the more aligned you are with what an individual funder is looking for, the higher your chance of success becomes.

 

Our approach involves developing a competitive proposal by writing and submitting grants.  Using the research we’ve gathered, our Grant Writing process handcrafts each proposal to clearly position your organization's missions and initiatives as a prime candidate. 

 

Competitive proposals must:

 

  • Align your program with the funder’s funding interests.

  • Explain why your program and organization are unique.

  • Incorporate your program's potential for community impact.

  • Demonstrate that you have the capacity to execute the project.

  • Demonstrate your past successes.

  • Clearly define the roadmap to success.

  • Explain how you will measure and evaluate success (short and long-term).

  • Prove your program is sustainable beyond the funding period.

Think and Ink Grant Consulting® supports these goals and more.

Grant Management and Evaluation

Where do most organizations drop the ball when receiving grant funding?

 

After years of grant consulting we’ve seen all the struggles organizations go through to find, receive, and maintain funding.

 

What we’re about to share is one of the largest mistakes we see organizations make: Most organizations do not manage the funder relationship appropriately or set up the correct processes to keep funding relationships strong.

 

That’s why our approach to Grant Management and Evaluation is a game-changer.

 

One factor a lot of organizations overlook is the importance of having a comprehensive grant management system in place and the importance of evaluating and reporting the success of your program. 

 

All funder requirements are different. Some need varying levels of weekly or monthly reports, while sometimes funding installments are directly tied to your progress on specific initiatives.

 

Having a comprehensive reporting system that clearly shows the progress you’ve made toward your goals is critical to developing and maintaining a good relationship with funders.

 

If you don’t develop a comprehensive reporting system you could end up:

 

  • Not receiving the full amount of funding available to you.

  • Be excluded from future funding opportunities.

  • Undergoing legal and financial consequences.

 

This is why the Grant Management and Evaluation phase is so instrumental to your future funding opportunities.

 

Putting a defined process in place to easily measure, evaluate, and report your initiatives will allow you to develop strong funder relationships and tell your story. All of which, when done correctly, will make your future funding needs more manageable.

 

Think and Ink Grants can help you transform your grant seeking. 

Get in touch with one of our talented grant writers

in Atlanta, Georgia today:

Not ready yet?  Learn more here.

LET'S CONNECT

Schedule your complimentary consultation today

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