Grant Writing & Funding

Holly Rustick

Quit your toxic nonprofit job and replace your full-time income while writing grants part-time, from home! Join our students in the Freelance Grant Writer Academy to create Financial Stability and Flexibility through writing grants for causes you are passionate about: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy

World-renowned grant writing expert and Amazon bestselling author Holly Rustick provides coaching that helps new and experienced grant writers replace their full-time income while writing grants part-time from home (or anywhere they want to live or travel in the world).

She coaches changemakers to master grant writing and start to grow 6-figure+ grant writing businesses on part-time hours via her signature group program, “Freelance Grant Writer Academy."

As an unapologetic feminist, Holly’s work in coaching female grant writers to master grant writing, find their cause-area niche, and navigate value-based pricing and nonprofit sales is breaking glass ceilings for women all over the world.

Every week, she coaches thousands of people through the top-ranking podcast, Grant Writing & Funding, books on grant writing, and inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy.

Holly has 20 years of experience in grant writing, and began her freelance grant writing journey back in 2005. While teaching in Kuwait and Indonesia, and then earning a Master’s Degree in International Political Economy in Belgium, Holly saw the light of setting up a virtual-based business in grant writing back in the mid-2000s. Having secured more than $45 million of dollars for nonprofit organizations, and then setting up a multi 6-figure freelance business, Holly has a mission to help female grant writers break out of toxic nonprofit J-O-B-S and create high-level income while freelance grant writing.

Inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, students have secured more than $225+ million in grant funding and $4+ million in revenue in their grant writing businesses within two years.

To amplify this work, she is past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce and was appointed to the Guam Business Advisory Task Force as an advisor to the first female governor of Guam. Holly lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella.

If you are interested in replacing your full-time income while writing grants part-time from home (or from anywhere in the world!) join the Freelance Grant Writer Academy!

www.grantwritingandfunding.com.

Episodes

Mentioned books

Aug 28, 2020 • 1h 19min

Ep. 135: $1K into $15K in 1 Month: How This Freelance Grant Writer Did It

Join the Free, Live Training, "Earn an Extra $10K in 90 Days Writing Grants at Home" on Tuesday, October 14th at 4 pm - 5:30 pm EST. Click here https://grantwritingandfunding.com/academy-webinar.Have you ever known deep in your gut what your dream is, but you aren’t currently living in it? Or maybe you commit to living your dream but don’t even know where to start. If you could sit down and have coffee with someone who turned $1,000 into $15,000 during the pandemic while helping others and working less, then would you? Because today we are doing just that as we listen to how Dr. Omotola Akinsola as she shares all her secrets and how she overcame challenges. But even if you are not looking to open a freelance grant writing biz, and you run a nonprofit, you will also want to catch this as she is going to spill all in how she has also continued to grow a thriving nonprofit after doing a needs assessment. Due to that, her nonprofit has served more than 8,000 students and teachers in Nigeria. This episode is definitely for you if: ✔️ You want to start or grow a nonprofit ✔️ You want to turn leads from being those that ghost you into high paying customers ✔️ You are a parent and need to balance running a business with being home with your kids ✔️ You want to find out how to price and charge clients ✔️ You want to be inspired because you need something positive to listen today (yes, Tola is that amazing!) ✔️ You want a free coupon on Tola's Grant Writing Made Easy for Nonprofit! Check out www.grantwritingandfunding.com/135 Today’s Dr. Akinsola shares behind-the-scenes on: ✔️ How she grew up in poverty in Nigeria and followed her dreams in taking big risks ✔️ How the education strike made her start to do her own personal and professional development ✔️ Her Fab 6 heroes include: Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, and her parents ✔️ How she burned all her bridges to do the massive things she wanted to do ✔️ How and why she attended university in the States ✔️ Why and How she did a focus group before launching a nonprofit ✔️ How she opened a nonprofit in Nigeria while being a student in the States ✔️ How her nonprofit in Nigeria has trained more than 8,000s of students and teachers ✔️ When and how she opened her freelance grant writing biz; The Funding Magnet ✔️ How she created a product after talking to 300 nonprofits ✔️ How the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course changed her business and she 15X her investment within a matter of months ✔️ How she has diversified her streams of income ✔️ How she learned how to create passive income ✔️ How she learned her value and how to price ✔️ How a one-hour consultation helped her raise $5,000 for her nonprofit ✔️ How she realized she was wasting her time with dead leads and started getting clients with less drain

Aug 19, 2020 • 23min

Ep. 134: Calling All Freelance Grant Writers! How To Narrow Down Your Nonprofit Niche

Join the Free, Live Training, "Earn an Extra $10K in 90 Days Writing Grants at Home" on Tuesday, October 14th at 4 pm - 5:30 pm EST. Click here https://grantwritingandfunding.com/academy-webinar.*Sign up for the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course Waitlist and get a Bonus Downloadable today: www.grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance.* In this podcast you will learn how to get clear on who you want to serve as a freelance grant writer or nonprofit consultant, as well as what types of grants are best suited to you to write. This is super important as serving all nonprofits isn’t always the best place to start. Why not? Well, it is hard to really market specifically, cultivate clients, and get experience and expertise in a certain field. You may have heard that creating an avatar or ideal client is important in any business. That’s true – even in this business. You want to know what types of nonprofits you enjoy serving otherwise you might either take on clients that drive you crazy or have a hard time getting any clients because your message is too large. • If you just don’t even know how to market, or • wonder why your clients drive you crazy and end up being WAY too much work, or • just aren’t sure why you are not attracting leads… it could be due to not creating a niche market. This podcast will help you get clear on your messaging and show you how to gain more clients while focusing on less. In the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course, I go over this in more detail and quizzes so you can get clear on specific niches. But today’s episode will definitely help you get clear on your niche market. 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 P.S. if you love the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes! That would make me SO happy! :)

Aug 14, 2020 • 23min

Ep. 133: 3 Fabulous Fundamentals to Grow a Freelance Grant Writer Biz

Join the Free, Live Training, "Earn an Extra $10K in 90 Days Writing Grants at Home" on Tuesday, October 14th at 4 pm - 5:30 pm EST. Click here https://grantwritingandfunding.com/academy-webinar.Have you ever dreamed of becoming a freelance grant writer, but don't know where to start? Or maybe you opened your business awhile ago but have hit a plateau. In either case, this podcast discusses the fundamentals of growing a freelance grant writer business. Yes, there are some fundamentals and if you skip these you are going to struggle. Big time. And the thing is, you won't know why. You will just feel like you are never focused and always doing. You will get stuck in the hamster wheel syndrome. So this podcast is breaking it down! Big time. This week, we will go over the top 3 fundamentals and next week we will go over 2 more fundamentals. If you want more of this, be sure to sign up to the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course Waitlist to get the accompanying downloadable: Freelance Grant Writer 5 Actions Steps to Make It Real. Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com/133. I only open the Freelance Grant Writing Master Course 1 to 2 times per year, so get on the waitlist to start on September 7th, 2020! In the meantime, check out this podcast to start growing your Freelance Grant Writing Biz today! Warmly, Holly BTW, if you love the podcast, please leave a review on iTunes! That would make me SO happy! :)

Aug 6, 2020 • 1h 3min

Ep. 132: Become A Federal Grant Reviewer - 10X Your Grant Writing Skills While Getting Paid

Join the Free, Live Training, "Earn an Extra $10K in 90 Days Writing Grants at Home" on Tuesday, October 14th at 4 pm - 5:30 pm EST. Click here https://grantwritingandfunding.com/academy-webinar.🌟 Check out www.grantwritingandfunding.com for tons of free grant writing & funding resources for aspiring freelance grant writers, nonprofit consultants, & nonprofit leaders 🌟 Are you interested in becoming a better grant writer while gaining experience and not just on a volunteer level? If you have experience in a specific field: education, homeless shelters, climate change, workforce initiatives, tribe work, etc. then you could become a federal grant reviewer. In this episode, two of my AMAZING Changemaker Members share their experiences in how they became federal grant reviewers! I get asked how to become a Federal Grant Reviewer almost as much as I get asked how to write grants! So much, that I am putting a course together on it! If you want to sign up, see below! In this podcast episode, Christine Taylor, Jennifer Mitsch, and I discuss the following: ✔️ Overview of Becoming a Grant Review Process ✔️ How a Grant Review Process is like the Family Giving a Review on the New Boyfriend ✔️ What it Takes to Become a Grant Reviewer ✔️ How Jennifer and Christine Became Grant Reviewers and their Experiences ✔️ Why It’s So Important to Follow the Scoring Criteria in Writing Grants ✔️ The Don’ts of Grant Writing and What Reviewers Catch ✔️ Hacks on How to Be a Grant Reviewer (even if you’ve never done it before) ✔️ Why Grant Reviewing Helps You Become a Better Grant Writer ✔️ How Points are Deducted on Grant Proposals (see behind-the-scenes) ✔️ The Magic of 3 on a Grant Review Panel ✔️ How You Get Paid to Be a Grant Reviewer ✔️ How Freelancers Can Pitch to Nonprofits to Write Grants That They Have Reviewed If you have any questions, feel free to email holly@grantwritingandfunding.com I’d love to connect with you! Please leave a review on iTunes if you love the Grant Writing & Funding Podcast! Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author

Jul 28, 2020 • 54min

Ep. 131: The Flawless Framework to Transform a Nonprofit's Board of Directors with Sean Kosofsky

Join the Free, Live Training, "Earn an Extra $10K in 90 Days Writing Grants at Home" on Tuesday, October 14th at 4 pm - 5:30 pm EST. Click here https://grantwritingandfunding.com/academy-webinar.✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com/131 to join Sean's FREE Webinar: How to Transform Your Board of Directors in 90 days✨✨ If you are a nonprofit leader, freelance grant writer, or nonprofit consultant than you know that the role and efficiency of a healthy board of directors are vital for nonprofit health! That’s why I brought on Sean Kosofsky from Nonprofit Fixer to share with you how to improve a nonprofit’s board of directors. If you resonate with not knowing how to ask your board to financial contribute, what their expectations are of showing up, or how they can be the most effective, then this episode is for you! Also, we talk about how freelance grant writers and nonprofit consultants can add a board of director training to their services and how this can help nonprofits get MORE funding. Sean Kosofsky is the NonProfit Fixer! He has worked in nonprofits for more than 27 years, including as executive director for five organizations. He has worked in policy, communications, grassroots advocacy, direct service, development, management and served on numerous boards. He has raised millions of dollars for causes, candidates and campaigns. His work has appeared in news stories around the world, and he has offered webinars or blog posts through AFP, Candid, Idealware, Bloomerang, Wild Apricot, and Pamela Grow’s Motivate Mondays. He has worked on a wide range of issues including LGBTQ equality, reproductive justice, voting access, bullying prevention, climate change, and more. He offers coaching, consulting, training and free tools at his website Nonprofitfixer.com and courses at http://Learn.MindTheGapConsulting.org. In today’s episode, we discuss the following: ✔ How to help recruit, retain, and grow a board of directors ✔ How a freelancer/consultant can conduct board of directors training for nonprofits as a side income or main income ✔ Sean’s colorful story on why he became involved with nonprofits ✔ How you can use your passion to do good in the world ✔ How Sean moved to a new city and started a freelance nonprofit consultancy ✔ How to leverage your relationships in your geographic area to get new leads ✔ What freelancers need to focus on that will lead to a full-time hustle job ✔ The huge space available for nonprofit consultants ✔ How to test your services to see which ones will sell the most ✔ The key elements in why a board of directors is inefficient and how to fix it ✔ 80% of what You do - Recruit, Retain, Remove board members ✔ The 3 M’s: Members, Meetings, and Money ✔ The Board Agreement: How to have a board of directors actually commit to bringing in funding every single year ✔ The Fundamental Change to Uplevel a Nonprofit: Flipping the Mindset of Board Members Links Mentioned From the Episode: ✔ Join the August 6th FREE Webinar: How to Transform Your Board in 90 Days. Click here ✔ Find out more about Sean, get a free consultation, or see FREE resources at: nonprofitfixer.com ✔ Find out more about Sean’s courses at: http://Learn.MindTheGapConsulting.org 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

Jul 21, 2020 • 18min

127: Strategic Hacks To Rethink Fundraising To Grow A Nonprofit With Samantha Taitano

Join the Free, Live Training, "Earn an Extra $10K in 90 Days Writing Grants at Home" on Tuesday, October 14th at 4 pm - 5:30 pm EST. Click here https://grantwritingandfunding.com/academy-webinar.✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ This week’s podcast is another episode in the Nonprofit Strategic Planning series! We are half-way through the year, so now is the time to do your planning and get clarity! This is definitely for you if: ✨ You want to increase your nonprofit leadership skills ✨ You are an aspiring or newbie consultant and want to 10X your business with services to teach strategic planning In today’s podcast, Samantha Taitano, executive director of Mañe'lu formerly Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guam, is going to give you strategic hacks on how to rethink fundraising to grow funding in 2020. We have a great conversation and she touches on time management for productivity, strategic planning tips, hacks on getting creative for fundraising strategies, and also discusses some HR challenges while wearing all the hats in a small nonprofit. Some more things we discuss: • Transitioning from a national nonprofit to a local one • How to get a strong and committed board of directors • Social media: Don’t just put up content, but track your data • Social media: What platform to use? • Branding magic • 3 Time management tips • Nonprofit Strategic Planning retreats • Fundraising hacks and creative pivots • Apply for grants! Less competition • How to wear all hats in a small nonprofit About Samantha: Samantha Taitano is the Executive Director of Mañe’lu, a nonprofit organization that empowers and educates youth and families to change their lives for the better. She has been with the organization since 2018 and successfully led the rebranding of the organization from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Guam to Mañe’lu. To date, Samantha has worked to secure over $500k in grant funding which led to the expansion of the portfolio of services Mañelu manages. Prior to her start with Mañe’lu, Samantha worked to develop experiences reinforcing her desire to assist local communities develop capacity and understand technology. While with the Peace Corps, she worked to enrich the lives of rural communities in South Africa. Samantha later returned home to Guam where she developed corporate experience with a private organization developing IT solutions. During her spare time, she enjoys spending time connecting to her island home and exploring destinations near and far. I’d love to connect with you! www.grantwritingandfunding.com Did you love this episode? Would you mind doing me a favor and to leave a review on iTunes? Thanks for listening! Holly Rustick Expert Grant Writer & Bestselling Author

Jun 25, 2020 • 43min

126: Strategic Planning Crash Course 10 Steps To Skyrocket Your Nonprofit or Freelance Biz

Join the Free, Live Training, "Earn an Extra $10K in 90 Days Writing Grants at Home" on Tuesday, October 14th at 4 pm - 5:30 pm EST. Click here https://grantwritingandfunding.com/academy-webinar.✨✨ Visit www.grantwritingandfunding.com to get the proven G.R.A.N.T.S. formula to write winning grants ✨✨ Are you ready to make all your 2020 goals happen during the next six months? Or are you still trying to figure out how to survive during the pandemic? If you are either a nonprofit leader, staff, or volunteer and are trying to move the needle forward on your nonprofit OR if you are an aspiring freelance consultant and are stuck in overwhelm then this podcast and article is for you! Just imagine how much more accomplished you will feel having the steps to create a plan that will work. These 10 steps can be down internally in your nonprofit or business OR if you are a freelance grant writer or nonprofit consultant can be learned services you can offer! So if you want to make a huge difference in ending the cycle of stressing out about not having enough time, not securing the funding you need, and having real burnout and instead you want to feel in control of your life, have a higher quality of life, and have a plan that brings in real financial results, then this is for you. If you want to go WAY more into depth, get downloadables and checklists, and MORE, then get the Nonprofit Strategic Planning Master Course. If you get it by June 30th you get $100 off the price! As a grant writer, you know that all nonprofits are not able to go for grants all the time or that they could improve their projects. Thus, this episode will give you skills to do each of these 10 steps as a stand-alone service for nonprofits or you can do them all as an overall package. In any case, this is another way to multiply your streams of income. Check out www.grantwritingandfunding.com/126. 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

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!

Get the app