What to Expect When You Work With a Grant Consultant
- elaine4122
- Sep 4
- 4 min read
If you're a nonprofit leader exploring external grant support, you're probably asking:
What exactly does a grant consultant do?
Will they “get” our organization?
How hands-on (or hands-off) do we need to be?
We hear these questions all the time, and they make total sense. Working with a grant consultant is an investment of time, money, and trust. And if you’ve never done it before, the process can feel a little… mysterious.
At Just Look Left, we believe in transparency, clarity, and collaboration. So today, we’re walking you through exactly what to expect when you work with a grant consultant (at least, when you work with us.)
💡 First Things First: What Is a Grant Consultant?
A grant consultant is more than a grant writer.
Yes, we write proposals. But we also:
Help you develop a clear funding strategy
Identify aligned grant opportunities
Organize your documents and systems
Manage deadlines and submissions
Support post-award compliance and reporting
At Just Look Left, we act like an extension of your team and one that brings deep experience, strategic clarity, and scalable capacity.
🛠️ Our Process: What Working With Us Looks Like
Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of how we partner with clients through the full grant lifecycle:
1. Learn
We start by getting to know you. Not just what you do, but why you do it.
We ask questions like:
What are your top funding priorities?
What programs need the most support?
What strategic programs to do you see on the horizon?
What’s worked (or not worked) with grants in the past?
This phase is part discovery call, part listening session, part strategy intake. You’ll meet your lead consultant, and we’ll co-create a roadmap based on your goals and capacity.
2. Organize
Next, we’ll help you get your grant documents in order.
We set up a shared folder and help you gather the essentials: budgets, board lists, organizational narrative, IRS forms, logic models, outcomes and anything else that might be relevant. If you’re not sure what you need, we’ll guide you with our grant readiness checklist.
We don’t expect perfection, but we do expect progress. And we’re here to make the process easier.
3. Research
Our team searches national and regional grant databases, reviews funder 990s, and taps into our internal knowledge of the philanthropic landscape.
You’ll receive a custom list of aligned opportunities, complete with deadlines, focus areas, funding amounts, and notes on fit.
We’ll also help you prioritize based on competitiveness, timeline, and alignment.
🔎 Note: the research is never a ‘one-and-done’ step. We regularly monitor opportunities throughout the year to see if one is aligned with your strategy.
4. Strategize
This is where the magic happens. Based on our research, we’ll build you a 12–18 month grant calendar that maps out when to apply, for what, and why.
We’ll also schedule time to review the calendar with you, refine the list, and align our approach with your internal programs and staffing realities.
📅 No more reactive applications. Just a clear, funder-aligned roadmap that helps you win grants (and keep your sanity).
5. Write
Once opportunities are selected, we get to work.
You’ll be matched with a lead grant writer who drafts your proposals, gathers attachments, and manages the review process. We build in time for your feedback and funder-specific tailoring.
We also handle submissions (when possible), and always keep you informed on status, next steps, and funder responses.
6. Manage
Our support doesn’t stop at submission.
If you win the grant (🎉), we help you manage:
Narrative and financial reporting
Communication with funders
Renewal strategies and follow-up timelines
We track reporting deadlines for every grant we submit on your behalf, and we’ll prompt your team when reports are due. No more scrambling to find what you sent last year.
🤝 What Makes Our Approach Different?
We’re not just here to win grants. We’re here to build systems, confidence, and capacity.
Here’s what clients say they appreciate most about working with us:
Strategic clarity: We help you zoom out, not just grind through proposals
Embedded support: We act like an extension of your team
Clean communication: We’re proactive, clear, and easy to reach
Values alignment: We specialize in supporting equity-driven, mission-centered orgs
🧡 “They didn’t just write grants. They built bridges to funders who believed in our mission.” — Just Look Left client
🎯 Is Grant Consulting Right for You?
Consider partnering with a grant consultant if:
You’re pursuing more opportunities than your staff can manage
You need support with strategy, not just writing
You want to build a calendar of aligned funders, not chase every shiny RFP
You need temporary help during a staff transition
You’re ready to level up your infrastructure and win rate
Curious what it could look like for your team?
Final Thoughts
Working with a grant consultant doesn’t just save time. It builds confidence, strategy, and sustainability into your fundraising work (hello 87% client retention rate!).
Whether you’re new to grants or looking to scale your impact, our team is here to walk alongside you with thoughtful partnership, killer proposals, and a whole lot of heart.
💬 Ready to explore a partnership?
