What Happens When Grant Writers Combine the Head and the Heart?

“We’re not the right solution for everyone. Some organizations might not be aligned with our progressive values. Others aren’t at a stage where they’re ready to work with us. But we believe we have the most comprehensive data, experienced grant writers, and a model that can deliver for established nonprofits.” 

That’s Alayna Buckner, founder and CEO of Elevate: Smart Grants for Powerful Social Change. A bold claim, yes, but she has the data to back it up. 

“It’s amazing to imagine,” Vice President Jessica Culverhouse begins, “that Alayna, as a budding 20-something freelancer, mapped out a grant tracking database that would be valuable fifteen years later.”

Alayna, and Elevate, have supported hundreds of nonprofits over the years. Their database is rich with sector-specific trends, win rates, and information that helps them compare client success rates with the wider nonprofit world.

Globally? Analyses of average win rate range from 17% to 43-46%.

At Elevate, that number is… different. 

An average of 55.4% over the past five years.

“We’re really proud of those numbers,” Jessica shares. 

For leaders exhausted by uncertainty, wondering if their efforts will pay off, it’s worth asking Alayna: what’s the difference between a successful application and the rest? 

It may have something to do with the intersection of the head and the heart.

Grantwriting Is Not Just Writing

“A lot of people think it’s just sitting down, writing the grant, and sending it in,” Alayna says. “But we view it as an entire program.”

Including:

• Researching and identifying aligned funders
• Building relationships
• Tracking deadlines, follow-ups, and outcomes
• And writing proposals tailored to specific funders, in the language they use, using words they understand and resonate with

“Some funders want compelling stories. But also they, especially larger funders, really want to understand your impact based on actual measurable results. My philosophy on grantwriting is that we’re translators, from the work that’s happening on the ground, to the things that the funders care about.”

For organizations juggling limited staff capacity, that operational load can be overwhelming. Which is why getting support can be so valuable.

“What we do,” Buckner begins, “is package what an organization actually needs, from strategy to writing, and operational support, so you don’t have to hire that staff yourself.”

Like a one-stop shop with an à la carte menu you can pick and choose from, Elevate meets clients where they are and shepherds them to where they want to go. And all with the business context in mind. 

“We look at return on investment,” she says. “LOI conversion rates. At what point the labor required outweighs the potential return. Opportunity cost. Things like that.”

It can be really valuable to have someone money-minded in your corner. As strategic planning expert Mandy Pearce shared with us, “nonprofit” is a tax status, not a business model. Despite differences, for-profits and nonprofits face similar resource constraints; it’s important to consider ROI, as well as impact, before making decisions and allocating resources.

From Budding Freelancer to Successful Consulting Practice

Alayna Buckner, Elevate’s founder, didn’t set out to build a grantwriting firm. She set out to do meaningful work and to do it well.

At 25, she began consulting independently. She’d finished her public policy degree a few years earlier, expecting to work in advocacy or government. But her first role at a nonprofit exposed her to fundraising, and things grew from there.

“By the time I was 28, I had so many clients it made sense to me to start a business. I hired interns to help draft grants and over the next few years, developed a team model for grants with adjustable capacity from writing, strategy, and data people.” 

Being 28 with more clients than you can handle is a pretty impressive feat for anyone, let alone a young consultant just entering the market. But her colleagues recognized her grantwriting talent, her clients raised money (so they were happy), and her success snowballed from there.

Interrogating the Data

Elevate’s philosophy on how to use grant data and information speaks volumes about their expertise.

“It’s hard to say what a good win rate is for an individual organization,” Jessica begins. "Is your win rate very high? 90% or more? You’re probably not putting yourself out there. Is your win rate super low? You might be going after grants that aren’t aligned with your organization, or you aren’t developing the relationships you’ll need in advance of submitting.” 

Different organizations are at different stages. Circumstances vary. What’s right for one organization, in terms of risk tolerance or revenue diversity, may not be right for another. 

They’re rightfully proud of their win rates. But how they use that information on a client-to-client basis? It’s tailored, targeted, and specific to the organization they’re supporting.

The Difference Between a Good, and Bad, Application

When asked what separates strong grantwriting from weak submissions, Buckner doesn’t hesitate.

“Specificity,” she says. “We don’t like vagueness. We don’t like wordiness. Our philosophy is that the client wins the grant. The funder is funding the client’s programs and impact. Our job is to translate that work to what the funder cares about.”

That translation requires understanding both sides:

• The nonprofit’s mission, programs, and measurable outcomes
• The funder’s priorities, language, and decision-making criteria

“Some funders want compelling narrative,” Buckner says. “Others want measurable outcomes and strong evaluation. You have to know who you’re talking to.” 

And every word matters, especially when applications come with strict character constraints.

“Every word is a decision. That’s why we’re not preoccupied with AI truly replacing grant strategy. Expertise and deep industry knowledge is needed to synthesize ideas, position them strategically, and differentiate one nonprofit’s unique contributions from another. AI writing can only draw from what has already been written; it is inherently backwards-looking. Human intelligence is still best suited for nuance and forward-looking decision-making.”

Why Heart Still Matters

For all the talk of data and strategy, Buckner is quick to emphasize that grantwriting is ultimately about people.

Her favorite success story involves a nonprofit that addressed social isolation during the height of the pandemic by adapting a proven model from England, implementing it locally, and then sharing it across a national network.

“It was this perfect alignment,” she says. “The funder cared about a timely issue. The nonprofit had the capacity. The model worked. And the impact spread.”

Only six organizations nationwide received funding from that grantor.

Elevate’s client was one of them.