In the first few months of 2025, sweeping cuts made by the second Trump administration, representing billions of dollars in government grant funding across multiple sectors, took effect. The nonprofit funding ecosystem in America, already fragile and complex, was immediately destabilized, with federal arts, science, and education programming suffering the greatest losses. .According toEducation Week, support for the K-12 education sector alone saw disruptions and cuts to $12 billion in federal funding in 2025.
For its 2026 fiscal year budget (covering October 2025 through September 2026) the administration outlined further cuts to so-called “Woke Programs,” including unprecedented reductions totalling $5.2 billion to grants issued by the National Science Foundation; these cuts amounted to 57% of the NSF’s existing budget. Within the fiscal year, the administration also aims to eliminate the Minority Business Development Agency, created in 1969 by the Nixon Administration to provide grants and resources to minority-owned businesses.
Grants provide the essential funding nonprofit organizations need to serve their communities. According to nonprofit information service specialist Candid, 26% of Illinois nonprofits rely on federal grant funding alone to make ends meet. With over 1.9 million IRS-registered nonprofits in the United States, the level of competition for grant monies is frequently fierce.
In its 2024 report on grantseeking, grant database manager GrantStation found that 91% of nonprofits surveyed applied for at least one grant in 2023. Depending on the organization, a grant’s funding may not be disbursed all at once; it may be distributed in installments, or on a reimbursement basis, where organizations make purchases first and request repayment from the grantor. Organizations are often required by the grantor, especially at the federal level, to provide detailed reports on how funds are used. This arrangement allows for transparency and accountability, but also slows some crucial processes. For some organizations, especially small grassroots organizations at the community level, staying compliant presents its own challenges due to a lack of resources, training or administrative staff.
In addition to federal and state funding, organizations also often apply for grants from private foundations, individual philanthropists, and corporate-sponsored foundations. As federal funding sources shrink, more nonprofits have turned to private funding. Securing the funds to meet a budget is never guaranteed; every grant is a competition, and applicants need to make compelling cases for their causes.
When nonprofit staff lack the experience, bandwidth, or resources to write an effective grant proposal, professional grant writers often step in. Good ones are able to distill a nonprofit’s initiatives and mission into a compelling proposal aligned with the expectations of a funder. Blending elements of journalism, sales, and research, an effective grant writer can win nonprofits the resources they need to more effectively serve their communities. In the current economic and political environment, their skills and contributions have never been more crucial.
It’s also not uncommon for grant writers, particularly those operating as independent contractors, to offer nonprofit support beyond basic proposal writing. Some offer strategic, programming or research assistance to help nonprofits find new opportunities and flesh out their own offerings. And grant writers also serve as peer reviewers for grant submissions, particularly for federal organizations.
What does it take to be a grant writer? We sat down with three independent grant writing professionals to learn more about the field:
Joyce Golbus Poll is the owner and founder of J.G. Poll and Associates, which has served family and healthcare nonprofits since 2004.
ASIL Ventures founder and president Lisa Green specializes in nonprofit services, grant peer review, and business development.
Vanessa Taliferro is the COO and senior consultant for AD-V Business Consulting, Inc., where she manages a team of grant writers specializing in multiple areas and services.
How did you get into grant writing?
Vanessa Taliferro: For about sixteen years, I worked for a nonprofit organization. I was not the executive director but the director of business affairs, and kind of assimilated into the role of the executive director. And that’s where I learned how to create programs, program develop [as well as] learn how to write and apply for grants, and get the funding we needed to serve our target population. At that time, I was in the Austin community of Chicago. In 2016, I left there and started AD-V Business Consulting with my daughter, Ashley Taliferro.
Lisa Green: I actually started in contracts, so solicitations for for-profit opportunities. I would write the proposals for those types of opportunities. I did things for Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Transportation. Then, about 2020, one of my clients asked if I could help write a grant. That’s how I spun into the grant world, but I still do both. I am a solo consultant-entrepreneur. I have my own business. Like everyone else, I started freelancing on the side and then I was able to go full-time.
Joyce Golbus Poll: I’ve had my own business as a freelancer for 21 years. I worked for other organizations before that. I was an administrator who learned how to do grant writing while on the job, and then decided at one juncture that I liked that better than anything else, so I went off on my own in 2004.
What kind of organizations do you enjoy working with?
VT: [My firm has] been serving predominantly South and West Side organizations, trying to break the barriers of receiving grant funds. I started with maybe one client, and built the business from the ground up, working with multiple grassroots organizations initially, helping them find smaller grant opportunities. We’ve been working nonstop since October 2019.
LG: I’ve always focused on the federal sector. I mostly help larger nonprofits or higher education [organizations].
JGP: Health and human services, as well as children and youth. If somebody is out there considering [grant writing], I say “What do you love to do” and then [tell them to] follow those organizations.
What expectations do you set, and what questions do you ask, when you first meet a client?
VT: For me, it’s about listening to each individual talk about their work. Generally, you can detect their passion about what they want to do. I’m able to translate that passion into words, using the language that funders like. A lot of that is referencing the grant’s notice of opportunity, and seeing how the organization aligns with what the funder is trying to do. You can have passion, but is there alignment?
LG: I stress open communication. [For clients] this is their job, this is their baby in some instances. My job is essentially communication.
JGP: I think it is important for [grant writers] to know that they should never accept work based on their proposal being approved. They need to be paid just as a lawyer or a plumber would be—before the work is proven. It is considered unethical by the Grant Professionals Association (GPA) and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) for grant professionals to accept pay based on a percentage of a grant award or only upon winning a grant. Such contingency, commission, or percentage-based compensation is against ethical codes because it creates conflicts of interest, treats fundraising as a commodity, and risks funder disapproval.
How do you best turn a nonprofit’s programs and initiatives into a compelling grant proposal?
VT: A lot of times [clients] don’t have the educational background in business or nonprofit management. They have a lot of passion, a heart and a love for the community, they’re out there doing the work. When I work with them, they may say “I serve single mothers.” A funder may say “who are your beneficiaries?” It’s about translating that language. I take your passion, and I put it into language that a funder likes to hear.
LG: I always try to write down what is the major thing I want [funders] to take away from the [proposal], and how do I make sure that theme is seen throughout. I’ve learned I need logistics. “What does that mean? Explain it to me.” I how it looks from the perspective of my client.
JGP: I put a lot of time into establishing the community and needs of the population, and backing that up. Because if the need is profound, then it’s really difficult for someone to turn their head and say “I’m sorry, I’m not funding you.” That means you’ve failed to make your case. Grant writing is sales on paper. I am selling, I am pitching, I am highly competitive. I couldn’t sell anything verbally.
Is it more common for nonprofits to have in-house grant writers or freelancers?
LG: I have found in my years of doing this that it really depends on the economic times. If the economy is strong, people like to have their grant writers in-house. When times are hard, especially during a recession, it is more likely to be outsourced.
What misconceptions do clients have about your services?
LG: When you get a grant, it’s a contract. You agree that you can provide these certain deliverables. Please make sure that what I write, you can deliver.
JGP: I’m not writing a “grant,” what I’m writing is a proposal.
What tools have you used to write or research grant proposals?
VT: I use Instrumentl Grant Database and I’ll [also] do Grants.gov. Instrumentl is tied to different databases, so you’re able to research based on the client’s services. I have a client that specializes in substance abuse disorder, behavioral health and mental illness. I will choose categories when I’m making their profile based on grants that align with mental health, things like that. In the database it actually pulls funding opportunities that may be of interest to the client.
Why might an organization not get funding?
LG: When it comes to foundations, if you’re going private sector [funding], a lot of private sector stuff is about who you know. If you had a misunderstanding with one organization, or did not like the grant manager, they talk a lot. You can get blacklisted sometimes if you have a negative interaction with one private foundation, especially local. It’s very political.
JGP: The reality is proposals can get rejected for a lot more than the writing of the application. It could be the organization, the organization might have a bad rap. It might be political. The reviewer might have had a bad night. The funding organization might decide that they are only funding nonprofits that they have previously funded, because things are tight. You can’t blame that on the grant writer.
Do you help in other areas beyond the grant proposal stage?
VT: One client I started working with, their organization had been around for years. They received a $1.8 million R3 grant (‘Restore, Reinvest, Renew,’ an Illinois grant aimed to assist communities affected by violence, incarceration, and disinvestment). The executive director was like “we’ve never received this kind of money before, what do we do?” I worked with them throughout a three-year period, helping them with reporting and management of funds. I would do workshops, teaching them compliance, reporting, probably once or twice a month. Going through reports, discussing issues, and how to complete budgets. It was a natural fit for me because I already had experience doing that.
LG: Peer review is when you submit a grant to a federal agency. Some things have changed recently, but typically you’d have external reviewers review the application, give it a score, and those scores are sent to the powers that be. That’s how [the government] kind of makes it a merit-based award, because you have people who are not in the industry and don’t play favorites. I do that for the Department of Labor, Department of Justice and AmeriCorps.
How do you feel about the future of grant writing and nonprofit funding?
VT: With the new administration, things changed. It’s a lot different from how I initially started. However, I think people are resilient and we can adapt. My masters degree is in nonprofit administration. One thing I learned [is] that back in the 80s, the federal government would send you the entire grant check up front. Then there was an administration shift and it was like “Oh no we can’t do that anymore, we have to [distribute funds] on a reimbursement basis.” Nonprofits adapted to those changes. If [nonprofits] have the infrastructure in place and a great board, you’ll know how to adapt, and you’ll learn how to diversify your funding. I do think the funding will increase eventually, because people are hurting.
LG: AI is a problem because people will use Chat GPT to help them [write grant proposals] as a shortcut. The problem with Chat PGT is it’s not tailored to your application. It will give you an answer, and it may not actually apply to what you do.
JGP: I think that for the grant writing arena, everybody is going to be affected by [federal funding cuts]. There’s going to be a ripple effect, the awards may become less, the competition is going to be more. There’s going to be higher expectations, tighter screening.
What do you enjoy most about grant writing?
VT: My own vision for what I want to do is help those who have been historically without resources.
LG: I was always involved in workforce development, entrepreneurship, small businesses, mom and pop shops, that’s where my love is. I was able to kind of continue that work in my grant writing.
JGP: I’m a big advocate for public health and I thought [grant writing] was the best way I could serve them.
Jonah Nink is a freelance writer based in Chicago with bylines in The Daily Herald, Chicago Reader and Business Insider.