Grant timing
Grants are a bit unpredictable, at least at first. Depending upon whether we are writing a letter proposal or a full online application, a grant request could take as few as 4 hours to write, as many as 15, or far more than that for government grants. We can supply estimates ahead of writing, and we always ask for our clients’ approval before writing a request.

We require a minimum of two weeks to write a grant. We aim to provide clients with a draft of every grant we write between 5 and 7 workdays before the deadline so that there is sufficient time for edits. Working backwards, this means that Shoestring needs at least one work week to draft the initial proposal.

Funder Cultivation
Grant writing, like other fund development, entails thoughtful research and often cultivation to achieve success. We frequently seek to connect our clients with prospective funders ahead of submitting grant applications, in order to ensure that the request is a true match for the foundation’s current priorities. This extra step can save our clients both time and money, avoiding “long shot” requests, and it also offers clients the opportunity to build important streams of communication with potential funders from the get-go.

A Proven Track Record with Foundations and Corporate Funders

Shoestring Solutions has written hundreds of grants with much success to national, regional and local funders for our clients. These include:

• Corporate: Bank of America, Bank of America Neighborhood Builders, Wells Fargo, Citibank, M&T Charitable Foundation, TD Charitable Foundation, HSBC, Citizens Bank, PNC Bank, Santander Bank, DuPont, DOW, Incyte, West Pharmaceuticals, Chemours, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Rite Aid, Link Foundation, Wegmans, ALDI, Barclays, AARP, Wawa Foundation, Hershey Foundation, Highmark Delaware and Highmark PA, and Comenity Bank
• Government: IMLS, Delaware Division of the Arts, Department of Homeland Security, Delaware Grant in Aid, Delaware Division of the Arts, New Castle County, Congressional Spending requests, CARES funding

Foundations:

• Delaware: Longwood Foundation, Delaware Community Foundation, Laffey-McHugh Foundation, Crestlea Foundation, Welfare Foundation, Robin Foundation, Chichester duPont Foundation, Milton and Hattie Kutz Foundation, Wilmington Flower Market, Crystal Trust
• Pennsylvania: Lincoln Foundation, Chester County Community Foundation, Lancaster County Community Foundation, York County Community Foundation, Stabler Foundation, Stuart Huston Charitable Trust, Foundation for Enhancing Communities, United Way Lancaster, Unity Way Lebanon, Paper Mill Foundation, Pollack Foundation, Kline Foundation, Stabler Foundation