Winning Grant and Proposal Writing Services
Emerson Holliday Creative! provides winning grant and proposal writing for non-profits, small businesses, and government organizations.
Since 1987, our clients have experienced the financial and human resource benefits of using our winning grant and proposal management services rather than assigning someone at the last minute to respond to a critical grant solicitation or requests for proposals.
Overall Grant Writing and Management Services
- Writing all types of grants and proposals, including federal, state, county, city, private foundation, and corporate giving
- Conducting grant source research to identify potential funding opportunities for project concepts
- Editing client draft proposals and providing technical assistance
- Drafting program plans
- Conducting program evaluations
- Preparing feasibility studies and program position papers
- Conducting surveys and analysis
Grant Writing and Evaluation
- Search and develop list of potential funding sources
- Write and development grants in response to local, state, and federal solicitations
- Conduct comprehensive grant resource search, including national and international sources
- Research and identify “most likely” funding sources Editing and proofread prepared grants for clarity and grammar
Foundation and Corporate Giving Proposal Writing
- Complete comprehensive database search of potential foundation and cooperate giving sources
- Prepare foundation and corporate proposals
- Research and find funding sources for international programs and services
- Prepare applications
- Prepare letters to foundations
Grant and Proposal Editing and Proofreading
Millions of potential dollars go un-awarded to deserving projects every month because of sloppy proposals that are incoherent, lack focus, and are filled with grammatical errors. Judgments are made about your organization the moment a funding body starts to review your cover letters, proposals, applications, and other supporting documents. Poorly written documents (ones that are filled with grammatical errors and are incoherent) say a lot about you and your organization. In most cases, these proposals never past the initial screening and are immediately rejected.
We work in collaboration with you to improve your documents. Editing and proofreading assignments are done remotely. To get started, e-mail us your documents and let us give you a quote. Most documents are returned within 24-48 hours of confirmation acceptance and receipt of deposit or full payment. Editing and proofreading is performed on an hourly basis.
We offer four levels of editing and proofreading which are the following:
- Copyediting
- Substantive Editing
- Developmental Editing
- Proofreading and Final Edits
Level 1 – Copyediting
At this level, we evaluate the grammar and mechanics of your document. We check the following and make corrections as required:
- Clarity
- Continuity
- Logic
- Sentence structure
- Symmetry
- Clear and easily discernible purpose
- Voice
- Appropriateness for the reader
- Main idea can easily be paraphrased
- Clear objective
- Scope
- Correct grammar
- Spelling
- Punctuation
- Vocabulary and language
- Capitalizations
- Numerals
- Appropriateness of bullets and outlines
- Abbreviations, acronyms, and jargon
- Page numbers in table of contents
- Titles of tables and graphics
- Format
Level 2 – Substantive Editing
At this level, we check for sentence and paragraph structure. Our review and actions are more thorough than Level 1. We focus, not only on the items detailed in Level 1, but on “readability” and the reviewer’s “reading experience”. Is the document an easy read or too difficult to read while sipping a latte at Starbucks? (A little humor, perhaps, but it is the reality for many grant reviewers.)
- Do the opening sentence and paragraph get the reader’s attention and set the stage for what is to follow?
- Is each sentence clear?
- Are the links between ideas clear, logical, and smooth?
- Does the closing paragraph summarize what precedes it.
- Would shifts in organization help?
- Is the point of each paragraph clear and relevant?
- Is there a topic sentence (preferable at the beginning or end) to guide the reader?
- Is the language clear, specific, correct, and understandable?
- Have all of the problems detected in Level 1 been corrected?
- Does the document leave the reader with a positive impression of the writer?
Level 3 – Developmental Editing
At this level, we check content, organization, and style in a problem document to determine if the document needs to be reorganized or totally rewritten to meet the reader’s need. Working in collaboration with you, we either rewrite the entire document or make recommendations for you to improve it. Level 3 editing is usually prompted by at least one of the following scenarios:
- A manager or director returns a document to an employee with strong instructions to rewrite it.
- A funding agency sends a letter with several requests for clarification.
- A document does not comply with the organization’s or funding agency’s style guide.
- A determination is made by us that Level 1 or Level 2 editing cannot be adequately performed until it is reorganized or entirely rewritten.
- You gotta get it right the first time!
Level 4 – Proofreading and Final Edits
At this level, we prepare your document for submittal.
- We compare one version of your document with an earlier one to make sure that marked corrections have been made and instructions followed.
- We compare your document and all of its enclosures with the RFP, RFQ, and other requirements specified by the funding agency You may prefer for us to do either or both of these items.
Grant and Proposal Writing Fee Schedule
We are often asked by individuals and orgnizations if we defer payment for grant work until after an award is received. In upholdong the highest ethics of the fundraising industry, we do not do grant work on a contingency, commission, or percentage of award basis.
