The need is documented, the budget follows the activities, and I never had to hunt for the ask.
The note we write toward
Grant writing for small nonprofits · Brooklyn, NY
You want the grant. Here’s how it gets written.
Gull & Ginger reads the funders, writes the full application and its budget narrative, and holds your submission deadline. You pay one flat fee per proposal — no hourly clock running in the background.
Margin notes
What a reviewer’s pen is hunting for
Every funder scores against a rubric, and every rubric is a list of small, stubborn questions. We write toward the comments a panel actually leaves in the margin. These are the four we draft against.
Outcomes are measurable, and the timeline is one a small staff can actually keep.On program design
Every budget line has a sentence explaining why it exists.On the budget narrative
Capacity is shown with evidence, not asserted with adjectives.On organizational capacity
Illustrative reviewer comments, not client testimonials. We haven’t invented fans to say kind things about us; ask for a writing sample on the first call and judge the prose yourself.
A specimen
A proposal, taken apart on the table
A good application is built like a good chair: you can’t see the joinery, but you feel it when something is loose. Here is the order we assemble one in, and why each part leans on the one before it.
The paper we write
Nine documents, one flat fee each
From a one-page letter of inquiry to a federal narrative, the price is set before we start and stays where it is.
- No. 01
Letters of inquiry
One page that earns the invitation to submit in full.
From $640 - No. 02
Foundation proposals
Full narrative, logic model, evaluation plan, budget narrative.
From $2,380 - No. 03
City & state RFPs
Agency responses with the compliance grid done right.
From $3,175 - No. 04
Federal NOFOs
Grants.gov packages, from SF-424 to the last attachment.
From $4,860 - No. 05
Budget narratives
The prose that explains what each number is for.
From $485 - No. 06
Letters of support kits
Drafts partners can sign in five minutes, plus the asks.
From $365 - No. 07
Renewal applications
Last year’s story, told with this year’s results.
From $1,720 - No. 08
Interim & final reports
Reports a program officer reads to the end.
From $890 - No. 09
Multi-funder packs
Three tailored versions from one body of research.
From $5,260
Services
Find it. Write it. File it.
Most small nonprofits don’t lack worthy programs. They lack the Tuesday afternoon it takes to read a funder’s last three award lists. We take that afternoon, and the three after it.
01 · Research
Find the money that fits
We read guidelines, 990s and award lists until a match is plain, or ruled out. You receive a shortlist with ask sizes, deadlines and an honest “skip this one” column.
- 8–12 vetted funders, ranked by fit
- Typical award size and geography for each
- A calendar of the next twelve months
Funder scan — $520Credited toward your first full proposal.
Commission a scan
02 · Writing
Write the whole application
Narrative, logic model, evaluation plan and budget narrative are drafted together, so the story and the arithmetic get checked against each other before a funder does it for us.
- Two full rounds of revision, inside the fee
- Your voice, your numbers, our structure
- A plain-language summary your board can read
Foundation proposals from $2,380Government and federal work on the fee sheet below.
Scope a proposal
03 · Submission
Hold the deadline for you
We count backward from the due date, chase the signatures and attachments, upload to Grants.gov, NYC PASSPort or the funder’s own portal, and hand you the confirmation screen the same day.
- A backward calendar with a name against every task
- Board letters, 501(c)(3) determination, audits gathered
- Submission confirmation filed in your shared folder
Deadline management — $215Included at no charge with any full proposal.
Hand us the date
The fee sheet
Flat, per proposal, in writing
Foundations
Letter of inquiry
$640One page, one idea, one ask. Written after we’ve read the funder’s last two award lists.
Start the letterFull foundation proposal
$2,380Up to twelve pages: narrative, logic model, evaluation plan and budget narrative, with two revision rounds.
Scope this oneMulti-funder pack
$5,260Three funders, three tailored versions, one body of research. For the season you want to fill.
Plan a season
Government
City or state agency RFP
$3,175Full response with the compliance matrix, PASSPort or portal upload, and the budget forms filled in.
Send the RFPFederal NOFO application
$4,860Grants.gov package from registration check to final attachment, with a reviewer-style read before submission.
Check eligibilityStandalone budget narrative
$485You have the narrative and the spreadsheet. We write the sentences that connect them.
Send the sheet
After the award
Interim or final report
$890Outcomes, spending and lessons, written so the program officer wants to fund the next round.
Book the reportRenewal application
$1,720Last year’s story updated with this year’s results, and a clear reason to fund year two.
Renew a grantLetters of support kit
$365Drafts partners can sign in five minutes, plus the short note that asks them to.
Order the kit
Invoiced by ACH or card, half at kickoff and half at first draft. Every fee covers two rounds of revision.
Book a call
Tell us the date. We’ll work backward.
Send the funder’s guidelines and your deadline. You’ll have a scope and a flat fee back within one business day.
First call, no charge
Thirty minutes. One funder. One deadline.
We’ll tell you whether it’s a fit, what it will cost, and which week the first draft lands.
Hours
Weekdays 8am–7pmPhones are answered until seven, which is when most small-nonprofit directors finally get to their own inbox.
What to have open on the call
- The funder’s guidelines or the RFP link
- Your program budget, even one rough page
- The last proposal you sent, funded or not
- Your IRS determination letter
- The due date, and who has to sign
Phone
(301) 908-2326Ring with the date in your hand and we’ll start counting backward while you’re still on the line.
Attach the RFP ahead of the call and we’ll arrive having read it.
The studio
1 Boerum PlaceBrooklyn, NY 11201
Find the front door
How a proposal moves
From first call to the funder’s portal
Six stations, each with a date attached. You always know which one your proposal is standing in.
Begin with the call- 01
The scoping call
Thirty minutes. We ask for the funder, the deadline and the program budget. By the end you know whether it’s a fit and exactly what the flat fee is.
Day 0 - 02
The funder read
Guidelines, the last two award lists, the 990. If the odds are poor, we say so before you spend a dollar.
Within 3 business days - 03
The question sheet
One page of questions you can answer by voice memo, email or over coffee. You talk; we turn it into structure.
Day 4 - 04
The first draft
Narrative, logic model, evaluation plan and budget narrative arrive together, so numbers and story can be checked against each other.
10 business days from your answers - 05
Two rounds of revision
Your executive director marks it up, your board chair signs off, and we revise twice. Both rounds are inside the fee.
At your pace - 06
Filed, and confirmed
We assemble attachments, upload to the portal, and send you the confirmation screen the same day, with the funder’s decision date in your calendar.
Submission day