Sharing is Caring: A Collaborative Approach to Grant Consulting

If you’ve been in the nonprofit or local government sector for more than a minute, you’ve heard plenty about collaboration. If you’ve listened to the Fundraising HayDay podcast or attended any HayDay Services training, you may have heard me preach about collaboration a time or two.

But I was thrilled to learn more about a different kind of collaboration. In the latest episode of the Fundraising HayDay podcast, Amanda and I interviewed two amazing grant-writing experts: Melody Hernandez, winner of the 2024 Grant Professionals Association’s President’s Award, and Dana Patterson, development director, grant consultant, and board member of the Grant Professionals Foundation.

Among the many topics we explored, they detailed the Shared Client Model, where multiple consultants maintain separate contracts with the same client. A quick overview of how this model was structured included the following:

• Each consultant has their own direct relationship and contract with the client
• No subcontracting relationship between consultants
• Partners divide projects based on individual strengths and preferences
• Consultants provide final review of each other’s work
• The arrangement allows for coverage during vacations and personal time
• The model ultimately produces stronger grant proposals through diverse perspectives

Melody explained: “We both have a direct contract with the client, and we define our parameters in those contracts.”

Division of Responsibilities

Dana and Melody gave several examples of how the Shared Client Model facilitated division of responsibilities, such as:

• Complementary skills approach: One consultant manages the grant calendar and strategy, while another handles unexpected tight deadlines
• Program-based division: In a direct example, one consultant specifically handles art program grants for a youth organization, while others focus on education and sports
• Equal division: This involves a balanced split of proposals and reports that is especially useful in larger agencies with multiple grant opportunities throughout the year, or an agency with many grant-funded programs.

Benefits of Collaborative Consulting

Beyond simply dividing the workload, Melody and Dana discussed the benefits of a Shared Client Model that included:

• Relief from professional isolation: “For many years I wasn’t doing as much collaboratively, I was feeling really alone as a one-person shop.”
• Enhanced client service: “The grant proposals we submit are so much stronger because we can be final eyes on each other.”
• Shared tools and resources: Partners exchange organizational systems, templates, and approaches
• Professional support: Having someone who understands client challenges creates space to vent and problem-solve
• Work-life balance: Coverage for vacations and personal time without work stoppage

According to Dana and Melody, the keys to successfully sharing clients are to:

1. Define your own boundaries
2. Focus on strengths: Delegate based on what each partner does best
3. Schedule regular check-ins outside client meetings
4. Address disagreements before client meetings
5. Be clear about time commitments

As grant opportunities and funding appear and disappear by the hour, sticking to what worked in the past may not get you the results you and your agencies or clients need in the future.  Shouldering an intense workload, navigating challenging times, and growing as a grant professional do not have to be solo sports. How are you changing what you do to meet the emergent grant needs and circumstances?

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Kimberly Hays de Muga

Kimberly Hays de Muga, GPC, is an expert trainer and coach in nonprofit capacity building, grant writing, fundraising, and board development. She brings more than 25 years of fundraising experience that includes raising $100 million from individuals, foundations, corporations, and local, state, and federal funding for nonprofit agencies in the education, health, and human service sectors—from food banks to pediatric hospitals, to state-wide mental health coalitions.

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