Press & Publications
Articles, podcasts, panels, and workshops on grant strategy, consultant pricing, grants management, and what it takes to build funding that outlasts any single proposal.
2026
ArticleValiantCEOFunding Pressures Are Bringing Grant Strategy Into Focus
Rachel Waterman
Nonprofits are rethinking funding after a difficult year — 66% of nonprofit CEOs report concerns about financial stability and 39% ran a deficit in 2025. Rachel Waterman argues the problem isn’t a lack of talented writers, but rather organizations are building long-term funding with systems never designed to support a growing grants portfolio.
ArticleWellness VoiceFunding Pressures Are Bringing Grant Strategy Into Focus
Rachel Waterman
Nonprofit organizations must always focus on their fiscal wellness. Rachel Waterman discusses why proposal writing is only one component of a much larger need for infrastructure that creates the capacity to scale revenues and institutional memory to survive staff turnover.
2025
VideoVisual Eyes PodcastFrom Nurse to Grant Strategist: Deja Hasness on Funding Change
Deja Hasness
Deja Hasness, GPC, Client & Funder Relations Manager at GDS, on trading a decade of clinical nursing for grant strategy — and how healthcare outcomes thinking and relationship-centered funding models multiply a nonprofit’s impact well beyond one-on-one service.
ArticleGrant Writing & FundingBest Grants Software: Hands-On Reviews for Grants Management, Prospecting, and Writing
GEMS by GDS Grants
Holly Rustick’s hands-on review of the grants software she actually uses in her business, GEMS Grant Easy Management Software - built by Rachel Waterman and the GDS team — and its free tier for grants management, task tracking, and time tracking.
VideoNonprofit NationSecrets of Compelling Grant Writing That Gets Funded with Rachel Waterman
Rachel Waterman
A 36-minute conversation on why there is no one-size-fits-all grant proposal: how to identify which funders are worth pursuing, what belongs in a proposal and what can safely be left out, and how to make the case that your organization is worth the investment.
VideoGrant Writing and FundingUnlocking the Secrets of Grant Pricing: In-Depth Analysis with Experts
Rachel Waterman
Rachel Waterman walks through the findings of the GDS Freelance Grant Writer Pricing Survey — the cost of unbilled hours, the gender gap in grant writing, the squeeze on subcontractors, and which pricing strategies hold up in practice.
PodcastiHeart · Grant Writing & FundingFind out What Freelance Grant Writers Charged for their Services in 2024
Rachel Waterman
The audio edition of the same conversation: a behind-the-scenes look at the third annual GDS Freelance Grant Writer Pricing Report, and what freelance grant writers actually charged for their services in 2024.
2024
PodcastApple Podcasts · Grant Writing & FundingBehind-the-Scenes of GEMS 3.0: How to use Grant Management Software Everyday
Rachel Waterman
A 76-minute episode on the grant management services inside GEMS: using it as a client onboarding tool, how to track multiple applications and search for new funders without a spreadsheet.
ArticleFunding for GoodAre You Charging Enough for Grant Writing Services?
GDS Pricing Survey
Funding for Good builds its case on the GDS Survey and Rachel Waterman’s GPA analysis: 38% of consultants struggle to identify a fair price, 34% struggle to charge one, and over a third do not bill for all the hours they work.
ArticleGrant Professionals AssociationThe Great Resignation: The Rise of Freelancing and its Impact on Grant Consultants’ Earnings
Written by Rachel Waterman
Consultants posted the largest mean salary increase in GPA’s 2023 Compensation Survey — but once payroll, insurance, software, subcontractors, and professional development are accounted for, a 20–25% premium over staff pay barely covers the cost of benefits. Consultants are still earning a salary, not running a business. Rachel Waterman discusses what the research shows about grant writing prices and what consultants need to consider to determine their rates.
PodcastBuzzsprout · The Official Do Good Better PodcastExpert Grant-Writing Advice from GDS Grants CEO Rachel Waterman — The Official Do Good Better Podcast #316
Rachel Waterman
Rachel Waterman joins host Patrick Kirby as his “five-star guest” to talk through what 25+ years in community development and grant writing have taught her about winning grant funding — and keeping it.
2023
WebinarNXUnite by Nexus MarketingKnowing the Numbers: Nonprofit Financial Best Practices
Rachel Waterman
An hour-long panel with Rachel Waterman on the financial practices that attract donors, keep an organization accountable, and hold up when money gets tight — and how to make financial decisions that stay aligned with the mission.
WebinarNXUnite by Nexus MarketingMaking a Game Plan: Tips and Tricks for Starting the Grant Proposal Process
Rachel Waterman
Rachel Waterman joins a panel demystifying the front end of the grant proposal process: research tools worth using, how to target the right opportunities, building relationships with grantmakers, and what makes a proposal compelling.
- ArticleGrant Professionals Association
Zen and the Art of Better Grant Writing Gigs: The Prequel
Written by Rachel Waterman & Heather Daly
How to find your first clients as a solo grant consultant: choosing between generalist and specialist, why location still matters in a virtual world, and five tips for turning the network you already have into a client base.
2021
- ArticleGrant Professionals Association
Zen and the Art of Better Grant Writing Gigs — Part II: Firing Clients for Professional Survival
Written by Rachel Waterman
A field guide to the clients worth letting go — the Hider, the Saboteur, the Nickel & Dimer, the Thief, and others— and why, in a business where professional reputation is everything, holding on to the wrong clients can cost you far more than the contract is worth.
WebinarNonprofit.CoursesGetting Stellar Support Letters for Your Grants on Nonprofit.Courses — Rachel Waterman
Rachel Waterman
A one-hour Instrumentl partner workshop led by Rachel Waterman, hosted on Nonprofit.Courses, looks at what separates a form-letter endorsement from a support letter that actually strengthens an application — with real examples grant writers can model, plus the full transcript.
- ArticleGrant Professionals Association
Zen and the Art of Better Grant Writing Gigs — Part I: Screening Clients for Success
Written by Rachel Waterman
Grant writers are ultimately judged on dollars received, so Rachel Waterman starts earlier, selecting clients you can get grants for — six tips for screening an organization before you sign: reading their 990s, testing whether their revenue expectations are realistic, and settling who is responsible for grant management.
