Chris Hultquist, CFRE, stands out as a fundraising powerhouse, having led campaigns ranging from $2M to $100M and secured multiple million-dollar Federal grants throughout his career. His strategic approach to fundraising has resulted in over $45 million raised through diverse channels, including a remarkable 1,022% revenue growth for a youth services organization over seven years. Chris has cultivated grants and partnerships with key stakeholders, including C-Suite executives from Fortune 1000 companies and securing gifts of $50,000 to $1.5M for social initiatives. His expertise in grant writing and campaign management, combined with his ability to drive an average 22% revenue growth across nonprofit clients, positions Chris as an elite fundraising strategist capable of delivering transformative results.
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Like many grant writers, I fell into it by accident. I was working with a client named Brandon (not his real name), a 22-year-old spitfire who was sharp as a whip. He was working his way to independence but needed some basic necessities to furnish his first apartment. While we found some things at the local Goodwill, we were left with a $2,000 gap between what we had and what we needed. The nonprofit I was working with at the time suggested I write a grant to our local bank. That first grant started me on a journey of writing hundreds of proposals, grants, and letters to impact the lives of hundreds of THOUSANDS of people.
While every grant and project is unique, I typically start by getting to know the organization’s mission, background with grants, staffing structure, and programs. The more I am familiar with the organization, the easier it is to inspire others to invest. Then I use a handful of tools to search for grants. There are a variety of tools, I tend to use Google, Foundation Center, Grants.gov, and a handful of other sources to identify target funders. I do a deep dive for each target funder to understand their giving history, mission, and types of projects they fund. If a funder seems like a match, I love to connect with the grant manager to introduce myself and see if my organization or project is a good match. This isn’t necessary, but I’ve found it ALWAYS helps to get to know the grant manager. Finally, we write the grant, gather the necessary documents, submit it, and follow up with the grant manager thanking them for their support.
Grant writing can be a complex process with many components that must be carefully managed. As someone who has worked as a project manager in this field, I understand the importance of keeping everyone on the team informed and up-to-date. To do this, I use a variety of tools that can be customized to meet the specific needs of each organization. My go-to project management tools include Monday.com, Asana, Trello, and NOTION - which happens to be my favorite!
Chris Hultquist
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