braveONE is a first-of-its-kind national mentorship program connecting children living with Type 1 Diabetes with screened and trained adult mentors who also live with T1D. In a short period of time, we have grown to more than 50 mentorship matches across 19 states, with nearly 400 prospective mentors and more than 150 families seeking a match.

Our program has grown much faster than our funding. We have pursued grants independently and have had some success, but we are still operating with very limited resources and need a stronger, more strategic approach to institutional funding.

We are seeking an experienced grant professional who can help us strengthen how we position braveONE to foundations and corporate funders, particularly for unrestricted, general operating, capacity-building, and program support. As a young, fiscally sponsored nonprofit with a unique model and national reach, we also need guidance on identifying the opportunities where we are most competitive rather than spending limited time applying broadly.

We have existing grant applications, program data, family feedback, impact statistics, budgets, and organizational materials that can serve as a starting point. We are not looking to build our grant program from scratch. We want to strengthen what we already have and create a more effective, sustainable grant strategy

By the end of the project, we would like a reusable grant strategy and proposal toolkit that helps braveONE pursue funding more efficiently and consistently.

The consultant would review our existing grant materials and develop:

A strong reusable case for support and core grant narrative
Refined language describing our need, program model, impact, growth, and organizational capacity
Recommendations for positioning braveONE as a young, fiscally sponsored, rapidly growing national nonprofit
A grant prospecting strategy, including characteristics of our strongest-fit funders and funding opportunities
Guidance for pursuing unrestricted, general operating, capacity-building, and program funding
A reusable bank of strong responses for common grant application questions
Recommendations for strengthening future proposals based on a review of applications we have already submitted

Success would mean braveONE leaves the project with a clear funding strategy and polished materials we can adapt for future applications, rather than starting from scratch with every grant.

Organization Mission

braveONE is a first-of-its-kind mentorship program connecting children living with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) with screened, trained adult mentors who live with T1D too. Through intentional one-to-one relationships built around shared interests, personality and lived experience, we help kids feel less alone and more confident growing up with T1D. In just over a year, braveONE has grown to 50+ matches across 19 states, creating 134+ outings and nearly 300 hours of connection between kids and mentors. More than 150 families are currently waiting for a mentor. Our mission is simple: no child should have to navigate Type 1 Diabetes feeling like they are the only one.