7more has grown rapidly, but our small staff does not have the capacity to recreate organizational information, program descriptions, statistics, and funding narratives for every grant application.
Our reach nearly tripled approximately two years ago after we began working consistently inside a correctional facility. We now meet everyone released from that location while also supporting waiting families and individuals at the nearby bus stop. Our work continues beyond release through mentorship, reentry navigation, crisis support, transportation and document assistance, essential items, and connections to community resources.
We have managed this growth through volunteers, donated goods, community partnerships, and careful use of existing resources. However, securing consistent funding remains our primary barrier to maintaining current services, strengthening our programs, adding necessary staff and technology, and continuing to grow sustainably.
We have useful information across previous applications, reports, presentations, financial records, program documents, and staff knowledge, but it is not organized into a complete and consistent grant-writing resource. This makes each new funding opportunity unnecessarily time-consuming and places an unrealistic workload on already-stretched staff.
We need an experienced grant-writing professional to organize our existing information, identify missing content, and create a reusable foundation that allows staff and future volunteers to pursue a wide range of grant opportunities efficiently and consistently.
The volunteer will create an organized, reusable grant-writing library that includes:
- A clear organizational overview covering 7more’s history, mission, service model, populations served, geographic reach, and role in the reentry process.
- A strong statement of need supported by available organizational statistics, credible outside data, and clearly identified sources.
- Reusable descriptions of our primary programs, services, current needs, and funding priorities.
- Standard language addressing program goals, activities, anticipated outcomes, measurement methods, organizational capacity, community partnerships, sustainability, and use of funds.
- A collection of commonly requested grant responses that can be adapted for different applications and word limits.
- A standard letter of inquiry that can be customized for prospective funders.
- An adaptable full-proposal template with clearly labeled sections and instructions for tailoring it to individual funding opportunities.
- An inventory of supporting documents commonly required for grant applications, identifying what 7more currently has and what must be created or updated.
- A simple guide explaining how staff and future volunteers should use, customize, and maintain the library.
The final materials should be provided in an organized, editable format and should clearly distinguish verified information from content that still requires confirmation by 7more.
Success would mean that future grant researchers and writers can begin with accurate, approved, reusable information instead of requiring staff to rebuild the organization’s story and supporting content for every application.
Researching specific funding opportunities and drafting applications for individual grants will be reserved for separate follow-up Projects.
