Grant writing & proposal development · Brooklyn, NY

bring us the application you keep dreading.

Collage of a brass fountain pen on marked-up grant application pages with hand-drawn copper marks
Draft 3 · red pen on

Fairweather & Quill finds the funder, writes the narrative, defends every line of the budget, and stays on the phone until the portal says “submitted.” For small nonprofits and community health organizations. One fixed fee per package, quoted before we write a word.

  • Narrative
  • Budget justification
  • Submission support
02 · Who we write for

we write for the ones doing the work.

Not for institutions with a grants department and a vendor list. For the organizations whose development office is one person with a Sunday night free.

01 · Small nonprofits

the three-person org with the forty-page rfp.

You run the pantry, the after-school room, the tenant hotline. We take the funder’s guidelines apart, write to the scoring rubric, and hand you a package you can sign on Friday.

  • Foundation and corporate applications
  • City and state RFPs
  • Letters of inquiry that earn a second look
Collage of pantry volunteers at a folding table with proposal printouts and hand-drawn copper marks
Fig. 1 · the folding table
02 · Community health organizations

clinics, outreach teams, and people who knock on doors.

Federal health proposals are won on data, a logic model that holds, and a budget justification that survives a reviewer’s red pen. We build the need statement from your numbers, not boilerplate, and argue each dollar line by line.

  • NOFO-driven federal narratives and work plans
  • Budget justification with indirect costs handled
  • Portal registration and submission-day support
Collage of a community health worker with a clipboard in a clinic corridor with hand-drawn copper marks
Fig. 2 · the outreach shift
03 · First-timers and the rejected

first federal application? or your third rejection letter?

Bring us the reviewer comments. A rejection is the funder’s free consultation. We read it, rebuild the weak sections, and put you back in the queue on the next cycle. Nobody here finds that embarrassing.

  • Reviewer-comment teardown
  • Resubmission rewrite at the red-pen rate
Next cycle
resubmit.

The same program, a sharper argument, and a reviewer who finally gets the point.

03 · The desk

the desk where it gets written.

Overhead collage of a marked-up grant draft, budget printout and index cards with hand-drawn copper arrows
01

the narrative

Need, approach, outcomes, evaluation. Written to the funder’s scoring criteria, in your organization’s voice, with your data in it.

02

the budget justification

Every line item argued in plain language, indirect costs handled, every number tied back to the narrative so a reviewer can’t find the gap.

03

submission support

Portal registration, file formatting, an attachments checklist, and a person on the phone with you while the upload bar crawls.

04 · The fee, argued

we don’t bill by the hour. hours reward slow writing.

You get one number, in writing, before we draft a sentence. If the funder moves the deadline, that’s our scheduling problem, not a line on your invoice.

1fixed fee per package, quoted in writing
3deliverables in every package: narrative, budget, submission
21days of lead time we ask for on a federal package
05 · What we write, and what it costs

a grant is not a plea. it’s an argument — and we write arguments that hold up in the room.

Funders read hundreds of applications that ask nicely. We write the one that makes the case.

the fee schedule, in full.

Packages that say “narrative + budget + submission” include all three. Prices are per package, not per hour, and don’t move once you’ve said yes.

  • funder hunt

    A ranked shortlist of 12 funders matched to your mission, geography and budget size — with deadlines, award ranges and a one-paragraph read on each.

    Deliverable: shortlist + fit notes · about 5 business days
    Flat fee$640
    Request this one
  • foundation package Most requested

    An application or letter of inquiry up to 8 pages: narrative, budget and justification, attachments checklist, and submission.

    Narrative + budget + submission · 2 rounds of revisions
  • city & state package

    RFPs and state grants: full narrative, logic model, budget justification, compliance review against the RFP, and portal submission.

    Narrative + budget + submission · compliance read included
    Flat fee$2,960
    Request this one
  • federal package

    NOFO-driven proposals in the HRSA, SAMHSA and CDC mold: full narrative, work plan, budget and justification, SF-424 forms, registration check, and submission day on the phone with you.

    Narrative + budget + submission · kickoff 21 days before the due date
  • red-pen rescue

    You wrote it. We edit it hard: structure, scoring alignment, cuts. Two rounds of notes, delivered in 4 business days. Also the rate for resubmission rewrites.

    Per application · editing only, no new drafting
    Per application$475
    Request this one

Invoiced: half to start, half on submission. Pay by ACH, check or card. Every quote arrives in writing before work begins.

06 · Inbox to portal

from your inbox to the portal, in order.

  1. Day 0 · The call

    thirty minutes, free, blunt.

    You tell us the funder, the due date and what the money is for. We tell you straight whether it’s worth applying.

  2. Day 1–2 · The quote

    one number, on paper.

    A fixed fee in writing. Half to start, half on submission. Say yes and the number never moves.

  3. Weeks 1–2 · The draft

    we interview your program lead.

    One 60-minute conversation, one data handoff. Then narrative and budget get drafted side by side so they agree with each other.

  4. Before the deadline · The red pen

    two rounds, read aloud.

    You mark it up, we cut it down. Every page is read out loud before it counts as finished.

  5. Submission day · The portal

    we’re on the line while it uploads.

    Files formatted, attachments checked, confirmation number in your inbox before anyone goes home.

Before the first call

bring this. leave the polish at home.

  • The funder’s guidelines or a link to the NOFO / RFP
  • The due date, and the date you’d like to be done
  • Your current budget and last year’s 990 (rough is fine)
  • One paragraph on what the money would actually do
  • Any past rejection letter. Yes, really. We love those.

the questions you’re actually asking.

Will you guarantee we win the grant?

No, and anyone who does is selling something. We guarantee a complete, compliant, well-argued submission, in on time. Funding is the funder’s decision.

What if we’re rejected?

Send us the reviewer comments. When the narrative structure stands, a resubmission rewrite is quoted at the red-pen rate, $475. When it doesn’t, we’ll say so before you spend a dollar.

Why a fixed fee instead of hourly?

Hourly billing pays writers for being slow and punishes you for asking questions. A fixed fee makes us fast, and makes your budget knowable on day one.

How much of our staff’s time does this take?

One 60-minute interview, one data handoff, and two review rounds of about an hour each. That’s the whole ask.

Who owns the writing?

You do. Once the final payment clears, every file is yours to reuse for the next funder.

Where are you, and do we have to come in?

We’re based in Brooklyn, NY, and work by appointment. Most of it happens over calls and shared documents, and if you’re nearby you’re welcome at the desk.

07 · Book a call

tell us the due date.

Thirty minutes, free, by appointment. Give us the funder, the deadline and one line about the work, and we’ll answer within one business day.

Call(347) 574-6615
Writecontact@fairweatherquill.com
HoursBy appointment — book a call
The desk
255 79Th St. Apt D4
Brooklyn, NY 11209
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