A look at the strategy, writing, surveys and reporting we deliver for nonprofits across Colorado. Every example here comes from real client work, with names and dollar figures removed.
Every organization is at a different stage. Some need a partner for the long haul, some need one well-made proposal, and some need help building the foundation first. We tailor the engagement to fit.
Before we write a single application, we build the materials every funder asks for, so your organization can answer any request quickly, consistently and with confidence. The toolkit typically takes one to two months to build, and it is yours to keep.
A comprehensive template covering your story, need, programs and outcomes, ready to adapt for each proposal.
Realistic, funder-ready budgets built for each program and for the organization as a whole.
Program details refined and outcomes made measurable, often with a logic model.
Well-aligned funders, deadlines and reminders, plus an organized shared drive for every attachment.
From here, you choose your path: ongoing grant management with us, flat-fee grant writing, or managing submissions yourself with our support.
Ongoing, embedded partnership: research, calendar, writing, submission and, at the premium level, award briefs and funder reporting, all handled as one team.
A single proposal, quoted as one flat fee once we understand the scope. Includes meetings with you and the funder, and a draft in your hands ten business days before the deadline.
Targeted help for a specific need: grant readiness reviews, application edits, evaluation design, logic models, surveys, board workshops and copywriting.
Build your own package: grant prospecting and funder outreach, grant reports, grant administration, bookkeeping support, evaluation and more.
When a nonprofit is struggling financially, we don't just take over. We teach the process alongside the work, so your team understands every step. As funding becomes steady, we turn the work over to you once you are sustainable enough to hire a grant manager of your own.
Or, if you prefer, you can continue contracting with us long term. Either way, the goal is a funding program that belongs to your organization and keeps working.
We partner with nonprofits that put people, animals and communities first. These are the seven areas where we have served, or currently serve, organizations doing that work.
Organizations that keep communities healthy, housed, fed and connected.
Peer-led and community-based support for people who serve, and for the families beside them.
We wrote a passionate, community-centered proposal for a veteran-founded nonprofit, and we are now building a program model with a first responder organization, including its themes, evaluation, pilot and curriculum.
Programs that help young people build connection, confidence and resilience.
We helped shape a youth mental health initiative and its mentorship pathway, then built the evaluation to show whether it works.
Centers, schools and learning programs that give children and families a strong start.
Rescues, sanctuaries and welfare networks that protect animals and the communities who love them.
We led a messaging and strategy workshop for an equine welfare network, and we manage grants for rescue organizations.
Equine-assisted and other hands-on approaches to healing, growth and wellbeing.
We built the evidence-based evaluation behind an equine-assisted therapy program and designed a short pilot guide for a new program.
Performing and creative organizations that enrich communities and teach the next generation of artists.
We use validated tools and clear outcomes, so your results hold up with any funder.
When we can, we meet with funders about eligibility before we write a word.
Your story stays in your own words, in the tone your community recognizes.
Templates, budgets and plans are yours to keep and use again.
Effective grant management takes more than writing proposals from a distance. Our fractional model combines the expertise of an established consulting team with the relationships and institutional knowledge of an embedded staff member.
Summit Grant Strategies is a small, family-operated firm by design. Limiting the number of comprehensive clients lets us build real relationships with your leadership and program staff and give each organization individual attention. When a project needs specialized expertise, such as a complex federal grant, we bring in experienced contractors under our existing service agreements, so you never have to manage multiple consultants.
Our goal is not simply to secure the next grant. It is to become a trusted partner who strengthens your ability to secure, manage and sustain funding.
Short excerpts first, then full-length samples with executive summaries, impact and outcomes. Organization names appear in brackets and dollar figures are removed.
Rather than measuring success by a single training milestone, [the organization] evaluates progress according to each horse's individual starting point and readiness.
A horse with a stronger training foundation can be more accurately matched with an adopter whose experience and abilities are appropriate for that horse.
Young people need confidence and support. Communities need connection and belonging. Artists need sustainable pathways.
The opening of a "why" statement for a new wellness center, drafted to sit above several existing programs.
Four samples from real client files. Open any section to read it. Names, locations and dollar amounts are replaced with brackets or removed.
Funder: a state department of agriculture · Grantee: an equine rescue nonprofit · Award amount removed
The [State] Department of Agriculture's [grant amount] Equine Welfare Assistance Grant supported professional training for six equines in [the organization]'s care through its Mustang Pathways to Adoption Project. The program prepares rescued mustangs and other at-risk equines for successful transitions into permanent homes through individual training pathways, with patient, professional support tailored to each horse's needs.
From the third quarter of 2025 through early 2026, grant funds were used exclusively for contracted professional training services. Each equine received individualized training appropriate to their stage of development, including advanced groundwork, handling, under-saddle preparation when appropriate, and other skills designed to build confidence and readiness for future adoption.
[The organization] worked with three experienced professional trainers. The award covered the full cost of services up to its limit, individual donors covered the small remainder, and the remaining grant balance is zero.
Founded in 2019, [the organization] is a Colorado 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing mustangs and other at-risk equines with a path to lifelong care through rehabilitation, protection, education, and compassionate guardianship. It works across the continuum of equine welfare, from rescue and decompression through gentling, rehabilitation, professional training, adopter preparation, placement, and lifelong support. Central to this work is the understanding that successful adoption begins well before a horse leaves its care.
Mustangs moving from wild or uncertain circumstances into domestic environments need patience, consistency, and individualized training. The purpose of the grant was to support that progression. Rather than measuring success by a single training milestone, [the organization] evaluates progress according to each horse's individual starting point and readiness.
A horse with a stronger training foundation can be more accurately matched with an adopter whose experience and abilities are appropriate for that horse. Prospective adopters also receive hands-on education, so they understand the horse's established training methods, communication, and individual needs.
The impact of the grant extends beyond the professional training it funded. The state's investment supports a critical part of long-term equine welfare: helping rescued mustangs and other at-risk equines develop the skills, confidence, and experience needed to transition into domestic life and, when appropriate, into safe and lasting adoptive homes. Rehabilitation and training can take months or even years, particularly for young mustangs, so each horse progresses according to individual readiness. Professional training builds confidence, strengthens safe handling skills, and helps [the organization] understand each horse's temperament and needs so the horse can be matched thoughtfully with an adopter.
This investment also strengthens the organization's rescue-to-adoption pathway. When a horse progresses successfully through rehabilitation, training, and responsible placement, [the organization] gains the space and resources to welcome another at-risk equine in need. The grant therefore contributes to the safety and stability of individual horses and to the organization's capacity to keep rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming vulnerable equines across Colorado.
Horses assisted. The grant directly supported professional training for six equines, giving each a program designed to advance skills, confidence, and readiness for adoption.
Welfare outcomes. In 2025 the organization placed 12 equines into adoptive homes while caring for a total of 55. These adoptions are an organization-wide result and are not attributed only to the six horses trained under the grant, which contributed to the organization's capacity to move horses thoughtfully through rehabilitation, training, and placement.
Education and outreach. Social media reach has grown to about 27,000 viewers daily. In 2025 the organization hosted three clinics, including a three-day mustang gentling clinic that reached 60 participants and potential adopters. Five clinics have been completed so far in 2026, with at least 80 participants expected across six. Adopters receive weekly training for 12 weeks, and 20–25 regular volunteers contribute about 200 hours each year.
Rescue capacity and outcomes, 2022–2025
| Year | Capacity | Adopted | Euthanized | Requests declined (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 70 | 20 | 5 | 50 |
| 2023 | 70 | 15 | 4 | 60 |
| 2024 | 70 | 6 | 0 | 120 |
| 2025 | 75 | 12 | 1 | 400 |
| Four-year total | 53 | 10 | 630 |
[The organization] evaluates the impact of professional training by following each equine's progress over time, rather than relying on adoption as the only measure of success. It will keep tracking the participating horses through these indicators:
Horses enter training at different ages, experience levels, and stages of rehabilitation, so their accomplishments will not look identical. Progress is judged against each horse's own starting point. This longitudinal approach lets the organization learn whether a horse was trained and adopted, and also whether the preparation supported a safe and sustainable outcome.
Equine welfare is a collaborative effort. [The organization] stays in regular contact with professional trainers, veterinarians, adopters, and partner welfare organizations. Trainers offer insight into a horse's development, temperament, and readiness for the next stage. Veterinary professionals flag health considerations that may affect training or placement. Adopters report how horses adjust after they go home.
The organization estimates the annual cost to care for and train one equine at [amount per horse], roughly one quarter for essentials such as feed and veterinary care and three quarters for professional training. It keeps adoption fees accessible rather than recovering the full investment in each horse, so grants, donations, sponsorships, and fundraising cover a significant share of rescue, care, and training costs and placement decisions stay focused on finding well-matched homes.
The Mustang Pathways to Adoption Project is a core part of [the organization]'s mission, and professional training is essential to preparing rescued horses for adoptive homes. The organization will sustain the work through a diversified funding strategy that includes individual donations, horse sponsorships, fundraising campaigns and events, adoption fees, and grants, and it will keep pursuing grants that support training, rehabilitation, and equine welfare.
Strong relationships with professional trainers and community partners give the organization access to specialized expertise as horses become ready for more advanced work. Together with its donor community, these relationships maintain a consistent pathway from rescue and rehabilitation through training, adopter preparation, and responsible placement.
Prepared by SGS for an equine rescue nonprofit · Excerpts · Contact details, names and dollar amounts removed
[The organization] is a Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, training, and rehoming of at-risk mustangs and other vulnerable equines. Founded in 2019, it grew from its founder's deeply personal commitment to advocacy, healing, and humane care. Today it provides compassionate, trust-based training and sanctuary for mustangs removed from Bureau of Land Management (BLM) holding facilities, pregnant mares rescued from neglect and auction pipelines, and foals requiring specialized care and rehabilitation.
Operating from a ranch in Colorado, the organization currently cares for 55 equines (capacity: 75), including approximately 50 BLM mustangs, and works with a satellite training location. It partners with trainers, sanctuaries, veterinarians, and advocacy organizations across Colorado and the United States to expand rescue capacity and improve outcomes for equines in crisis.
Its programs combine equine welfare, public education, and long-term adoption support. Through a maternal and foal care program, educational clinics, gentling and training, and community outreach, the organization works to reduce stigma surrounding mustangs while promoting humane training practices. In 2024 it reached more than 18,000 people through advocacy and education campaigns.
About 60,000 wild horses are currently held in government facilities. America's mustangs are intelligent, resilient, athletic, and adaptable, and they succeed in trail riding, ranch work, endurance, dressage, eventing, and therapy programs. Yet many still face misconceptions that limit their chances of adoption and long-term success.
Research and practical experience increasingly show that mustangs can move from wild environments to domestic partnerships when given thoughtful, trust-based training. Modern gentling techniques rely on communication, patience, and relationship-building rather than force, so horses develop confidence while keeping their natural curiosity and intelligence.
[The organization] responds with a model of rescue, rehabilitation, training, adoption, sanctuary, and public education. Moving mustangs from holding facilities and other at-risk situations into safe environments with individualized care helps create successful horse-human partnerships and reduces the number of horses requiring long-term government care.
The Mustang Rescue, Rehabilitation and Adoption Program is the organization's core initiative. Working with equine nonprofits, advocacy groups, community partners, and the BLM, it takes in mustangs that need care and gives each horse an individualized plan that begins with health and behavioral assessments and moves through trust-based gentling and professional training.
On arrival, each mustang enters a structured rehabilitation process that includes veterinary care, nutritional support, decompression, and foundational gentling. Depending on age, history, and needs, training takes from six months to several years and happens four to five times a week. The approach puts patience, consistency, and partnership ahead of force.
The goal is to place trained, rehabilitated mustangs in carefully selected, lifelong homes. To keep adoption accessible, horses are adopted out at a fraction of the cost invested in their care and training, so philanthropic support bridges the gap between adoption fees and the true cost of rescue.
How the program works
2026 SMART goals
Key performance indicators
| Metric | Baseline | 2026 target |
|---|---|---|
| Equines in care | 55 | 55–70 |
| Annual adoptions | 12 (2025) | 15–20 |
| Cumulative adoptions | 120+ | 135+ |
| Training milestones met within six months | 80% | 80% or higher |
| Post-adoption follow-up | 100% | 100% |
| People reached through education | 18,000+ (2024) | Maintain or grow |
| Daily social media reach | 27,000 | Maintain or grow |
The organization combines quantitative tracking with qualitative feedback. It keeps detailed records for each horse, including health status, training progress, length of stay, placement outcome, and long-term adoption success, and it stays in regular contact with adopters. Beginning in 2026, clinics and outreach events include participant surveys that measure knowledge gained, changes in perceptions of mustangs, and interest in adoption or advocacy.
In 2025 the organization rescued, rehabilitated, and placed 12 mustangs and other equines in qualified homes. About 80% of horses in training reached expected milestones within six months of entering the program, and about 90% of adopters reported satisfaction with their horse's training, behavior, and transition into its new home.
First responder wellness nonprofit · One county's 2025 results · Agency names removed
The organization tracked 346 individual first responders in its 2025 peer support activity list. About 42 took part alongside a spouse, and 7 had children noted, so roughly 49 couples or family units are represented. Nine dedicated family events were held in the county, and 29 responders brought their families. Thirty training sessions reached 536 participants, including 126 family members and spouses who attended alongside responders.
Participants came from fire departments, law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, and dispatch, across dozens of agencies. That cross-agency mix is part of the story: these events are building peer networks that did not exist before.
In their words. Families described relief from the cost and effort of planning, with one writing about "time with my family that I don't have to worry, stress, plan, or pay for." Many valued screen-free, focused time together, including with teenagers, and several said they felt seen and valued as first responder families. Responders most often named connection with "like-minded people" who understand the job, along with decompression and a sense of not being alone.
An opportunity. About 14% of post-event respondents were not yet aware of every resource available to them, which shows where outreach can grow.
Across both surveys, the data points to three core impacts: reduced stress, stronger relationships, and a deeper sense of connection and belonging among first responders and their families. Near-universal satisfaction and intent to return suggest strong engagement and perceived value.
If participation continues at this level, the data suggests the program could contribute to:
Funder: a religious order's charitable fund · Grantee: a Denver arts nonprofit · General operating support
[The organization] is grateful to [the funder] for this general operating grant. The grant was fully expended during the past year, and no funds remain.
A large portion of the grant supported the grand opening of the organization's new wing, an arts and wellness center built beside its historic home. The grand opening welcomed community members into the new space and introduced neighbors, families, and longtime supporters to the studios and gathering spaces now available to them. The balance of the grant supported core operations, including compensation for the artistic, teaching, and administrative staff who deliver programming.
This support sustained all five program pillars during a pivotal year. The organization now serves approximately 60,000 people annually, including 43,038 Arts in Education participants, with residencies in more than 130 schools across six Colorado counties.
The grand opening of the new center was a milestone more than fifty years in the making, and [the funder] helped make it a community celebration. For decades, the organization expanded its programs faster than it could expand its space. The new wing changes that. Its 25,000 square feet provide dedicated space for afterschool programming, behavioral health services, workforce training, and community events, alongside the historic building that has long been its home.
Opening the doors to the community mattered as much as opening the building. The grand opening invited neighbors from the surrounding neighborhood and across the city to see the space as their own and to learn about the classes, performances, and programs available to them.
The work continues. With the first two phases of the campus expansion complete, the organization is turning to the third: restoration of the historic sanctuary. It would be honored to welcome [the funder] for a visit to see firsthand what their generosity helped open.
Prepared by SGS for a veteran-serving nonprofit · County behavioral health funder · Services in Diverse Settings · Names, locations and dollar amounts removed
[The organization] assists veterans by carefully listening to them while providing needed services and resources. Our mission is helping veterans and their families find more peace in their lives and, ultimately, reducing the number of veteran suicides. To improve veterans' mental well-being, we help relieve the stress of loneliness and isolation, lack of purpose, and losing hope. Deeply listening to someone improves their outlook. Making connections with others can lead to healing through peer support.
Our services include listening sessions, connecting veterans to resources, providing transportation to medical appointments, assisting with errands, and offering vehicle repair and towing. We also connect veterans to substance abuse resources and VA benefits specialists, and we build accessible home modifications for disabled veterans so their homes meet their needs. All of these efforts are aimed at increasing hope and improving the quality of life for those who have served our country.
[The organization] was founded by [the founder], a Navy veteran who served multiple tours during the Vietnam era and is a life member of several veterans' service organizations.
For nearly forty years after he came home, he hid his veteran status because of the controversy and disrespect surrounding the military. Then, in 2011, he took part in an Honor Flight motorcade. Being in that lineup was a life-changing experience. It stirred deep feelings he had no idea existed. He began to wear apparel showing he was a veteran, and something remarkable happened. Veterans started approaching him and talking about their time in the service. Most said the same thing: "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I've never told anyone before."
The effect on those men and women was profound. Many went on to become volunteers. In that moment, our founder found his purpose, and in January 2017 [the organization] was born. Its founding principle is to reduce veteran hardship and suicide by offering hope.
Today the organization has two full-time employees, three contractors and 31 volunteers. In 2023 it served 740 veterans, 385 of them in the funder's county, and it carries 50 to 70 open projects at any given time.
Because many veterans do not receive benefits from the VA, they are left without much-needed assistance. Many are homebound and need rides to and from appointments. Others do not know which benefits are available to them. The result is that too many veterans go without behavioral health care.
When a veteran calls us, the first thing we ask is, "What are your needs?" Then we stay on the phone and listen as they tell their stories, often for more than an hour. We know they need relief. They need someone who hears them, someone who truly sees them.
Our listening sessions are akin to peer support, because 75% of our volunteers and staff are veterans themselves. Riding in a vehicle with a veteran creates a natural opening to talk about what they need and connect them to help. Some of the people we serve go on to become volunteers, which gives them the chance to find purpose in serving their fellow veterans.
Our listening sessions are rooted in evidence-based practice. Active listening builds trust and communication, offers emotional support and empathy, and is a core component of high-quality mental health care, which research links to better outcomes for veterans.
We prepare people carefully. Volunteers are interviewed twice, complete military cultural competency courses and sign confidentiality agreements. Most of our listeners and half of our transport team are veterans.
The biggest request: rides to medical appointments for veterans and caregivers. About 43 transports a month, including a wheelchair-accessible van.
One to four hours with a matched listener, for veterans who feel isolated and alone. About 10 sessions a month.
Ramps, bathroom rails and trip-hazard removal for elderly and disabled veterans, plus furnishings through a church partner.
Carefully vetted financial help, followed by referral to partner classes in financial security, so each veteran grows more independent.
Our primary outcome is to reduce veterans' perceived stress by at least 50% at the one-month follow-up. Stress and resilience are measured across programs: for a single ride, the driver asks and records four brief questions on stress and resilience. For higher levels of service, such as remodels and ramps, we use pre- and post-questions drawn from the Brief Resilience Scale and the Perceived Stress Scale.
| Objective | Target | How we will know |
|---|---|---|
| Listening and peer support for veterans served | 400 veterans served; at least 300 (75%) receive listening support | Program tracking and intake records |
| Reduce stress through transportation to essential services | 300 veterans | Veteran-reported change in stress at follow-up |
| Increase hope and resilience through accessible home modifications | 200 veterans | Service tracking plus one-month in-person or virtual follow-up |
| Connect veterans who felt they had nowhere to turn to resources | 10 veterans | Request tracking and an anonymous follow-up survey |
| Cultural competency and compassion-fatigue training for volunteers | 8 volunteers | Enrollment recorded and tracked |
Local funders have supported veteran transportation two years in a row. In 2023 the organization transported 154 individuals to and from health-related appointments in the county, a 30% increase over the prior year, and it is on track for at least another 30% this year, helped by a new wheelchair-accessible van funded by a national foundation.
The organization also works alongside veterans' service organizations, county veteran service offices, a regional behavioral health provider, the public library district, a builders' association foundation and national retail and thrift partners. Those partnerships share resources toward one mission. For example, the builders' foundation made it possible to build wheelchair ramps and bathroom modifications for veterans in need.
Each final report we write follows the funder's template and answers what a reviewer will ask next.
Outcome evidence is built in: lifetime placements (more than 120, with a single return), community education reach and volunteer hours, all drawn from the client's own records.
Annual equine program budget for a rescue nonprofit. Dollar amounts removed.
We pair every program budget with a per-animal cost summary, so funders see what each outcome costs.
Grant prospecting and grants calendar development, plus survey and evaluation data, logic models and program development examples that show the thinking behind the writing.
Grants are decisions made by people. Whenever a funder allows it, we set up a short conversation with a program officer before we draft anything, to confirm eligibility and fit. It saves our clients time, sharpens the ask, and starts a relationship that lasts longer than a single award.
Research funders whose priorities, geography and giving history match the client's mission.
Reach out to the program officer, when possible, to set a brief meeting or call, often with the client's leader on the line.
Check that the organization and program qualify, and learn what the funder most wants to see.
Set the request amount, program focus and outcomes around what we heard, then write.
Thank-yous, timely reports, updates and invitations to see the work keep the funder connected after the award.
The same relationship-first approach guides our work with clients. Through our fractional model we meet regularly in person, observe programs firsthand, and learn each organization's story, so what we write comes from real knowledge of the work.
Funding follows a clear story. For a nonprofit offering therapeutic experiences with horses to service members, veterans, emergency responders and health care workers, we led a messaging framework workshop that turned a good mission into a guiding identity: one shared set of principles for every grant, brochure and conversation. The engagement took one to two weeks.
Review the existing mission statement. Name what works and what feels generic.
List the real challenges each community faces, in their own terms.
Introduce the challenge, define the destination, and foreshadow the stakes.
Key characteristics and critical actions, worded in the culture's own language.
A one-document set of guiding principles, ready for grants and outreach.
"Proudly empowering Military, Veteran, and Emergency Responder families to reconnect and heal through the power of Equine Therapies."
What we heard: the pride, empowerment and community came through, but the statement felt "vanilla." It named the audience and the method without naming the real challenge or the change people could expect.
"At [the organization], we understand that committing to a life of service often creates complex challenges that can leave Military Service Members, Veterans, and Emergency Responders feeling disconnected from their families and communities. We facilitate unique, therapeutic experiences with horses that lead our participants to a deeper understanding of themselves, empowering them to cultivate healthier relationships and feel better."
The workshop began by naming what each community actually carries, so the mission could speak to all of them honestly.
Deployment cycles, trust and communication strain, shifting family roles, moral conflict, survivor's guilt.
Reintegration into a civilian world that "doesn't get you," a lost tribe, transition stress, questions of identity.
Complex, repeated trauma, moral conflict, and being vilified for the work.
Moral conflict, guilt, shame, ambiguous loss and grief, and risk brought home to families.
Military service members, veterans, emergency responders and health care workers are experiencing unprecedented levels of stress, trauma and isolation. This leads to feeling disconnected from family and community, and when left unaddressed, it creates destructive, long-term consequences for mental health and well-being.
"We do not win a fight alone, and we do not heal alone." By facilitating therapeutic experiences with horses, [the organization] helps people cultivate healthy relationships. When people commit to the work, life gets better.
When people understand themselves fully, they are more likely to succeed at home, at work, and in their communities.
The result is one consistent voice. Every grant narrative, brochure and conversation now draws on the same mission, values, actions and story, which makes the organization easier for funders to understand and remember.
Our grant lifecycle works backward from the deadline, so nothing is rushed and nothing is missed.
A monthly scan of research tools and your grant calendar feeds a weekly list.
The team decides whether to proceed, and flags anything unclear for the principal.
Client account created and every attachment gathered in one place.
The funding amount is settled first, with a call if needed.
Narrative questions and budget details are completed side by side.
Principal feedback, with meetings available for major edits.
A buffer for portal surprises, with a same-day backup plan.
One weekly list shows where each grant stands.
For a first responder wellness nonprofit, we summarized a year of survey results, checked them against the organization's five-pillar logic model, and designed a stronger survey for the year ahead.
We tested each of the organization's five outcome pillars against the survey results, and named where the evidence was thin.
Five separate surveys would tire busy responders, and one flat survey would miss detail. We recommended a short core that everyone completes, plus add-on modules matched to the event or follow-up.
Baseline for resilience, stress, social support, financial well-being and relationship quality.
A short resilience and stress check, emotion regulation, and a few items matched to the event type, plus satisfaction.
Professional quality of life, work engagement, emotional intelligence and stress.
The full battery, so short-term results connect to the long-term outcomes funders care about.
A built-in safeguard: we steered the organization away from clinical screening tools unless a licensed partner and a referral protocol are in place.
For an equine-assisted therapy nonprofit, we trained clinical staff on a rigorous pre/post evaluation built from validated scales, then summarized the first year of results for stakeholders. The data below is from an 8-week youth group, the program with the most complete records.
| Tool | What it measures |
|---|---|
| Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale | Overall feelings of self-worth (10 items) |
| Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale | Confidence in coping with challenges |
| Perceived Stress Scale | How overwhelming life felt in the past month (10 items) |
| Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire | Awareness, non-reactivity and emotional description (39 items, adult groups) |
| Mood and Feelings Questionnaire | Depression and anxiety in young children, with a matching caregiver version |
| Demographics, therapist evaluation, attendance | Who is served, clinician observations for each participant, and dosage |
"It has taught me to control my breathing when I get stressed or overwhelmed."
"It helped me figure out a job interest I have."
Other participants named self-control, talking, and getting to know people as the biggest changes. Quantitative scores and open-ended answers are reported side by side.
Why validated tools? They are tested and reliable, they come with answer keys so analysis does not require a biostatistician, and they stand out to funders. They also lay the groundwork for publishing results and pursuing a federal research grant.
A logic model connects the problem to the resources, activities and results, and tells us exactly what to measure. This is the model we developed with a first responder wellness nonprofit, which the survey results above were tested against.
Responders are exposed to trauma through their work and are often uncomfortable seeking mental health support on their own. Peer support activities and retreats make vulnerable conversations easier and open the door to resources.
Faith and spiritual practice, family relationships, financial stability, social connection, and access to culturally competent clinical counseling all influence results beyond the program itself.
Funders can tell a program that is described well from one that is designed well. Much of our value comes before and after the writing: shaping the program model, choosing the right measures, and making sure the evidence is there to back every claim. Three examples show how.
Many nonprofits write their own surveys, and funders discount the results. We build evaluation plans around existing, validated instruments, chosen for each outcome and trimmed to the shortest reliable version, so the evidence is credible and the burden on participants stays low.
The organization wanted to show impact across five wellness pillars. We matched each pillar to the shortest validated scale, so the full set takes about eight minutes, and single-pillar activities need only three to six items.
| Pillar | Recommended tool | Items |
|---|---|---|
| Relationships | Couples Satisfaction Index (CSI-4) | 4 |
| Emotional intelligence and resilience | Brief Resilience Scale | 6 |
| Physical health | PROMIS Global Physical Health, PHQ-2/GAD-2, cardiovascular self-report | 10 |
| Financial security | CFPB Financial Well-Being Scale, short form | 5 |
| Professional fulfillment | Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, ultra-short (UWES-3) | 3 |
| All pillars | An identity-and-purpose index we developed with the organization, used at every touchpoint to track change over time | 12 |
Validated tools are tested and reliable, and funders recognize them. They come with scoring keys, so no statistician is needed.
Results can be set against published benchmarks, which answers the funder's question, "compared to what?"
Short instruments get finished. Clean data from a few well-chosen measures beats a long battery with half the participants dropping out.
Rigorous evidence supports repeat awards, published results, and eventually research grants.
A youth nonprofit combines horses, rescued farm animals and adult mentors to support teens (ages 11 to 19) at risk of not graduating, involvement in the justice system, or suicidal thoughts. We helped turn a set of good activities into a program with an evidence base, a clear pathway for each young person, and outcomes that can be measured.
Six to eight weeks, up to 10 youth. Builds a "toolbelt" of skills and coping strategies for bullying and stress.
Service and leadership practice, with a community to belong to.
Caring for animals builds accountability and transferable skills.
A trained adult coach for youth who need deeper, individual support.
| Pre/post surveys | Self-esteem, self-efficacy and mood. Target: 20% improvement. |
| Retention | 85% retained through the program, with attendance up 15%. |
| Behavior | Parent and guardian questionnaires. Target: 25% reduction in truancy and substance use. |
| Skills | Leadership and communication, by self-assessment and mentor evaluation. |
| Stories | Testimonials and a facilitator debrief after every program, so the next cohort is better. |
A first responder wellness nonprofit had years of successful events and a big idea: a structured, peer-supported, whole-person model that could be measured and eventually shared with other agencies. We are helping them build it, from the core themes to the evaluation, the pilot and the curriculum.
We defined the problem at its root, helped the team name the core purpose that unites everything, and organized programs under five pillars.
A logic model, a validated measurement battery, a custom index, and a protocol for baseline, close and follow-up surveys.
A lean 8-week proof of concept for 20 to 30 people, then a 12-month pilot with a formal study.
Session themes for peer leads and partner agencies, a replication toolkit, and a model manuscript.
Finalize procedures and pillar frameworks, build the evaluation toolkit, train peer volunteers.
Recruit participants and families, enroll an 8-week cohort, collect baseline data.
Mid-point surveys and focus groups, refine activities by the data, document case stories.
Post and 60-day follow-up surveys, an impact report for funders, and a Year 2 plan.
We kept the pilot to three instruments and one four-question check-in after each event. The pull is always to measure more. Clean completion of a few measures across 20 to 30 people will generate more usable evidence than a full battery with half the participants dropping out.
The facilitator guide also reflects how this population engages: one touchpoint per week, sessions that stand alone, trust built before content, a referral pathway ready for hard moments, and a close designed to feel like a beginning.
Emily sees the bigger picture: opportunities, program strengths, funding strategy and how to communicate impact. Heather builds the systems that make strategy work: financial oversight, organized processes, accurate budgets and reporting.
Grant writing, management and administration professional with nearly a decade of nonprofit and public health experience. A 23-year career in emergency medical services, and a commitment to community health and prevention, led to work helping nonprofits address needs beyond the emergency response. Emily founded Summit Grant Strategies as a relationship-centered practice supporting emerging, midsize and established nonprofits, including organizations that provide mental health and wellbeing services to first responders.
Microsoft Office (Excel, Word), Google Workspace, Canva, Adobe, SPSS
Operations and business management professional with 15+ years of experience supporting nonprofit, education and small-business organizations. Heather brings skill in administrative operations, client relations, bookkeeping, grant support, staff coordination and process management, and is recognized for managing competing priorities, keeping accurate records and improving day-to-day organizational efficiency. At Summit Grant Strategies she builds the systems and financial processes behind every client partnership.
We start with a complimentary conversation about your mission, programs and goals.
We learn how your organization runs today: programs, finances, funders and grant history.
We assess readiness and opportunity, and recommend the services that fit your needs.
Only then do we discuss scope and negotiate a contract that works for both sides.
Every nonprofit we have partnered with has seen a return on its investment of at least double.
Every day I look out at the Rocky Mountains. They are a steady picture of what we do for nonprofits: a big goal, a path with real obstacles, and a way to reach the top one well-planned step at a time.
That is why we are called Summit Grant Strategies. The summit is your mission fully funded and your impact growing. Our work is the strategy that gets you there: understanding the terrain, choosing the right route, and walking it with you.
Let's build a strategic funding plan that moves your mission forward. Your first consultation is complimentary.
