Grant writers know that time is money. If your goal for 2026 is to write more grants or have more free time, efficiency and accuracy are your best friends.
Great systems enable the most productive and successful grant writers to win grants and maintain a work/life balance.
I nearly doubled the number of grants my agency submitted (and was awarded) in 2025, and here are the tools I use to maintain efficient systems.
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Grant Research
Every successful grant strategy starts with solid research and vetting. I use several techniques, but my two favorite tools are Grant Station and Instrumentl. Because you subscribe to this email, you get the following deals:
GrantStation: Only $139/year (discounted from $699 retail)
Instrumentl: 21 days free and $50 off after the free trial.
Grant Management
Managing scheduled grants, submitted grants, denied grants, awarded grants, deadlines, submitted proposals, login credentials, etc., can be a nightmare without a system. I rely on Monday.com to keep everything flowing seamlessly. I create pipelines, notifications, and assign tasks. It is fully customizable and I couldn’t grow my agency without it. Spreadsheets don’t cut it for me. I need automations and alerts. If you want to try it, check out Monday here.
Planning and Prep
I have tried Chat GPT, customized grant GPTs, and a few other platforms, but Koala is my fave. Their platform is powered by GPT-5, Claude 4, and a few others, so they pull together the best of everything. I have used Koala for years for my various websites, and I decided to try it for grants. I trained the Koala Chat feature on each of my clients, and I generate outlines, fresh angles, and reduce the number of characters. Such a great tool. Check it out here.
Continuing Education
We all have gaps in our knowledge, bias, and blindspots. Part of being a kickass grant professional is being honest about these things and working to improve. Here are some of the incredibly talented women I rely on for motivation and continuing education.
- Spark the Fire– Allison is a gifted teacher and offers various courses, newsletters, etc.
- Holly Rustick– She is a BOSS and her live training is coming up in January. It is free- don’t miss it.
- Grant Writing Boss Club– Dr. Krista Kurlinkus teaches every system a freelance grant writer or agency owner could ever need. If you want to be self-employed or grow your business in 2026, this is for you.
If you have any questions about these resources or my grant process, feel free to hit reply and send me a message.
Happy Holidays!
Until next time,
Write Epic Grants