Carinci Consulting: Strategy, Funding, Coaching, and Evaluation Services to Advance Nonprofit Impact
As Founder and Principal Consultant of Carinci Consulting, I bring two decades of non-profit leadership launching national strategic and research initiatives, conceptualizing networked improvement communities, and forging diverse partnerships to address gaps and improve stakeholder outcomes. Since launching a grants agency in December of 2022, I have helped clients win over $30 million in grant funding and have advanced a total of over $54 million in my career. How could leveraging my expertise advance your mission and free up your time?
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Carinci Consulting Turns 3 — And We’re Just Getting Started ⭐
Published 25 days ago • 10 min read
December 2025
🌟 Carinci Consulting Turns 3! 🎉
Three Years of Strategy. Three Years of Impact. Three Years of Turning Vision Into Reality.
This month, Carinci Consulting celebrates three years in business — and we couldn’t be more honored or grateful.
What started as a leap of faith has grown into a mission-driven consultancy that has, in partnerships, helped nonprofits and higher education institutions secure nearly $200 million in competitive grants, launch transformative programs, expand opportunities for women and underrepresented groups in STEM, strengthen mental health initiatives, and accelerate community impact nationwide. But the true story of these three years isn’t about the dollars — it’s about the people.
🥂 To our incredible clients who trust us with their work
🥂 To our partners and collaborators who dream big alongside us
🥂 To our supporters, friends, champions, and readers
🥂 And to our wonderful Carinci Consulting team, whose commitment makes every outcome possible —Thank you.
Your belief in our mission fuels everything we do. As we step into year four, we’re energized by what’s ahead. There are more stories to tell, more missions to support, and more impact to create — together.
✨ Here’s to continued momentum, meaningful partnerships, and even greater wins for the communities we serve. Let’s make this our most powerful year yet.
👉 If you’re ready to strengthen your grant strategy in 2025, we’d love to connect. Learn more or schedule a discovery call
Not All Grants Are Worth the Trouble: How to Spot a Time-Suck in Disguise
“You can do anything, but not everything.” — David Allen
December is a magical time—lights twinkle, cookies abound, and grant professionals everywhere are... frantically reviewing new RFPs before year-end.
Tis the Season to Say No (Strategically) 🚫
But here’s your gift from us: not every grant is worth the scramble. In fact, chasing the wrong opportunities could cost you more in time, energy, and credibility than skipping them entirely.
✍️ Grant Writing Tips: Navigating the “New Funding Rush”
Federal funding has been…a lot this year. Instrumentl’s recent report, The New Funding Rush: How nonprofits are racing to adapt amid federal grant changes, shows that most nonprofits have felt disruption in federal, state, and local grants—and many are already shifting their strategies as a result.
In short: 2025 has been a race—and 2026 will be even more competitive. Here are practical ways to adapt strategically, not frantically.
1. Don’t Just Apply More. Apply Smarter. With more organizations flooding the same funding pools, “brute-force” volume alone won’t cut it.
Try this: Create a simple scoring rubric (e.g., 1–5) for each opportunity based on: -Mission fit -Likely competitiveness -Award size vs. effort -Relationship potential-Prioritize the top tier (score 4–5) for full, tailored proposals; treat the rest as “nice to have,” not core strategy.
2. Build a Diversified and Differentiated Portfolio. Many nonprofits are diversifying—expanding into more private and corporate grants, events, individual giving, and earned revenue. But diversification without differentiation just creates more noise.
Try this: For each major funding stream (federal, foundation, corporate, individual), ask:
What makes us uniquely compelling to this type of funder?
What proof do we have (data, stories, outcomes) that speaks their language?
Build 2–3 core positioning statements you can reuse and adapt across proposals and pitches.
3. Shift from “Cold” to “Warm” Proposals. One standout pattern from the report: organizations that intentionally build relationships with funders—rather than relying only on cold submissions—see significantly stronger revenue growth over time.
Try this before you apply: Identify your top 10–15 priority funders for 2026. For each, plan at least one pre-application touchpoint (webinar attendance, intro email, brief call, site visit, or connecting via a mutual contact). Track these touchpoints in a simple CRM or spreadsheet so you’re not starting from zero when the RFP drops.
4. Protect Your Team from “Burnout-by-Grants.” With so many organizations responding by “doing more,” burnout is a real risk—for staff and for proposal quality.
Try this: Decide on a maximum number of major proposals per quarter based on staff capacity. Build a reusable content library (need statements, org background, equity approach, evaluation plans, standard attachments) so each new application is 60–80% adaptation, not 100% from scratch. Where possible, budget for grant support (consultants, part-time writers, tools) in multi-year awards.
5. Use Tools Thoughtfully—They’re Multipliers, Not Magic. As competition intensifies, tools that help you find better-fit opportunities and draft faster can be real force multipliers—but they work best when paired with strategy, not in place of it.
Try this: Use a platform to consolidate prospecting, deadlines, and funder research in one place. Pilot AI assistance for first drafts, outlines, or simplifying RFP language, then refine with your team’s expertise so your voice and nuance stay intact.
As you wrap up 2025 and look toward 2026, the core message is simple:
Don’t just run faster in the same direction. Use this moment to refine where you’re running, why it matters, and how you’ll stand out in a more crowded field.
Grant Opportunities
Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE)
Award Amount: Unspecified
Deadline: February 10, 2026
Description: Supports convergent research, education and networking activities to improve understanding, prediction and resilience to wildland fire.
EDU Core Research: Building Capacity in STEM Education Research
Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Award Amount:Individual Investigator Development in STEM Education Research - Up to $350,000; Institutes for Methods and Practices in STEM Education Research - Up to $1,000,000; Conference - typically $25,000 to $100,000
Deadline: February 27, 2026
Description: Supports activities that will advance STEM education research, including professional development for researchers, institutional training on the use of cutting-edge research techniques, and conferences.
Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Directorate for STEM Education (IUSE: EDU)
Deadline: January 21, 2026 for Institutional and Community Transformation (Capacity-Building and Level 1) proposals and Engaged Student Learning (Level 1) proposals
Description: Supports projects to improve STEM teaching and learning for undergraduate students, including studying what works and for whom and how to transform institutions to adopt successful practices in STEM education.
Award Amount: Funds to support the mid-career researcher (PI) and one month of summer support for each collaborative partner. Funds for the PI may include a) up to a total of 6.5 months of salary (plus fringe benefits) over the course of the award, and b) up to $100,000 for other direct costs in support of the research advancement and training plan.
Deadline: March 1, 2026
Description: Supports mid-career researchers, at the associate professor rank (or equivalent), to substantively enhance and advance their research program through synergistic partnerships.
Description: Provides organizations with flexible, unrestricted funding tailored to long-term impact and growth. Grants are multi-year and are accompanied by access to peer networks and professional coaching, helping nonprofits expand both mission and organizational resilience.
Award Amount: Fully funded mental health professional (salary and costs up to $85,000 annually) for five years; up to $5,000 annually in discretionary funds (maximum $25,000 over five years).
Deadline: First Monday of February, July, September, and November
Description: To expand access to school-based mental health support services for students in grades 6-12 who face chronic absenteeism, behavioral challenges, or declining academic performance.
Award Amount: $1,000 - $10,000, depending on program applied to and budget
Deadline:Letter of Inquiry February 1, 2026 for May 1, 2026 proposal deadline
Description: Focuses on enhancing the quality of life for older adults in the U.S. through four priority areas: caregiving, economic security, housing, and social and intergenerational connectedness. Its grantmaking supports advocacy, direct service, professional training, and research to strengthen policy and practice for older adults.
Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation Humanities Program
Award Amount: Typically $5,000 - $25,000
Deadline: Rolling
Description: Supports projects that address the concerns of the studia humanitatis: a humanistic education rooted in the great traditions of the past; the formation of human beings according to cultural, moral, and aesthetic ideals derived from that past; and the ongoing debate over how these ideals may best be conceived and realized.
Unrestricted grants for educators, entrepreneurs, and school founders
Award Amount: Direct financial support to advance your work. One-year, unrestricted grants range from $150,000 to $250,000.
Deadline: January 8, 2026 | Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Applicants who submit by December 1, 2025 will receive an update on their status by the end of January. All applicants will receive an update by March.
Description: We invest in visionary, early-stage education leaders and entrepreneurs with bold ideas that expand the definition of what works. Our focus is on creating new possibilities and a just future for all students, especially those furthest from opportunity. Ideas must align with at least one of our investment areas: Innovative Schools, Learning Solutions, Teaching Reimagined, or Learning Differences.
🌟 Real results, real impact. Hear what people are saying about their experience with us!🌟
🎉 Grant Win! 🎉
Purpose: Increase STEM degree completion of academically talented, low-income undergraduates and graduate students with demonstrated financial need by leveraging established partnerships with community colleges where alums teach upper-level mathematics.
Success Total: $1,999,979
Carinci Consulting Role: Writer
Lessons Learned:
How Funders Are Shifting—and How to Meet the Moment
It’s not just nonprofits scrambling to adapt to federal grant volatility—foundations are actively reshaping their strategies too. Candid’s 2025 Foundation Giving Forecast Survey found that 1 in 5 foundations expect ed to change their grantmaking focus as a result of the 2024 election, often to fill gaps created by federal funding freezes and cuts or to strengthen work around democracy, civil rights, and vulnerable communities. At the same time, Candid found that 37% of foundations anticipated increasing giving in 2025, even as overall trends remain unpredictable. Some large funders, like the MacArthur Foundation, are temporarily boosting payout rates above the traditional 5% specifically to offset federal funding losses.
Other analyses like Foundation Source point to a similar pattern: more flexible, trust-based, and partnership-oriented grant making—think general operating support, multi-year funding, and streamlined reporting—as key strategies funders are using to steady nonprofits in a turbulent policy environment.
So what does all this mean for you as a grantseeker heading into 2026?
1. Follow the Gaps: Foundations Are Backfilling Federal Cuts: Many foundations planning changes explicitly mentioned supporting nonprofits hit by government funding freezes or cuts—from universities losing research dollars to community organizations losing program grants.
High-leverage move: Map where your organization has lost (or is at risk of losing) public funding, and spell that out clearly in proposals. Show: -What was funded before -What is now at risk -How philanthropic dollars will prevent service reductions or program closuresMake it easy for funders to see how their grant directly stabilizes something essential.
2. Make a Strong Case for Flexible, Multi-Year Support: Sector surveys show nonprofits’ top needs are flexible and multi-year funding to cover full costs, rebuild reserves, and retain staff amid inflation and uncertainty. Foundations are hearing this and, in many cases, adjusting.
High-leverage move: Present a full-cost budget (including overhead, tech, evaluation, and leadership). Include a short “Why multi-year support matters” paragraph that connects stability to better outcomes. Offer a few investment tiers (e.g., 1-year, 3-year, 5-year scenarios) so funders can see the long-term return on deeper commitment.
3. Lean Into Relationship-Rich, Trust-Based Practices: Recent funder guidance emphasizes open communication, fewer hoops, and long-term partnership—especially for organizations on the frontlines of policy and funding disruption.
High-leverage move: Treat every interaction (intro call, webinar Q&A, site visit) as the start of a relationship, not just a transaction. Share honest updates: what’s working, what’s hard, and how you’re adapting. Offer light-lift ways for funders to “walk alongside” your work (learning sessions, brief impact updates, or chances to hear directly from participants).
4. Watch Strategic Pivots—Issue Areas Are Shifting: Survey responses show some foundations tilting toward democracy, civil rights, immigration, and communities most affected by policy change, while others are doubling down on core areas like health, education, or climate but with a stronger equity lens.
High-leverage move: Re-read funders’ strategic plans and recent grantee lists with a “post-2024” lens. Update your case statements to explicitly connect your work to the current moment—not just a generic need. Where relevant, highlight how your programs safeguard rights, access, or stability for communities most impacted by federal policy shifts.
5. Plan for Both Generosity and Volatility: Candid’s data suggest a mixed picture: more than a third of foundations expected to increase giving in 2025, but overall growth barely outpaced inflation and remains sensitive to markets and politics. The big takeaway: some funders are stepping up—but nobody can count on philanthropy alone to plug every federal hole.
High-leverage move: Build a multi-year funding model that blends public grants, private/foundation support, corporate partnerships, DAFs, and individual giving. Use year-end 2025 to identify where you’re over-reliant on a single funding stream and set specific diversification goals for 2026. As you close out 2025, the big lesson is this: funders are adjusting—but they’re looking for partners who are just as strategic. The more clearly you can show where you fit into this evolving landscape, the more competitive you’ll be in 2026.
⏰ Attention Nonprofits and Higher Ed Research Offices!
⏳ The countdown is on…
Are you ready to jumpstart your 2026 funding strategy?
If getting organized for grant season has been sitting on your to-do list, now is the moment to move. Every year, organizations miss out on hundreds of thousands—and sometimes millions—in potential funding simply because they don’t have the time or expertise to navigate the ever-changing grant landscape.
To set you up for success, we’re opening a limited number of discounted Strategy Client spots*for organizations looking to get ahead before the new year. This exclusive, year-long partnership includes:
✨ In-depth grant research and a customized funding roadmap tailored to your mission
📝 Ongoing grant writing support to strengthen proposals and maintain momentum all year
Whether you’re a growing nonprofit or part of a university research office, this is your chance to refine your strategy, secure more funding, and expand your impact in 2026.
Book a discovery call to learn more about early-bird pricing—available for a short time only.
Carinci Consulting: Strategy, Funding, Coaching, and Evaluation Services to Advance Nonprofit Impact
Jennifer Carinci
As Founder and Principal Consultant of Carinci Consulting, I bring two decades of non-profit leadership launching national strategic and research initiatives, conceptualizing networked improvement communities, and forging diverse partnerships to address gaps and improve stakeholder outcomes. Since launching a grants agency in December of 2022, I have helped clients win over $30 million in grant funding and have advanced a total of over $54 million in my career. How could leveraging my expertise advance your mission and free up your time?
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