On Grant Writing

I lead a team of grant writers at the UMass Donahue Institute, so it says everything about Erica that she is our go-to consultant when we need expert writing, an additional team member, and/or someone who can produce stellar content on a condensed timeline. I am consistently impressed by her ability to synthesize a hodge-podge of material and sometimes dry statistics into a persuasive presentation. Her grants are wonderfully succinct, informative, and on point. She is clearly a professional with years of experience, something that is evident from her grasp of language, as well ability to hone an argument, and align each grant with the funder’s priorities. Even better, she makes every deadline and goes out of her way to guide clients through the grant development and submission process.

~Sharon Vardatira, Director, Nonprofit Funding and Fiscal Solutions at the University of Massachusetts Donahue Institute

 

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rica has been our Development Consultant for 1.5 years now, and all of the grants she has written for us have been funded, raising 97% of the total ask amount and nearly doubling our operational budget! She stepped in with genuine interest and respect for our work/mission, and began asking tough questions and giving our org space to think through the answers. She spent time interviewing our students, our nurses, and supporters, then began writing our outreach materials, grant reports, and proposals, as well as guiding our funder stewardship. She works effectively with our staff and board of directors, her writing is exceptional, and she has an authentic way of telling our story in our voice. We have been so pleased with her level of professionalism, time management, and production of well-done reports and proposals that have gone above and beyond our highest expectations.

~Karmann Peters, then Executive Director, Nursing Students for Sexual & Reproductive Health

 

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rica Silber of Written Wings has worked with me for the past several years, writing grants to support Blues to Green in presenting the Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, and to launch new programming. Erica is a very skilled grant writer and has been a very important partner to me in this nonprofit work, and I highly recommend her to others. I have the utmost faith in her ability to deliver on her grant writing commitments, greatly supporting the fundraising goals of our organization. She plans in advance to follow a scheduled timeline, guides the information collecting process, possesses a great attention for detail, and hones ideas into a well thought-out and compelling proposal. Working with Erica, I know that no detail will fall through the cracks, and that the many details will be neatly woven together into a cohesive whole.

Additionally, Erica is able to embrace the vision of our organization and conceptualize the “big ideas,” helping to articulate this vision for others to understand. Erica has helped to reaffirm the vision that I hold, as a change maker and founder of our organization, and to bolster up my belief that the world I imagine is possible. Erica truly works her writing magic to help bring dreams and visions into reality.

~Kristin Neville, Executive Director, Blues to Green

 

Erica turned around a grant narrative for WBOA extremely quickly – and with top-notch writing. I learned a ton from her about how to position the organization to be more attractive to funders and the type of information we need for the best proposals. I’m looking forward to continuing WBOA’s relationship with Erica to fund lots of exciting programs for women business owners!

~Gretchen Duhaime, Executive Director, Women Business Owners’ Alliance

 

Erica directs and orchestrates the grant writing process clearly and efficiently. She has the ability to synthesize large amounts of complex information into a very well written, coherent and compelling narrative. I found her to be professional, warm and willing to go the extra mile even under a stressful deadline. I consider her a valued member of our team as our organization moves forward with her help.

~Susan Lorde, Executive Director, Center for Peace Through Culture

 

Erica has helped Prison Birth Project secure multiple grants this year. (Every one that she worked on, PBP was granted!) Erica is self-organized and detail-oriented. She is a clear communicator with good boundaries and excellent writing skills. She has demonstrated a willingness to take feedback and grow to meet the needs of the work at hand. When I read the proposals that Erica has written, it makes me feel re-inspired by the work that PBP does. She is able to articulate our visions in an effective manner, while maintaining the voice and style of PBP. In addition, Erica was able to assist us with logic models that helped program areas define goals, objectives, and strategies. This has been useful in multiple ways, from internal effectiveness to donor communications.

~Lisa Andrews, then Co-Founder & Co-Director, Prison Birth Project

 

Erica’s writing is superb. I have hired her on three occasions and have been extremely pleased by the skill with which she converts my words and ideas into thoughtful, laser-focused and rousing prose. She is a master at her craft and I strongly endorse her as a professional writer/editor.

Meagan Murphy, Project Manager & Multimedia Producer, The Breast Archives

 

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s the Executive Director of a small nonprofit human service agency, I wear many hats. One that has not fit terribly well has been that of grant writer. Erica Silber of Written Wings provided much needed direction, and very valuable advice and feedback on how to research and write winning grant proposals. Erica is a fine writer and clearly understands her field. I look forward to many future collaborations.

~Deborah Francome, Executive Director, Riverbrook Residence

 

From a Foundation

It was a real pleasure to read your progress report. I was so moved by your work that I too went to the [organization you did a fundraiser for] to make an individual donation. [Your] October training sounds like it was an impressive event. And so much is happening with your work- the [X Site] work is deeply inspiring. I am amazed by what they are accomplishing in a setting that on the outside sounds quite difficult… Congrats on receiving support from many other funders. This is a testament to your hard work. I’m eager to learn in the new year who you hire for your open position and hope to connect in-person in 2016.

~A foundation officer’s response to a grant report written for a client

 

Donor Fundraising & Outreach Materials

Erica is a vital contributor to the marketing and fundraising efforts of the Development Committee at the AIDS Foundation of Western Massachusetts. She has been instrumental in drafting high caliber annual appeal letters and social media messages as part of our Campaign for Compassion and Valley Gives efforts. Her writing is always strategic, concise, and able to motivate folks to donate when there are so many competing causes in the Pioneer Valley. We are truly indebted to her service to an at-need community through her writing talent.

~Jane Begala, MSPH, MBA, then Board Member and Co-Chair of the Development Committee, AIDS Foundation of Western MA

 

Erica Silber is responsible, conscientious, and thoughtful. National Advocates for Pregnant Women asked her to help us develop an Impact Report about our organization. In a timely fashion, she provided us with an extremely useful framework for this report, and a model that will help us going forward for years to come.

~Lynn Paltrow, Executive Director, National Advocates for Pregnant Women

 

If you need someone with an incisive intellect, imperturbable attention to detail, and timely task completion, contact Erica Silber of Written Wings. Her dedication and ability to cut through the daunting world of all types of nonprofit writing will make your life easier and your mission come to life on the page. I have worked with her on a couple of projects and am always impressed by her ability to understand a unique situation, support the task at hand, and course correct as needed. I highly recommend her services.

~Suzanne Bowles, then Director of Public Relations and Fund Development, Gándara Center

 

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rica did a great job bringing our content to a level at which members can understand it. I am confident that her article will generate more interest and enrollment in our programs.

~Karen Coderre, Clinical Pharmacist, Health New England

 

From Grant Writing Workshop Participants

The workshop helped me rethink grant writing… see it as a more creative way of sharing our organization’s stories and vision.

~Marion Van Arsdell, Board President, Voices from Inside

 

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onderfully fresh and clear use of fundamental good writing principles to liven up dry and boring grant writing-ese.

~Lisa Middents, Development Coordinator, Franklin County Home Care Corporation

 

Erica is so positive and passionate about her work. Her enthusiasm is contagious and will help fuel my own work.

~Jessica Albrecht, Media and Communications Manager, Franklin County Home Care Corporation