Grant Writing

CPPG provides comprehensive grant writing and research services supporting efforts to secure funding for critical projects and programs that improve the quality of life in local communities.

At CPPG, we pride ourselves on being proactive, creative, and nimble. We build strong relationships with staff at each organization that we are honored to work with. CPPG’s Grant Writing Team, launched in June 2021, has secured over $215 million for our local government and nonprofit clients.

We emphasize submitting high-quality grant applications and deploying a strategic approach to grant-seeking, with thorough, thoughtful vetting of funding opportunities for our clients. We examine potential projects through a lens of “grant readiness” to provide clear-eyed assessments and strategic recommendations. Furthermore, we provide our clients with accurate, timely information about upcoming funding opportunities.

Combining our expertise in grant programs and our team’s presence in Sacramento, we work with our clients to identify and proactively plan for upcoming opportunities for grant programs in advance of the grant competition’s release date.

Our team works diligently to identify and apply for grant opportunities that best fit the needs of our clients. As strategic partners, we work diligently to position our clients for success by thoroughly vetting proposal concepts and projects.

We strive to offer a comprehensive consulting service—not just writing grants but working with clients in a hands-on way to become “grant ready.”

CPPG’s Grant Writing Services

Proposal Development: CPPG provides grant writing and proposal development services, from start to finish of the proposal development process. This includes preparation of funding abstracts, project narratives, and required forms and attachments. For each new project, CPPG’s grants team convenes a kickoff meeting to thoroughly review the grant’s requirements and develop a strategic work plan for proposal development.
Funding Opportunity Research: CPPG conducts continual, comprehensive research, keeping clients informed of upcoming grant opportunities. Targeted research is available on an “on-call” basis. Our clients receive a monthly “Funding Opportunities Catalog” documenting current and cyclical grant programs from federal and state agencies and private foundations.
Monitoring the State Budget: CPPG’s Director of Grant Services works directly with legislative advocates who provide updates and analysis on the state budget and relevant bills, allowing us to proactively identify upcoming opportunities, new grant programs, and changes to existing grant programs.
Strategic Planning: CPPG works directly with organizational leadership teams to identify funding and service gaps to inform grant-seeking activities. We schedule annual “deep dive” meetings with clients to focus on key priorities for the upcoming year and use these priorities to guide your organization’s grant-seeking activities.
Grant Readiness: We support your agency’s efforts to proactively identify priority projects and triage potential grant opportunities to support these projects. This includes vetting projects for competitive viability to support the development of strong grant applications.
Quality Control: Prior to submitting a grant application, we review the contents of each form, check for typographical or grammatical errors, and ensure that all required components for a complete proposal are included in the application package.
Consistent Communication: CPPG schedules monthly meetings to keep clients informed of upcoming funding opportunities and progress on grant-seeking activities. Our consultants are available upon request to meet with staff on assigned projects. We regularly send “Grant Alerts” to keep clients informed of relevant funding opportunities as they are released, with targeted distribution lists broken down by subject matter area.
Organizational Assessments: Upon request, our consultants work with staff to assess past performance and ways to improve grant-seeking efforts.
Capacity Building: Upon request, CPPG provides professional training for staff to support grant-seeking and grant management activities.

Our Team

	CPPG’s Grant Writing Division is led by Jake Whitaker, Director of Grant Services. With seven years of grant writing experience, he has secured over $80,000,000 in partnership with municipal governments, county governments, institutions of higher education, and non-profits. He prioritizes high quality service, collaboration, and effective communication in all his consulting work. Jake has experience preparing grant proposals across a wide range of sectors, including public safety, wildfire mitigation, housing, parks and recreation, food insecurity department, workforce development, economic development, education, and infrastructure projects (including transportation and water infrastructure).
	With vast experience and a 42-year career in public service that began with his first job as a bus mechanic for the City of Fresno and culminated in his appointment as Fresno’s City Manager in 2013, Bruce Rudd brings a wealth of knowledge to CPPG’s Grant Services Team as a strategic consultant and grant writer. During his career, Bruce has been responsible for writing and/or administering a variety of federal, state, and local grant programs that have been successfully used to fund a variety of capital investment projects, ranging from new parks and trails to the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit services. A marquee accomplishment of his tenure as City Manager was the City of Fresno’s receipt of one of the inaugural Transformative Climate Communities grants.
	As a professional grant writer and program manager, Maira brings a wealth of experience serving in various roles that focus on the delivery of public service through equity, inclusion, and diversity. She has successfully secured and administered millions of dollars in grant funding from state, federal, and private funding sources. While working with the City of Redlands, Maira spearheaded During her tenure, she spearheaded the development of a successful Project Homekey application that resulted in a record-setting $30 million grant award. Maira’s passion for her work is centered on empowering change makers by securing the funding they need to deliver positive change in their communities.