M. Palmer Consulting

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M. Palmer Consulting An Arkansas-based nonprofit consulting agency specializing in grant writing, fundraising strategy, and staff and board development.

Lead by Melanie Palmer, GPC, CFRE.

10/22/2026

Hey Executive Directors, good news, you actually DON'T need a five year plan to kickstart getting donors.

You just need to do this one thing this week!

Comment PLAN if you want the quick & easy framework for getting funding for your nonprofit.

Rebuilding after a funding loss happens in three stages:💪 Stabilization🏢 Infrastructure🌱 GrowthTrying to skip ahead is w...
10/21/2026

Rebuilding after a funding loss happens in three stages:

💪 Stabilization
🏢 Infrastructure
🌱 Growth

Trying to skip ahead is where most organizations get stuck.

Which stage are you in?

Not sure? Check out the 🔗 in the first comment for more on the 3 stages of grant funding.

If you read the budget shortfall guide a few weeks back - the one about the 48 hours after a grant falls through - this ...
10/15/2026

If you read the budget shortfall guide a few weeks back - the one about the 48 hours after a grant falls through - this is the piece I kept pointing to at the end of it.

Handling the crisis and fixing the funding model are two different projects. The first one buys you time. This one is about not needing that 48-hour guide again in six months.

It's the staged framework for actually diversifying your revenue - where to start, what order to do it in, and the part of it nobody warns you about (hint: it's not the fundraising, it's the board conversation).

https://www.melaniepalmerconsulting.com/news-blog/grant-dependency-to-diversified-revenue

10/09/2026

Nonprofits, you won't diversify your revenue in one leap! It happens in stages, and knowing which stage you're actually in changes everything about what to do next.

The stages 👇

Stage 1 - Stabilization.
You're not adding anything new yet. You're getting honest about what you have and buying yourself room to think.

Stage 2 - Infrastructure.
This is the unglamorous stage nobody wants to linger in: systems for individual giving, board buy-in, the plumbing that makes Stage 3 possible.

Stage 3 - Growth.
This is the stage everyone wants to start at. It only works if 1 and 2 are actually done.

If you're not sure which stage you're in, that's usually Stage 1 talking.

We've got a full breakdown of each stage - including what to actually do at each one - linked below.

🚨 Grants are not a funding strategy. They are a funding source!I say this to almost every ED I work with, and it almost ...
10/06/2026

🚨 Grants are not a funding strategy. They are a funding source!

I say this to almost every ED I work with, and it almost always lands the same way: a little bit of relief, a little bit of "oh no."

Relief, because it names something true without blaming anyone. You didn't do anything wrong by getting good at grants. You just built a budget around a funding source, not a funding model.

The "oh no" is next: if grants aren't the strategy, what is?

I wrote the full framework about this a while back - still one of the most useful things I've put on the blog.

Link in the first comment.

09/28/2026

The #1 mistake nonprofit leaders make in a funding crisis? Waiting.

Waiting to tell your Board.
Waiting until you're in the red.
Waiting for the grant to magically come back.

Every week you sit on it alone is a week your Board isn't helping you solve it.

Your Board is there for exactly this. Bring them in early. Bring the real numbers, not the worst-case spiral in your head. Ask for a decision, not a reaction.

👉 Are you struggling with a funding gap right now?

09/22/2026

If you've read our budget shortfall guide and thought "okay, but this is the third time this has happened to us" - that's not bad luck. That's information.

If you find yourself here more than once every few years, the issue isn't the grant that fell through. It's the funding model underneath it.

I wrote the long-term version of this a few weeks ago - how to actually build a diversified revenue base, in stages, without blowing up what's already working.

Linked below if you're ready for that conversation instead of just the fire drill!

09/14/2026

Your team's strengths only work if your setup lets you use them. Are yours?

💬 Comment HELP to set up a time to chat about your nonprofit's needs

More nonprofits will have this exact moment this year than in the last five combined.Federal cuts, tighter foundation bu...
09/08/2026

More nonprofits will have this exact moment this year than in the last five combined.

Federal cuts, tighter foundation budgets, donors pulling back - the funding environment is genuinely harder right now, and pretending otherwise doesn't help anyone.

💡 What does help: knowing the difference between a cash-flow problem and a funding-model problem before you're in crisis mode. One is a 90-day fix. The other needs a real framework.

I wrote about the first one this week. Wrote about the second a few weeks back. Both linked in the comments - read whichever one matches where you are.

09/07/2026

The email said the grant didn't come through. Now what?

Here's what to actually do in the first 48 hours - not the spiral, the plan.

👉 Full step-by-step guide linked in bio.

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Fayetteville, AR
72701

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