Grant Writing Toolkit & Boilerplate

Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. is a growing nonprofit focused on college and career readiness for girls and young women, particularly those from under-resourced communities and communities of color. We are preparing to expand our programming beyond New Jersey and increase our national reach through our Skill BuildHER™ Professional Development Labs, a ready-to-activate workforce development experience that connects young women with professionals, career exposure, and practical skills for college and the workplace.

Our organization has primarily been supported through corporate sponsorships, employee engagement, and other community-based funding. While we have successfully built relationships with companies and schools, we have not yet developed a strong institutional grant funding strategy or received grant funding at the level needed to support our growth.

As a small nonprofit building its organizational capacity, we need support creating a strong, repeatable grant development system. We have compelling programs, established program materials and handbooks, experience working with CSR and social impact teams, and growing interest from schools and companies. What is missing is the grant-writing infrastructure and expertise to effectively translate this work into competitive proposals for foundations and other institutional funders.

We are seeking a pro bono professional with demonstrated grant-writing and fundraising experience who can help us turn our existing program knowledge and materials into a strong grant-ready framework that we can use and adapt as funding opportunities arise.

This support would help us move from pursuing primarily corporate support to building a diversified funding pipeline that can sustain our programs and support national expansion.

By the end of the project, we want to have a practical grant-writing toolkit that positions Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. to pursue foundation, corporate, and other institutional funding opportunities with greater consistency and confidence.

The pro bono consultant will review our existing programs, materials, handbooks, organizational information, and current messaging, with a particular focus on our Skill BuildHER™ Professional Development Labs. They will help us translate our program model, community need, workforce development approach, social capital focus, and national growth opportunity into compelling language for funders.

Specific deliverables would ideally include:

• A strong Letter of Inquiry (LOI) template and adaptable boilerplate language
• A comprehensive grant proposal template/boilerplate covering common sections such as organizational background, community need, program description, goals, outcomes, evaluation, equity, and sustainability
• A library of reusable organizational and program language that can be customized for different funders
• Guidance on how to tailor the boilerplate to foundation priorities and specific funding opportunities
• Recommendations for strengthening our grant narrative and positioning our programs for institutional funding
• A basic grant-readiness or funding strategy framework we can continue using after the project ends

Success would mean that our small team has a professional, funder-ready foundation from which to develop competitive proposals rather than starting from scratch with every opportunity. We want to leave the project with tools we can realistically maintain and use as we grow, along with a clearer understanding of how to position Skill BuildHER™ and our broader mission for national funders.

Ultimately, this project will help us build the fundraising capacity needed to move from primarily corporate-supported programming toward a more diversified and sustainable funding model.

Organization Mission

Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. equips girls and young women ages 14–21 with the skills, professional connections, and real-world experiences they need to pursue college, careers, and economic opportunity. Our work centers on Skill BuildHER™ Professional Development Labs, a suite of ready-to-activate workforce development experiences designed to give girls direct access to professionals, industries, and career-connected learning. Labs include Professional Networking, Financial Literacy, College Readiness, and Mock Interview experiences. Rather than simply exposing students to careers, Skill BuildHER creates opportunities for girls to practice professional skills, build social capital, ask questions, develop relationships, and see themselves in professional spaces. We bring together girls, schools, companies, and professionals to create meaningful career-connected experiences. We work with schools and youth-serving organizations, particularly those serving students from communities that are often underrepresented in professional spaces, while engaging professionals from companies and organizations across industries. Our corporate model allows companies, employee resource groups (ERGs), professional networks, and social impact teams to activate their employees and industry expertise in experiences that directly benefit young people. Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. serves as the connector between these groups. We handle the planning, coordination, materials, facilitation, school or youth-organization matching, and student experience so that professionals can focus on what they do best: showing up, sharing their expertise, mentoring, and opening doors. Companies can bring their employees, expertise, and industry knowledge into the experience while putting their corporate values and community commitments into action. Our professional network includes individuals from Fortune 100–1,000 companies and a range of industries, giving girls opportunities to interact with people whose careers, experiences, and pathways may otherwise be outside their immediate networks. Through these relationships, we help expand not only what girls know, but who they know and what they believe is possible for their futures. What began in New Jersey is now expanding across the United States. Yes, M.I.S.S. Inc. is building a national network of schools, companies, and professionals committed to increasing girls' access to professional skills, social capital, and career opportunity.