Process
Seven phases from blank page to filed application.
No mystery, no black box. Here is exactly what happens after you submit your intake form, and what we need from you at each step.
01
Phase 1 · Intake
Day 0
You complete your industry form
Ten industries, ten different forms. You answer only what funders in your sector actually score: who you serve, what you'd fund, your budget size, your geography, and your timeline. Most clients finish in under ten minutes.
02
Phase 2 · Research
Days 1-4
We search and disqualify
Our researchers work federal databases, state portals, foundation 990 filings, corporate giving pages, and regional funders. Most of this work is eliminating grants you'd waste weeks on — wrong geography, wrong entity type, closed cycle, impossible match requirement.
03
Phase 3 · Delivery
Day 5
Your match report arrives
3-5 grants, each with the funder, deadline, award range, priorities, attachment checklist, and a fit score. You also get a recommended order to apply in, so you spend your effort where the odds are best.
04
Phase 4 · Selection
Your call
You choose what to pursue
Take the list and apply yourself, or hand any grant back to us at $500 each. There is no obligation and no upsell pressure — plenty of clients run their own applications from our report.
05
Phase 5 · Writing
Days 1-8 of engagement
Kickoff call, then drafting
A 45-minute call captures your story, your data, and your outcomes. Then a writer on Etta's team builds the narrative against the funder's scoring rubric, plus the budget, justification, and any required logic model.
06
Phase 6 · Review
Days 9-12
Two rounds with you
You get the full draft and mark it up. We revise twice. Nothing is filed until you approve it in writing — your name goes on the application, so your voice has to be in it.
07
Phase 7 · Submission
At least 48 hours before deadline
We file and confirm
We handle portal registration, uploads, formatting quirks, and the submission itself. You receive the confirmation receipt and a complete copy of everything filed on your behalf, plus a calendar note for the funder's decision date.
What we need from you