Before I wrote proposals, I spent more than a decade in banking and lending, helping decide which organizations and projects got funded. Now I put that view to work for nonprofits.
I make the case funders actually fund.
I'm Cristal Finley. I write grants and run grant pipelines for nonprofits, mostly small and mid-size organizations doing meaningful work without a full development team.
I'm an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation, and much of my work is with Native, BIPOC, and community-led organizations.
My background is in finance and nonprofit leadership. That's a different starting point than most grant writers, and it changes how your proposals read.
Most small nonprofits can't afford a full-time development director. The grant work lands on an executive director who is already stretched thin, or on a board that means well but runs out of hours. Deadlines slip, funders go quiet, and strong programs stay underfunded.
That's the gap I fill. I take the grants off your plate so your team can stay focused on the work itself.
I've sat on both sides: the funding side that decides, and the nonprofit board that asks. Your proposals get the benefit of both.
I spent years in banking, lending, and credit, evaluating organizations and deciding where money went. I read a budget the way a funder reads it, and I build the case the way a funder needs to hear it.
I'm treasurer of the Native American Youth and Family Center, a past president of the Risk Management Association's Portland chapter, and at Abby's Closet I built a Giving Tuesday campaign the organization still runs today. I know how funding decisions actually get made.
I hold an MBA, so the budgets and financial narratives that sink a lot of applications are where I'm strongest, not where I struggle.
Plain and direct. I tell you what I see, I write in language a program officer can follow, and I keep you posted in short, clear updates instead of jargon.
I charge for the work, never a percentage of your award and never a fee for winning. That's the ethical standard for grant writers, and it's the only way I work.
I work alongside a small team. When an organization needs to get funding-ready before chasing grants, I point them to Funding Prep Studio, and for small-business bookkeeping, Fourteen Feathers Bookkeeping. They are separate practices I trust.
Answer three quick questions and you'll get a clear next step for your organization. No email, no obligation.