Caz O'Kane
supporting charities to write clear & compelling grant applications
working with grant funders to upskill their grantees & applicants
about me
🧡 I absolutely love working with organisations, no matter how big or how small, committed to making the world a better place.A fundraiser for over 20 years, I've written, reviewed and edited hundreds of successful applications.I help charities and community organisations by guiding them through the funding process - telling their unique and compelling stories, while also providing solid evidence of their impact.💫I've spent 20 years as a fundraiser, storyteller, grant-writer, editor, trustee, manager, grants assessor and all-round small charity ally.💗 I understand how to strike a balance between meeting an organisation's needs and fulfilling funder requirements, crafting persuasive requests with stories at the heart.I also know that to apply for, win and manage a grant, charities need to have their organisational ducks in a row before they start the process. I can support with that too.Helping charities do good things - that's what I do."Thank you Caz! Your support was and is stellar!" (Flourish Mentors)
what i do
I'll support you through all stages of the fundraising process - the before (getting ready for funding), during (writing your application) and after (next steps)
Before - Getting ready to apply for funding
You'll need to know the answer to lots of questions before you put pen to paper, including:
What problem are you trying to solve?
Is your work unique in your area?
What impact are you making?
How do you know?
What exactly do you need funding for?
Funders also need organisations to show they have the systems and processes in place to manage a grant effectively, including:
Impact measurement
Theory of change
Policies
Budgets
Leadership
Partners and more
During - Ready to apply
This is all about finding funders that are right for you and working out what they want to see, and how to make your application stand out from the rest.
Sift through funders and find relevant ones for you
I'll steer you through funder requirements and eligibility
Use storytelling, case studies and a compelling writing style
What are funders really asking you for?
Let's give funders what they want
after - You've been granted funding - now what?
Now's the time to manage the funding you have, and plan your next steps:
Funder reporting
Data collection
Budget management
Relationship building
Repeat funding
Pipeline building
Action planning
Depending on what works best for you, I'll support you via:
One-to-one advice
Fundraising audit (let's find out how ready you are and exactly what you need)
Grant-writing (writing an application for you)
Collaborative grant-writing (writing with you, you learn on the job)
Group training
Funder research
what they say
"You pitched it perfectly and fed into the general feeling of offering support, advice and nuggets of wisdom without it feeling too preachy or intimidating - meeting the client where they were at. Friendly, warm and relaxed. Its exactly the approach and atmosphere I'm looking to create with all our 'skill-sharers' and charity partners."
(The Pearce Foundation)
"Thank you Caz! Your support was and is stellar!"
(Flourish Mentors)
"It’s easy to understand the questions on a grant application form, but understanding what key information to include requires a skill we didn’t possess.
Caz does, and her help was absolutely invaluable in getting us our first funding.
We cannot thank her or recommend her enough."
(Brighton Soup)
"The session was incredibly well balanced, with a good mix of individual and group work, and the information was clearly presented and easy to understand."
(Cancervive)
Get in touch
I'd love to hear your story, fundraising questions and challenges.Send me an email and we can set up a time for a chat.