DH Leonard Consulting: annual grant support, coaching and fees
By GrantWriterMatch Editorial. Updated October 3, 2026.
DH Leonard Consulting's main grant-writing service is custom annual support; its FAQ says it does not take isolated proposal requests. That matters if you need one application. The firm also publishes standalone coaching calls. Decide whether you need a continuing grant team, a specific review or a short advice session before asking about fees.
The engagement choices are different
| Offer | Published commitment or fee | What to ask before purchasing |
|---|---|---|
| Annual grant-writing support | Quote required; typical contract described as 12 months | Which portion of your grant calendar, deliverables and staff duties the agreement covers |
| Grant coaching | 30 minutes: $75; 45 minutes: $100; 60 minutes: $135; no contract required | Whether the session can address your question and whether any materials are reviewed beforehand |
| Mock grant review | Described publicly; fee and separate engagement terms not confirmed | Whether it is available for your draft outside annual support and who implements revisions |
| Team launch or training | Services described; requested scope needs confirmation | Whether the purchase is instruction, team-process development or ongoing application work |
Sources: annual support FAQ, on-demand coaching and services, checked October 3, 2026. Published services do not establish capacity for your deadline.
For annual support, start with the official contact route. For a bounded advice question, review the firm's coaching options.
Who should consider annual support?
A continuing engagement is worth investigating when your organization has recurring grant activity and wants outside help to manage a defined part of it. It asks a different question from “Who will write this one application?” You are deciding what your staff will retain and what an outside team will handle over time.
DH Leonard's FAQ describes a primarily nonprofit practice, with occasional community-centered for-profit work. It also asks prospective clients to explain their programs, funders, operating budget, deadlines, internal capacity and annual goals. Those facts help determine scope; an annual operating budget is not the proposed service fee.
Source: client fit and initial information, checked October 3, 2026.
Consider this service model if:
- Several programs share a development team and application deadlines compete for the same staff time.
- You want research, proposals and a working calendar coordinated rather than commissioned separately each time.
- Staff can provide program facts, financial inputs and decisions on an agreed schedule.
- You can budget for the agreement's full commitment before knowing which applications will succeed.
A one-time proposal deadline alone does not establish fit with this model. If that is the whole request, compare providers offering defined project work through the grant-writing services page.
What DH Leonard describes doing
Its service page describes funder research and prioritization, a grant calendar, tailored letters of inquiry and proposals, editing, mock review and grant-team development. Its process also describes budget development and submission assistance. The written scope should define which tasks apply to your organization.
Source: grant-writing services, checked October 3, 2026.
A useful annual agreement does more than list those capabilities. It explains how they work together and what happens when there is more work than capacity.
For research, ask what you receive and how often it changes. A list of funders, a calendar and a prioritized plan are different deliverables. If a prospect stops accepting requests or its requirements change, who checks that before writing begins?
For proposals, identify the decision process. Who decides whether to pursue an opportunity? Who provides the program evidence? Who confirms that the organization can deliver the promised work? An outside writer needs answers to those questions before turning them into application text.
For submission, identify the final responsible person. “Assistance” might mean preparing materials, advising staff or helping complete portal steps. Ask who submits, under whose authorization, and who saves confirmation.
Why mock review is a separate scope question
DH Leonard describes mock review against the grantmaker's scoring rubric, with comments and scoring feedback. A further review can be requested. If its team wrote the application, the described review group excludes the staff who wrote or edited it.
Source: mock-review process, checked October 3, 2026.
The buying distinction is between identifying weaknesses and fixing them. A review may tell you that the outcomes are hard to measure, the evidence is weak or the budget does not support the activities. Your team may still need to make program decisions and revise the application.
Before arranging review, ask:
- Is review available as a separate engagement for a draft your team wrote?
- Which application components will be reviewed?
- Will feedback cite the actual criteria or provide general editing advice?
- Who implements the changes, and how much time remains for that work?
- Does the quoted scope include a check of the revised version?
The published review description and annual-service FAQ do not settle standalone review terms. Confirm that availability directly; do not assume a service appearing on the website can automatically be purchased separately.
When coaching may be the more useful first purchase
Coaching is an advice session, not a promise to produce a proposal. DH Leonard describes it for questions about strategy, grant fit and writing, with the three durations and fees shown above.
Source: Grant Coach in Your Pocket, checked October 3, 2026.
Use a session to reach one decision. For example: “Does this opportunity fit our proposed activity, and what should we verify before spending money on writing?” That is a clearer aim than trying to cover the organization's whole funding plan in a short call.
Prepare the public funder link, a short project description, your applicant type and the questions you need answered. Ask whether advance reading is included. A paid call's duration does not, by itself, establish a separate document-review allowance.
Do not treat the coaching fee as an hourly proposal-writing rate. Different work is being sold. A consultation may help you decide what to buy next; it does not mean a full application is available for the same price basis.
How to evaluate the annual fee
The annual-support price is unpublished in the sources reviewed and requires a tailored quote. The typical twelve-month description is useful context, but your signed agreement should establish its actual length and terms.
Request the full annual commitment, installments, any initial charge and termination rules. Then define the work allowance. Do not assume “annual support” covers every application or unlimited revisions.
| Quote item | What a clear agreement should state |
|---|---|
| Coverage | Programs and grant activity included, plus excluded work |
| Capacity | Application, hour or other limits and how peaks are handled |
| Research | Deliverables, updates and go/no-go responsibility |
| Writing | Components, drafts, client input deadlines and revision process |
| Review | Reviewers, criteria and responsibility for making changes |
| Submission | Portal duties, approvals and confirmation |
| Changes | Pricing or approval process for work beyond the agreed scope |
| Continuity | Assigned team, backup arrangements and document handoff |
To compare with another provider, use your actual work list in the grant-writer cost guide. A recurring team service and one finished proposal are different units; the price comparison needs to reflect that.
A realistic division of work
Suppose a nonprofit operates a youth program and a housing program. It has a development director, program managers and a finance lead, but no dedicated grant writer. This is a hypothetical purchase scenario.
It wants a firm to research opportunities, maintain the agreed calendar and draft selected applications. Program managers will confirm the activities and outcome evidence. Finance will approve costs. The development director will decide which opportunities to pursue and obtain internal approvals.
That division belongs in the inquiry. Without it, the provider may estimate writing while the nonprofit expects program development, or the nonprofit may expect the firm to collect records that only staff can access.
An annual scope could also preserve some easy renewals in-house and assign more demanding applications outside. The useful question is not how much grant work can be outsourced in the abstract, but which work your organization wants this agreement to own.
A brief for DH Leonard's annual-support discussion
We are [organization] with [programs], serving [population and geography]. Our current grant activity includes [renewals, new foundation opportunities and government applications]. We seek support for [defined portion] over [period].
Our staff will retain [program design, approved budgets, funder relationships and final authorization]. We need help with [research, calendar, selected drafting, editing, mock review or team development]. Our busiest deadlines fall in [months].
Please propose the work covered, assigned team, client input schedule, limits, complete fee, payment schedule and agreement terms. Explain how extra applications and changes in priorities would be handled. If separate review or coaching is more appropriate for a current question, please distinguish it from the annual scope.
A full hiring brief and reference checklist can help your team compare the response with other providers.
Questions to settle before signing
Ask a reference about the same kind of continuing work you intend to buy: how research was prioritized, how drafts moved through staff review, what happened during busy periods and how scope changes were handled. Published testimonials are provider-selected; GrantWriterMatch has not independently checked this firm's results or assigned a review score.
If your immediate task is small, use the documented coaching route or confirm separate review terms. If your need is continuing capacity, approach DH Leonard with your calendar and a defined division of work. You contact and contract with the provider directly; GrantWriterMatch does not forward your project.