Think and Ink Grant Consulting: client fit, scope and fees

Think and Ink at a glance

Sources: large-nonprofit offering and FAQ, checked October 3, 2026. Published client criteria and services do not confirm acceptance or current capacity.

If your organization fits the stated routes, ask for a scope that separates applications from later reporting and evaluation.

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What the $3 million threshold means

It refers to the nonprofit's annual operating budget. It is not the price of the service, the proposed project budget or the amount of grant funding the organization wants.

Keep those numbers separate in the inquiry. For example, an organization might have a large annual operating budget, be seeking a smaller award and have a modest budget for professional help. Each figure answers a different question.

The stated threshold applies to the firm's large-nonprofit offering. Do not use it as a universal threshold for colleges, universities or municipal clients. Those have their own project and procurement considerations.

For emerging organizations, the firm's homepage describes Get.Grants.Better as an educational subsidiary offering training and templates to organizations below that budget size. Training is a different product from outsourced writing. The educational route does not establish an exception to the large-nonprofit writing criteria.

If your organization needs someone to perform the work and falls outside the described nonprofit route, compare other nonprofit grant-writing options. You do not need to buy a course simply because a firm offers one.

Which part of the grant cycle needs help?

Think and Ink describes several connected services, but they solve different problems. An annual retainer should identify the work your team actually wants to hand over.

Sources: evaluation, management, research and writing, checked October 3, 2026. The requested outputs are our buying guidance; your quote establishes the purchased scope.

Start with the bottleneck. If your team has no prioritized opportunity list, more writing capacity may not fix the problem. If awards are already in place and reports are piling up, application drafting may not be the first service to request.

You can also need several services at once. Specify how you want the work coordinated rather than assuming “full service” means every task is included without limits.

How to scope annual support without buying an undefined promise

The firm's FAQ describes an annual retainer billed monthly, while its working-model page describes a twelve-month retainer that can shift among services as needs change. Fees are not published on those pages.

A flexible mix of work can be useful, but your agreement still needs limits and a decision process. Ask who chooses priorities when a report deadline and a new proposal need attention at the same time.

Specify the work in practical units:

• The programs or departments covered.
• The expected mix of research, writing, reporting and evaluation.
• The application and award count or other agreed capacity measure.
• The staff who provide information and approve work.
• The review schedule and client response time.
• The process for adding a new award, program or application.
• The treatment of work still in progress when the agreement ends.

Obtain the full annual commitment alongside monthly billing. A monthly installment is not evidence that the contract can be canceled monthly. Ask about renewal, notice periods, early termination and document transfer; the public pages do not settle those terms for your organization.

Use the grant-writer cost guide to compare that complete scope with another provider's offer. Do not compare the installment with a one-time proposal price as though they purchase the same work.

Writing and reporting should connect through the same evidence

A useful proposal promises activities and outcomes the organization can actually document. If one firm helps with writing and management, decide how the proposed measures will pass into reporting.

For example, a program may track enrollment, attendance and participant outcomes differently. Agree on which figures appear in the application, who collects them and how they will be checked before a report is prepared.

This is a scope question, not a promise that the provider will obtain your data. Staff may still need to enter records, reconcile financial figures and approve the report. Name those responsibilities.

Before hiring, ask to see how the firm would organize the following handoff for your project:

These are suggested questions for defining the purchase. The exact grant duties come from your award and funder instructions; a consultant's general service page cannot establish them.

Evaluation planning is not the same as completing an evaluation

Think and Ink's evaluation page describes both preparing plans and conducting an evaluation at the end of a program period. If you need either, name it in the contract.

A written plan may specify questions, measures and methods. Performing the evaluation can require access to data, staff cooperation, participant arrangements and analysis time. The two purchases should not be silently combined.

Ask the firm to identify the proposed evaluator and experience relevant to your program. Confirm whether the evaluator is designing the approach, collecting data, analyzing records supplied by your team or all three.

If the funder requires an independent evaluator, check the actual requirement with the funder or notice and ask how the proposed engagement addresses it. The fact that evaluation and proposal services are offered by one firm does not, by itself, settle any independence condition.

A worked decision for an established nonprofit

Suppose a nonprofit has several ongoing awards, a pipeline of future applications and staff who know the programs well. Its main problem is that application and reporting work compete for the same development director. This is an illustrative scenario, not a Think and Ink client report.

A useful inquiry would ask for two work streams. One covers research and selected applications; the other covers agreed award reports and their supporting information. It would identify the finance team's role in confirming figures and the program managers' role in providing evidence.

If the nonprofit also wants evaluation help, that becomes a third defined work stream with its own outputs and data needs. The annual quote can then explain how the provider would allocate capacity and what additional work would require approval.

The same nonprofit would send a different request if it only needed one application. Because the published model is annual support, it should confirm whether a narrower engagement is available rather than assume one-off pricing.

What smaller nonprofits, businesses and individuals should do

The published full-service nonprofit route has a client-size condition, and the FAQ excludes individual and small-business services. Those restrictions should be visible before you spend time preparing a lengthy inquiry.

A smaller nonprofit seeking paid work can compare other providers in the site's nonprofit directory. An individual seeking personal financial assistance should use the relevant assistance program's official route; this comparison site is for organizations buying professional grant help.

A research business should investigate the SBIR specialist comparison when that is its actual project. Think and Ink's institutional funding work is not evidence that it accepts small-business R&D applications.

A brief to send Think and Ink

We are [nonprofit, higher-education institution or public agency] in [location]. Our annual operating budget is [amount], and our budget for professional grant support is [separate amount or not yet set].

We need annual help with [research, applications, management and/or evaluation] for [programs]. Our anticipated work includes [application count or list], [existing awards and reports], and [evaluation needs]. Our staff will provide [program evidence and approved financial inputs] and retain [approval responsibilities].

Please confirm our fit, assigned team, the work allowance, priorities, client input deadlines, complete fee and agreement terms. Distinguish planning from execution of evaluation, and proposal support from post-award work. Explain any additional cost for new applications, awards or scope changes.

Use the grant-writer hiring kit if your organization needs a fuller procurement brief.

What the evidence does and does not show

We reviewed the firm's linked service, client-fit and contact pages. Published capability is not proof of results for your project. We have not commissioned the firm, verified its reported success figures, interviewed its clients or confirmed deadline capacity. No review score is assigned.

Its official contact page offers a complimentary consultation. The firm also states that its emails originate from its own domain. Use the official route to discuss the work, then decide from the written scope and fee. GrantWriterMatch does not submit your information or contract with the firm on your behalf.

Discuss your grant workload with Think and Ink