Grant Writing Consultant Discovery Form

Grant Writing Discovery Made Simple

Finding the right grant funding for your organization shouldn't feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Whether you're a nonprofit leader, program director, or development professional, this Grant Writing Consultant Discovery Form helps consultants understand your funding needs, organizational strengths, and proposal requirements—so they can craft compelling grant applications that actually get funded.

Why Use This Grant Discovery Template?

Grant writing is both an art and a science. Before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), experienced consultants need a complete picture of your organization, your capacity, your funding history, and the specific opportunities you're pursuing. This template replaces scattered email threads and endless discovery calls with one streamlined intake process that captures everything a grant writer needs to know.

Paperform makes this discovery process feel effortless. Unlike rigid form builders, you can customize every section to match your consulting brand—add your logo, adjust the questions to fit your specialization (education grants, healthcare, arts funding, environmental initiatives), and create a professional first impression that reflects the quality of your work.

Perfect for Grant Writing Consultants and Nonprofits

This template is designed for:

• Grant writing consultants and freelancers conducting initial client assessments
• Grant consulting agencies onboarding new nonprofit clients
• Nonprofit consultants expanding into grant services
• Development professionals outsourcing specialized grant work
• Capacity-building organizations supporting smaller nonprofits with grant readiness

Whether you specialize in foundation grants, government funding, corporate sponsorships, or all of the above, this form helps you assess fit, scope the project accurately, and set realistic expectations from day one.

What This Template Captures

The form is structured to gather the essential information grant writers need:

Organizational Profile: Understand your client's mission, programs, service area, annual budget, and IRS status—the foundation of any grant application.

Funding Priorities: Identify what they need funding for, preferred grant types (project-specific, general operating, capital, capacity-building), and funding amounts they're targeting.

Past Grant History: Learn which funders have supported them before, current grant relationships, declined applications, and lessons learned—invaluable context for strategy.

Organizational Capacity: Assess their readiness with questions about financial management, evaluation capabilities, staff capacity, and board involvement.

Proposal Requirements: Capture specific deadlines, funder names, submission formats, matching requirements, and reporting obligations.

Budget Parameters: Understand project costs, in-kind contributions, sustainability plans, and budget constraints.

Supporting Materials: Collect essential documents like 501(c)(3) letters, financial statements, and program descriptions upfront.

Streamline Your Grant Consulting Workflow

With Paperform's powerful features, this isn't just a form—it's the first step in your entire grant consulting workflow:

Conditional Logic: Show different questions based on grant type (foundation vs. government), organizational size, or whether they've applied for grants before. New-to-grants nonprofits might need capacity-building guidance, while experienced organizations need strategic positioning.

File Uploads: Let clients attach their IRS determination letter, recent 990, annual report, strategic plan, and past proposals directly in the form. Everything's organized in one place instead of scattered across emails.

Calculations: If you price based on project complexity, grant amount, or proposal type, use Paperform's calculation fields to provide instant estimates or tiered service options.

Professional Design: The doc-style editor lets you add context, tips, and encouragement throughout the form. Explain why you're asking each question, what makes a strong answer, or link to resources that help clients prepare better responses.

Custom Branding: Match the form to your consulting brand with custom fonts, colors, and imagery. Add a professional header image or your consultant headshot to build trust before the first question.

Automate What Comes Next with Stepper

Once a nonprofit submits their discovery form, the real work begins—and that's where Stepper becomes your secret weapon. Use Stepper's AI-native workflows to:

• Automatically assess grant fit based on submission responses and flag high-potential clients
• Send personalized follow-up emails with next steps, service agreements, or additional questions
• Create client folders in Google Drive or Dropbox with all uploaded documents
• Add prospects to your CRM (HubSpot, Pipedrive, Airtable) with custom fields for grant type, budget size, and deadline
• Schedule kickoff calls automatically through your calendar integration
• Generate proposal outlines using AI based on their funding priorities and organizational profile
• Set deadline reminders in your project management tool (Notion, Asana, ClickUp)

This means you spend less time on administrative busywork and more time on the strategic, creative grant writing that actually wins funding.

Built for Grant Professionals Who Value Their Time

Grant consultants often juggle multiple clients with competing deadlines. This template helps you:

• Qualify leads faster: Quickly assess whether an organization is grant-ready or needs capacity building first
• Scope accurately: Understand the true complexity of each proposal before quoting
• Avoid scope creep: Document exactly what the client needs upfront
• Work asynchronously: Let clients complete the form on their own schedule while you focus on active proposals
• Build your knowledge base: Export responses to create a database of funding priorities, successful funders, and market intelligence

Trusted by Consultants Who Win Grants

Nonprofits and social impact organizations across education, healthcare, arts, environment, social services, and community development trust grant professionals who use modern, efficient tools. When you send a polished, thoughtful discovery form instead of a generic questionnaire, you signal that you're organized, professional, and worth the investment.

Paperform is SOC 2 Type II and GDPR compliant, which matters when handling sensitive organizational information, financial data, and strategic plans. Your clients' information is secure, and you can confidently manage forms across multiple nonprofit clients.

Customize for Your Grant Specialization

This template is a strong starting point, but every grant consultant has their own methodology. With Paperform's doc-style editor, you can:

• Add specialized questions for your niche (research institutions, faith-based organizations, international development)
• Include sections on DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) priorities that funders increasingly require
• Expand the capacity assessment for clients who need grant readiness consulting
• Add questions about communications capabilities, community partnerships, or evaluation frameworks
• Customize for specific funder types (private foundations, federal grants, corporate giving programs)

Get Started in Minutes

Unlike complex client intake systems that require setup help, this Paperform template works immediately. Customize the questions, add your branding, set up your thank-you page (maybe include your proposal process timeline or scheduling link), and share the form link in your consultation emails, website, or LinkedIn outreach.

You can embed it on your consulting website, send it as a follow-up to discovery calls, or include it in RFP responses to gather client information efficiently.

Ready to streamline your grant consulting practice? This template helps you gather better information, qualify the right clients, and start every engagement with clarity and confidence. With Stepper handling the automation and Paperform providing the professional frontend, you'll wonder how you ever managed discovery calls any other way.

Over 500,000 teams worldwide trust Paperform for their most important workflows. Join consultants, agencies, and service professionals who've discovered that better forms lead to better client relationships—and better results.