(Rachel Waterman, founder and CEO of Global Development Solutions)
Financial uncertainty has become an increasingly common reality for nonprofit organizations. According to a 2026 report on the state of nonprofits, 66% of nonprofit CEOs expressed concerns about their organization’s financial stability, while 39% reported operating at a deficit in 2025, representing an 82% increase over the previous three years. Rising operating costs and lower-than-expected foundation funding have forced many organizations to reconsider how they secure revenue and build financial resilience for the future.
Grant writing is often the first area nonprofits focus on when seeking additional funding. Rachel Waterman, founder and CEO of Global Development Solutions (GDS), believes that approach only addresses part of the challenge. After decades working with nonprofit organizations, she has found that many invest heavily in writing stronger proposals while overlooking the systems needed to manage and grow grant funding over time.
“Organizations rarely struggle because they lack talented grant writers,” Waterman explains. “More often, they’re trying to build long term funding with systems that were never designed to support an expanding grants portfolio.”
Her perspective reflects the changing nature of today’s funding environment. Nonprofits are navigating increasingly competitive grant opportunities, evolving philanthropic priorities, more demanding reporting requirements, and limited administrative capacity, all while serving communities with growing needs. Within that landscape, Waterman views proposal development as one element of a much broader funding strategy.
She believes sustainable grant success depends on cultivating funder relationships, developing long range funding plans, strengthening organizational positioning, measuring outcomes effectively, and preserving institutional knowledge so that funding efforts continue regardless of leadership or staffing changes.
Waterman’s philosophy has been shaped by a career spanning nonprofit leadership, community development, public service, city planning, research, and intercultural exchange. Early experiences connecting communities with resources through international volunteer work reinforced her belief that lasting impact comes from strengthening local capacity alongside financial investment.
That philosophy became the foundation of Global Development Solutions. Rather than concentrating solely on winning individual grants, the firm helps organizations develop stronger grant portfolios through strategic planning, executive coaching, outcome measurement, customized management systems, and long term revenue planning. Waterman believes lasting financial stability comes from building infrastructure that supports decision making before, during, and long after each grant application is submitted.
A central component of that infrastructure is preserving institutional memory.
Leadership transitions are inevitable, and grant professionals frequently change roles. With the average tenure of a staff grant writer lasting only 14 to 16 months, multiple professionals may manage a grant portfolio before a complete funding cycle concludes. When proposal history, funder relationships, reporting schedules, and strategic knowledge exist only within personal files or individual experience, organizations risk losing years of valuable institutional knowledge every time a team member departs.
“Funding knowledge walks out the door with every staff departure,” Waterman says. “Organizations then spend valuable time rebuilding information and relationships they have already earned instead of moving forward. Strong grants infrastructure is essential for sustaining revenue growth.”
Waterman also believes the profession itself deserves greater recognition. As more grant professionals establish independent consulting practices, many continue to face challenges around pricing their expertise and communicating the full value of their work. Clients often recognize the completed proposal but rarely see the months of research, planning, relationship building, strategic analysis, and organizational development that make successful funding possible.
“People naturally focus on the proposal because it’s visible,” she says. “The strategic work behind every successful grant often goes unnoticed, even though it creates the foundation that allows organizations to secure funding and deliver their programs.”
Technology also remains a significant gap for many nonprofits. While organizations frequently invest in donor management platforms, grant professionals are often left managing increasingly complex portfolios using spreadsheets, shared folders, and disconnected manual processes. Waterman argues that donor management and grant portfolio management serve fundamentally different purposes and require separate systems designed specifically for planning, tracking, reporting, and organizational learning.
That challenge ultimately inspired the development of GEMS Grant Easy Management Software, a grant portfolio management platform created to support the entire funding lifecycle. The system combines funding opportunity research, funder relationship management, document storage, reporting deadlines, budgeting, team collaboration, outcome tracking, and portfolio oversight within a single operational framework.
The goal extends well beyond organizing grant applications. By centralizing information and documenting processes, the platform helps organizations preserve institutional knowledge, strengthen continuity during staffing transitions, and establish consistent grant management practices as portfolios continue to grow.
Current industry conditions reinforce the importance of that approach. Many nonprofit leaders report rising demand for services while simultaneously managing reduced funding and increasing financial pressure. Those circumstances are encouraging organizations to diversify revenue sources, cultivate new funding relationships, and strengthen internal capacity to support long term growth.
Waterman is also expanding that mission beyond traditional consulting through Travel With Purpose, a Global Development Solutions initiative that connects corporate teams with nonprofit organizations through service projects and intercultural exchange. The program creates meaningful travel experiences while helping nonprofits strengthen community partnerships, attract additional resources, and expand organizational capacity.
Ultimately, Waterman believes successful grant writing remains essential, but it delivers the greatest value when supported by a comprehensive funding strategy. As nonprofits navigate an increasingly competitive funding landscape, organizations that invest in stronger systems, preserve institutional knowledge, and manage grants as a strategic portfolio will be better positioned to build sustainable revenue and continue serving their communities well into the future.
