About Grants Republic

Our background

We founded Grants Republic in 2019 to meet a clear need: organizations doing vital work in their communities often lack the specialized expertise required to compete for federal and state grant funding. We help you close this gap.

Stan Saunders began writing grants in 2002, when his first one, a federal proposal for a Community Technology Center, was funded by the U.S. Department of Education. His assumption that grant writing was easy was proven wrong; soon after, he went 13 months without a single awarded grant. Throughout the highs and lows, he has written grants for the past 24 years, the last seven at Grants Republic. He holds a BA in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MA in History from the University of California, Riverside, which has given him better grant-writing training than you might think.

Heather Fukunaga joined Stan in the same Development Department in 2012 and has co-led Grants Republic since 2019. She holds a BA in Political Science from Boston University withcum laude honors and an MA in Women's Studies from the University of Arizona. Her experience includes direct program experience as a Coordinator and 14 years of grant-writing experience. She has facilitated grant-writing training for multiple groups.

Since 2020, our team has helped clients secure $440M+ in awarded funding — browse our full track record. Our partners bring 38 years of combined grant writing experience across health, education, housing, infrastructure, workforce development, and the arts.

We work with government agencies, public school districts, charter schools, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations of every size. Whether you are pursuing your first federal award or managing a portfolio of active grants, we tailor our involvement to your needs, capacity and goals. See our grant writing services and fee structure for more detail.