About Pennivo

Every proposal is written at 255 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn.

Pennivo is a grant-writing studio for small nonprofits. We research the funders, write the application, and bill one flat fee per submitted proposal. This page is the long version of that sentence, with fewer adverbs.

By appointment — book a call · (646) 255-8727

A writing desk in a Brooklyn brownstone with a gold lamp, marked-up funder guidelines and a fountain pen
The desk in question. The lamp stays on past 5.

01 · Why we exist

Small nonprofits write the best stories and get the worst forms.

Most grant help is built for organizations with a development office. The small ones get a template, a webinar link, and a deadline. A pantry run out of a church basement. A tenant association with one shared inbox. A youth arts program where the director also unclogs the sink.

Pennivo is for them, and only them. We research funders, write applications and letters of inquiry, and leave behind budget narratives and reporting templates you can reuse the following year.

Hourly billing rewards slow. So we don’t.

You pay one flat fee per submitted proposal. The same writer holds your file from the first call to the last template, so nobody has to explain your mission to a stranger in week three. And when a funder is a long shot, our fit memo says so in plain words, because a polite “maybe” costs you an autumn.

Where
255 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238
Who for
Small nonprofits: pantries, tenant associations, youth arts, literacy projects
How billed
One flat fee per submitted proposal, from $685
How we meet
By appointment, in person or by phone

02 · House rules

Five rules, pinned above the desk, enforced by the desk.

  1. Say the weak spot out loud.

    If a funder is a long shot, the fit memo says so. Honest beats hopeful, and it saves you a season of waiting.

  2. Write it in your voice.

    You talk for an hour; we listen. The draft sounds like your director on a good day, minus the word “synergy.”

  3. One flat number.

    You pay per submitted proposal. A third rewrite is our problem, not a line on your invoice.

  4. Leave the tools behind.

    Budget narrative, boilerplate library, reporting template: all yours the day the invoice is paid.

  5. Two readers on every budget.

    The numbers get checked twice, by two different people, before anything touches a portal.

A folder, budget spreadsheet, determination letter and checklist laid out on a blush desk
The whole first-call kit. A voice memo counts as a program story.

03 · Before the first call

What to bring: a funder name, a deadline, or a vague sense of dread.

The first thirty minutes are free. If you have the following, we’ll get further, faster. If you don’t, we’ll help you find it.

  • Your program story, in whatever shape it’s in
  • Your latest budget, even the messy spreadsheet
  • Your 501(c)(3) letter, the one from the IRS
  • The deadline, real or rumored
  • One person who answers email by Thursday
Book the free call

04 · The fees

The whole price list fits on one page. We checked.

Every package includes funder research and your own named writer. Paid in two halves: one at kickoff, one on submission.

  • The opener

    Letter of Inquiry

    A funder fit check before we write a word, then a letter of up to two pages in your voice. One round of your edits, delivered in about a week.

    $685flat fee · per submitted letter

    Reserve a letter slot
  • Most picked

    Full Proposal

    Funder research and a one-page fit memo, a narrative drafted from your interview, a budget with a plain-English budget narrative, and two rounds of revisions. Portal-ready, or we submit alongside you.

    $2,340flat fee · per submitted proposal

    Start a proposal
  • The long game

    Fundraising Calendar

    A year of deadlines mapped to your funders, four submissions written, reusable budget and reporting templates, and a monthly check-in call by appointment.

    $8,960flat fee · four submissions across the year

    Plan my year

Smaller jobs, smaller numbers.

For when you need one thing done well rather than the whole route.

Funder scan

A ranked shortlist of 12 funders, with a reason for each.

$420Ask for a scan

Edit-only pass

You wrote it; we sharpen it. One careful read and a marked-up draft.

$310Send a draft

Budget & reporting kit

Budget narrative, boilerplate library and a reporting template.

$1,185Get the kit

Multi-year ask or a consortium application? Request a quote and we’ll price that flat, too.

Come by, or don’t

The door is on Eastern Parkway.

255 Eastern Parkway
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(646) 255-8727
projects@pennivo.com
By appointment — book a call

255 Eastern Parkway

Brooklyn, NY 11238. Look for the building with the stack of binders in the window.

Find the door
Book a call Call now