As Square Knot Consultant progressed from developing and managing their own nonprofit organizations to consulting with others who were doing so, the agency would commonly get calls from nonprofits to assist them in grant writing. During initial meetings, Square Knot consultants would frequently find that these organizations did not function soundly enough to be competitive for grant funding, for a range of reasons. In other words, they did not have their “ducks in a row.” So the consultant’s initial tasks, prior to effective grant writing, had to entail helping them improve the soundness of their organizations.

To facilitate that process, the consultant needed to paint them a picture, capturing in a straight forward manner all of the areas important to all funding sources and potential supporters.