3 Things I’ve Learned That Make All the Difference

Estimated read time: 2.5 to 3 minutes

Grant Writing Support for Indigenous Communities: 3 Things I’ve Learned That Make All the Difference

Since 2024, we’ve written over 100 grant applications for Métis and First Nations communities across Alberta and Canada (we haven’t yet had the privildge of work with Inuit communities). But more than that we have listened. We sat with leaders, Elders, youth, and administrators to hear the real stories behind the need.

Whether you’re applying for health, education, economic development, or cultural program grants, here are three lessons I carry into every single proposal:

1. The best applications don’t begin with a funding program.

Every successful application starts with a conversation: What does your community need most right now? I help translate that vision, that voice into a strong, fundable story. We don’t chase money. We build from your priorities.

2. Communities deserve reliable, relationship-based grant writing services.

Too often, leaders are left chasing consultants or rewriting materials themselves. At Axioma, we commit to walking alongside you—not ahead of you, not behind you. We respond quickly. We follow through. And we stick around after the grant is submitted—helping with reporting, planning, and next steps.

We use artificial intelligence (AI) to help us write our grants but we don’t only use that tool. Each application has to reflect the need, the voice, the culture of each community.

3. Grant proposals should reflect your voice, values, and vision.

We have written grants for land-based learning, Elder transportation, suicide prevention, youth recreation, language revitalization, and more. And in every case, the most successful proposals were the ones that sounded like the people they were for. Although we start from a templates, it doesn’t win trust, conversations do.

If you’re looking for a grant writer who honours Indigenous self-determination and gets results, we'd be honoured to connect.

With respect,
Rolando
Axioma Consulting Founder