Grant Writing & Prospect Research
Grant Writing
Laili has written successful proposals to local and National funders managing annual portfolios of up to $2.5MM. She uses her creative writing background and deep understanding of Bay Area communities to craft proposals that transform an organization’s or individual artist’s vision and impact into writing.
Her largest grants have been multi-year six-figure awards from the Ford Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Kresge Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Surdna Foundation, and Wallace Foundation. She also has experience in writing short-term 501c4 grants.
Prospect Research
Laili utilizes online databases and over ten years of experience in the Bay Area funding landscape to provide her clients with opportunities, deadlines, past giving records, contact information, and strategy recommendations to help them increase their funding. In her last full-time role, Laili launched a prospect development plan that increased the $2.2MM institutional funding portfolio by 15% in two years. She also developed a new government portfolio, securing two years of renewable six-figure support in just eighteen months.
Berkeley Ballet Theater and Berkeley Symphony
Photo by Louis Bryant III
Detour Productions
The Twilight Aristocracy
Photo by Robbie Sweeny
"Working with Laili has been an absolute gift to Detour Productions. From the moment she joined our team, she intuitively understood our ethos, values, and mission—not just through conversation, but by actively engaging with our work, attending performances, and staying deeply connected to our evolving vision.
Laili is not just a grant writer; she is a true collaborator. She brings stability, clarity, and an unmatched level of expertise to our fundraising efforts, all while making the process feel dynamic, responsive, and deeply creative. Her ability to translate our expansive, immersive work into compelling, fundable language is nothing short of exceptional. She listens, she iterates, and she ensures that our proposals fully embody who we are.
Having spent years developing my own understanding of fundraising and development, I know how rare it is to find someone who can step in and immediately work in sync. With Laili, it's been seamless—she amplifies our capacity while making the process feel easy. Detour Productions is stronger because of her!"
– Eric Garcia
Co-Director of Detour Productions
"It is wonderful to work with Laili as our grant writer. Not only is she prompt, thorough, and thoughtful in crafting grant narratives, she also goes above and beyond to suggest new prospects and opportunities that would work well for us. She understands the process from start to finish, and is able to give good advice on making contacts, developing relationships with grantors, selecting work samples, determining ask amounts, and more. Laili has a great understanding of the arts granting field in the Bay Area as a whole and really understands our history as an organization. It has been especially helpful to work with her and benefit from her institutional knowledge as our organization navigates staff turnover and the complications resulting from the pandemic. I highly recommend her!"
–Gillian Eorwyn
Berkeley Symphony Director of Development and Communications
Clients Include:
Berkeley Art Center
Berkeley Symphony
California Jazz Conservatory
Dance ELIXIR
Detour Productions
The Freight
I’m From Driftwood
Oakland Public Conservatory
Summer Search
Voice of Witness
Bay Area Mural Program
The Black Trustees Alliance
Destiny Art Center
Harmony Project
InterMusic SF
La Peña Cultural Center
Living Jazz
Memory Seed Foundation
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
SF Danceworks