We help place-based nonprofits secure grant funding to sustain belonging in their communities.

Running a nonprofit isn’t a walk in the woods.

Your mission is crucial and your staff is passionate. But going after grants is a full-time job.

Grant writing requires keen project management, sharp wordsmithing, and detailed attention to budgets.

Let us solve your grant writing woes so you can focus your time and energy on fully supporting your community.

Overstories is a grant writing consultancy.

We’re passionate about collaborating with direct service organizations and individuals cultivating a sense of home in their communities. Our clients build resilience to climate change and support people experiencing homelessness.

Read about our values >

Grant Writing

Our compelling proposals pair powerful statistics with creative storytelling.

How we can help

Proposal Review + Editing

Our editors will comb through your application to make sure it’s top-notch before submission.

Funding Strategies + Prospect Research

We sift through hundreds of funders to create an actionable roadmap for your nonprofit for the next 12-18 months.

Our team is made up of researchers and journalists, builders and project managers, adventurers and firefighters.

We are fueled by our core values

  • We weave integrity, compassion, and honesty into everything we produce. We craft real, inspiring narratives centered on the resilient communities we serve.

  • Many on the communities we serve experience adversity because of manmade disasters, economic disadvantages, and systemic oppression. We strive to ensure everyone has a dignified, safe place to call their own.

  • We embrace a mindset of abundance and collaboration in solving problems. We lean into ambition, stay curious, and know the right questions to ask.

Read about our roots

Elaina Zachos is the founder and lead writer of Overstories.

After covering climate change as a science journalist, Elaina pivoted to the public sector to serve our planet from the field. She has deployed with nonprofit and government entities across the U.S. to restore ecosystems and support frontline communities recovering from wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and flooding.

Elaina is certified as a grant writer through the Global Grant Writers Collective and a wildland firefighter through the U.S. Forest Service. She is a Fulbright scholar in journalism through the Berlin Capital Program and a green MBA candidate at Bard College.

Photo by Michelle Recinos Flores.

What our partners have to say

  • "Elaina is a creative and highly effective storyteller. She combined her analytical skills and engaging writing style to create illustrative case studies to complement our educational materials for entrepreneurs. I appreciated her professionalism and conscientious approach to managing relationships with the business owners featured in the case studies, and her attention to detail and deadlines. Working with her was a delight. I highly recommend Elaina."

    — Janice Shade, Capital Innovation Lab

  • "We engaged Elaina to assist us with developing a funding strategy and help us understand grant opportunities and competitiveness. I was so very impressed with Elaina's professionalism, skill, and attention-to-detail. Her communication and facilitation of the project was sublime. We look forward to using her services again in the future."

    — Bethany Hannah, the Climate & Wildfire Institute

  • "Elaina is an accomplished writer with a heart for mission-driven projects and a head for setting goals and doing the work to reach them … I probably learned as much, if not more, from Elaina than she did from me. Her curiosity and intellect had her bringing thoughtful questions to me. Elaina is as personable as she is capable. I highly recommend her."

    — Rachel Deery, All Hands and Hearts

  • "Elaina has been an explanatory writer for international editions at National Geographic Magazine since 2016. Her adherence to deadlines, attention to detail, and responsiveness to follow-up queries is first rate. I highly recommend her."

    — Beata Nas, National Geographic Magazine

  • "I could not have been happier with the process. From the start, Elaina was communicative and professional. Her edits were thorough, honest, and insightful. She delivered edits ahead of schedule, despite a moving timeline. My application was considerably stronger by having her as a partner. I look forward to working with her on future applications. "

    — Michael Hanson, photojournalist

  • "Working with Elaina was a pleasure. She provided Ocean Blue with high quality copy for an educational social media campaign. Her creativity and timely turn around are impressive."

    — Karisa Arterbury, Ocean Blue Project

Contact

Let’s explore your story.

Tell us your grant goals and we’ll schedule a 30-minute call to get your organization on the path to sustainable funding.