Grant lifecycle experts you can trust

Your organization gives so much to others. We provide grant management services to nonprofits and public sector organizations on a mission to improve society. 

You don’t have to navigate the grant-seeking and management process alone.

Our team of experts helps you manage the entire grant lifecycle. Find the funding you need to achieve your organization’s mission.

Our Core Values

As a women-owned business, we believe in the power of diversity, equity, principles, and transparency.

Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to the core principles of diversity and inclusion across a spectrum of areas: race/culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical and mental health disabilities, and age/socioeconomic status.

Principled and Ethically-Bound

We adhere to the Code of Ethics developed by the Grant Professionals Association’s and the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ codes of ethics.

Equity
and Fairness

We expect our team members and clients to respect and value one another’s perspectives, time and expertise.

Transparency and Honesty

We believe in integrity and transparency in fundraising and post-award management. We remain honest and straightforward when asked to evaluate the scope of work, even if it is not in our best financial interests.

Leadership and Operations

RBW Strategy is a WBENC-certified women-owned business. Our team of consultants, subject matter experts, strategists, writers, and thought leaders provide nonprofits with strategic coaching, advisory and project leadership throughout the grant lifecycle.

Rachel Werner-RBW-Strategy

Rachel Werner MPA, PMP, GPC

Owner & CEO
Olney, MD

KJ-Lucas-Matos-RBW-Strategy

KJ Lucas Matos, MA

Chief Operating Officer
Philadelphia, PA

Katelyn-Banman-RBW-Strategy

Katelyn Banman, BA

Operations Specialist
Denver, CO

Rachel Werner-RBW-Strategy

Rachel Werner MPA, PMP, GPC

Owner & CEO
Olney, MD

KJ-Lucas-Matos-RBW-Strategy

KJ Lucas Matos

MA Chief Operating Officer
Philadelphia, PA

Katelyn-Banman-RBW-Strategy

Katelyn Banman

BA Operations Specialist
Denver, CO

Partnerships and Affiliations

FAQs

We work with clients on short-term projects and long-term engagements. We’ll provide options based on your budget, schedule, and consulting needs.

RBW Strategy provides consulting and training support to nonprofit, for-profit and government sector clients. MyFedTrainer is a federal grant training provider offering virtual federal grant management and writing training for groups and individuals. Often, clients seek additional support after training. RBW Strategy receives referrals for this expanded support.

Several factors impact potential ROI. If you’re new to grant seeking, it can take six to 12 months (or more) to see positive results on grant application efforts.

RBW Strategy will incorporate milestones to assess progress at each stage and see how we can improve the process for all involved.

No, this is considered unethical behavior by the Grant Professionals Association and the Association of Funding Professionals. Our support is a service and our team is paid for services rendered. We are mindful of budgetary issues and, therefore, have incorporated a stepped approach to ensure that our clients receive support in line with what they can provide financially.

This question doesn’t accurately assess our services. So much can impact the grant-seeking process, including the opportunity type, the client’s past performance related to grants, the funder’s openness to new applications, and other factors. A better gauge of positive performance is asking about our success on a particular opportunity, our team’s process related to grant seeking, case studies of successful partnerships, and how we pivot when an application is denied.

If your organization has received a federal grant for the first time, it’s important to understand the specific requirements you must follow to stay compliant.

This includes reviewing the terms and conditions of the notice of grant award, assigning responsibilities, checking your grant management policies and procedures, and creating a tracking process for all critical deadlines. This just scratches the surface of building a culture of compliance, but we can help.

Rachel Werner-RBW-Strategy

Rachel Werner, MPA, PMP, GPC

(she/her/hers)

Owner & CEO

Olney, MD

Rachel Werner is the Owner and CEO of RBW Strategy, a grants consulting firm located in the Washington, DC Metro area, and Principal at MyFedTrainer, a leading national compliance training consulting firm.

Rachel began her career as a New York City public school teacher, which parlayed into a two-decade work career in the public sector. She has served as a grant writer for a community-based hospital, a nonprofit fundraiser for a human services organization, a grants manager at an education management organization, and a management consultant overseeing federal government contracts.

At RBW Strategy, she leads a virtual team of consultants that provides the full lifecycle of grant support to nonprofit, public sector, and for-profit clients. Rachel and her team members have 130 years of professional grants and fundraising experience— and have, combined, raised over $240 million and managed over $2.5 billion in federal grant awards. She and her team at MyFedTrainer offer compliance training to groups and individuals to ensure they can manage the complexities of federal grant awards. They have trained thousands of people since their inception in 2010.

She graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor’s in Arts and received a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. She has also obtained a Certificate in Grants Management (2012), is a certified Project Management Professional (since 2014), and is a Certified Grants Professional (since 2010) and Grant Professionals Association Approved Trainer. She is actively involved with the Grant Professionals Association and National Grants Management Association and regularly conducts in-person and online training at national, state, and local conferences.

My favorite thing about this work: Learning about causes and missions that help communities all over the world and how little steps make a huge difference. It is a privilege to help organizations fulfill their missions while enhancing my perspective on critical issues and causes.

KJ-Lucas-Matos-RBW-Strategy

KJ Lucas Matos, MA

(she/her/hers)

Chief Operating Officer

Philadelphia, PA

KJ began her professional life as an academic researcher—successfully pursuing federal funds with fellow investigators in support of public health initiatives. Over the course of her career, she has engaged in government and private grant seeking, overseen funded programs, managed and directed grants and development departments, and served as principal/owner of a strategic fundraising consulting firm. KJ secured nearly $60 million across these efforts.

KJ has an MA in Sociology from Brown University and BA in Sociology from Johns Hopkins University. She is a former Columbia University Child and Family Policy Fellow and American Sociological Association – National Institute of Mental Health Fellow. Further, she has authored peer-reviewed articles and led conference presentations for a host of academic and professional communities.

In addition, KJ has served as freelance writer of over 150 articles on business, finance, and learning topics published via GlobalPost.com, USAToday.com, Chron.com, AZCentral.com, and SFGate.com—with a combined viewership of 80 million+ per month. She has held memberships in the Grant Professionals Association, Association of Fundraising Professionals, and Women in Development, among others.

KJ lives in the historic West Mount Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia—and has had the privilege of being a foster parent.

My favorite thing about this work: I have always been obsessed with creative ways of solving problems. It is both exciting and rewarding to demystify the fundraising process—and make elusive concepts simple. Doing so for organizations that are traversing critical stages of growth and/or serve the marginalized and underrepresented is especially fulfilling.

Katelyn-Banman-RBW-Strategy

Katelyn Banman, BA

(she/her/hers)

Operations Specialist

Denver, CO

Katelyn has always had a passion for business operations and project management. After graduating with a Business Management degree, she joined the corporate world and enjoyed over 15 years of working for different corporate entities, both large and small. During this time, she gained a wide range of project management and operational systems knowledge and skills to help optimize and execute a business’s strategy.

In 2019, Katelyn decided to more fully leverage her passion and knowledge of operations and project management, and commit her efforts to assisting smaller businesses who focus on making a big difference. She loves the large impacts that smaller businesses make on our community. After starting Virtual Management Resources, she continues to optimize business operations, and heads many projects for a seamless flow and execution.

Katelyn currently resides in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two young boys— enjoying every aspect that Colorado and the two seasons have to offer.

My favorite thing about this work: Being part of efforts that really make a huge difference for nonprofit organizations who, in turn, make large differences in their communities.