Grant Administration & Technical Assistance
Funding Compliance Comes in Layers. We Hold Every One.
Federal and state awards are governed in layers, each typically tighter than the last. For a federal award, that usually starts with 2 CFR 200 — the government-wide rules for procurement, costs, and controls — with the funding agency's own policy beneath it, sometimes a state pass-through agency's requirements beneath that, and at the bottom, the RFA and the terms of your specific award: the most restrictive layer of all. Some awards carry fewer layers, some carry more — and the rule is always the same: the tightest requirement governs, on every purchase, every report, every budget line. Holding all of it, all the time, is the discipline we bring — and the discipline we teach.
Two Primary Methods to Engage - and What We Recommend
Turnkey Administration - We run the award completely: the paperwork, the procurement reviews, the budgets, the reports, the funder communication, the monitoring visits, the closeout — start to finish, with your team's involvement limited to decisions and signatures. We've done it from six-figure state awards to a multi-million-dollar federal Title III grant, and we do it well. If your organization is stretched thin, facing a demanding award, or simply wants it handled, turnkey is a legitimate answer — and it's yours for the asking.
Technical Assistance & Capacity Building — what we recommend, and here's the honest reasoning. In this model, we build the full management infrastructure described above, train your staff to run it, and stay on as advisors — reviewing procurements, answering the hard questions, watching the master budget — until your team operates confidently on its own.
Why do we push the model that eventually needs us less? Because turnkey, for all its convenience, teaches your organization nothing. When we do everything, the knowledge walks out the door with us — and the next award means hiring a consultant all over again, forever. That's a fine business model for consultants. We don't think it's right for rural organizations. When your own people can manage awards, the money you'd otherwise spend on grant-management consulting year after year goes to your bottom line instead — to staff, to equipment, to patients. And an organization that understands its own awards is a stronger applicant for the next one. We'd rather build that capability than bill for its absence — keep hiring us for development and strategy as long as you like, but your grants office should ultimately be yours.
Recent TA engagements include simultaneous state capital, tax credit, and provider-attraction programs for a rural Kansas medical center; a ~$4 million SAMHSA behavioral health implementation; and a $6 million Congressionally Directed Spending construction award.
On how this work is paid for: whether grant funds may cover management or administration is set by each program's rules — where allowable, we structure it transparently; where not, fees come from operating funds. Every contract states exactly how fees are funded, in writing, up front and in compliance with legal and ethical standards.
How Fees Are Structured
Every service carries one clear structure — quoted up front, agreed in writing, and priced with rural budgets in mind. Grant fees are never a percentage of your award, and you'll know exactly what an engagement costs before any work begins. The full breakdown, service by service, is one click away.
"The McLeod Group has helped my organization secure grants from small to large. We have worked together now for several years and his expertise in grant writing is exceptional. The best part of all is that Mr. [McLeod] knows our hospital well and has a local presence. It is nice to have a consultant who is proactive and brings me opportunities that I never know are available. You cannot go wrong when The McLeod Group is a part of your team!"
Rod Landrum, Executive Director, Labette Health Foundation (retired)
"We have had a great deal of success in working with Nick [McLeod] on grants . . . focused on improving lives in SEK and Kansas."
Brian Williams, CEO,
Labette Health
"The Pratt Health Foundation has retained the grant writing and administrative services of the McLeod consulting group. The principal, Nick [McLeod], understands the private and federal grant landscape as well as providing wise administrative assistance. He has written successful grant applications and provided excellent counsel for the Foundation. I would highly recommend his services."
DeWayne Bryan, Executive Director,
Pratt Health Foundation (retired)
"I have worked with Nick on three different grant proposals regarding Integrated Care through embedding a behaviorist into a primary care facility. Through Nick's effort and skill, we were successful in receiving a planning grant, an implementation grant, and a continuation grant. Nick is very thorough, thinks of great questions, anticipates questions from grant sources, writes skillfully, and is a pleasure to work with. I would recommend him and his services to anyone."
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Matthew Atteberry,
Executive Director,
Labette Center for Mental Health Services
"Since having The McLeod Group come on board with us, the Pratt Police Department has received over $175,000 in funds from grants that Nick has found for us! The Pratt Police Department and the citizens of Pratt, KS are very fortunate to be able to have the McLeod Group helping the efforts of keeping this great community safe!"
Chief Nate Humble,
Pratt Police Department
(retired)
"Mr. [McLeod] put my vision for my school into a professional proposal from A to Z, no detail was left to chance. After multiple attempts on my own, Mr. [McLeod] was successful the first time in obtaining a $400,000 grant for my school, the largest to be awarded in our county to date."
Mikel Ward, Principal,
Service Valley Charter Academy (retired)
Testimonials
Book a Free Consultation
Since 2007
The first conversation is free — and it's an honest one. Bring your objectives, your questions, or the project you've been trying to fund. If we don't believe it's a go, we'll tell you right there — no engagement, no pressure, no charge. And if it is, we'll tell you exactly how we'd help.
The Award Letter Isn't the Finish Line - It's the Starting Gun.
Funders remember two things: whether your project delivered, and whether your records held up. Get both right and the next award comes easier. In 19 years, no organization under our grant administration has had a grant-related audit finding.
What you get (including but not limited to):
Full-stack compliance: every action held against funding compliance layers — 2 CFR 200, agency-specific rules like the HHS Grants Policy Statement, and the specific terms of your RFA and award — because the tightest rule always governs.
Award paperwork done right: statements of work, recipient and subrecipient agreements, and related award documentation — completed and finalized.
Procurement review before money moves: quotes, bids, sole-source justifications, and required provisions — checked against the full compliance stack before purchases execute.
Cross-program master budget & timeline: every dollar with exactly one home across all funding sources — duplication and supplanting prevented, not corrected.
Duplicate-records check & balance: your grants function and business office reconciling against each other, so errors surface early.
Policies & internal controls: grant management, procurement, documentation, and audit-ready files — sized for rural staffing. Compliant with funder standards and 2 CFR 200.
Reporting, monitoring & closeout: performance and financial reports, evaluation reporting support, program officer communication, site-visit preparation, and clean closeout.
Independent evaluation: for programs that require a designated evaluator — where independence rules allow, we can serve or help you source the right fit.
Staff training: from fundamentals through federal compliance — for boards, leadership, and the people who live in the files.
