Aria Sundberg, Sundberg Grants & Research
Aria Sundberg is the founder of Sundberg Grants & Research. She helps small and mid-sized nonprofits with grant strategy, grant writing, and prospect research, so they can raise more with a clear plan and less internal overwhelm.
Who are you, who do you serve, and what are you focused on right now?
I help small and mid-sized nonprofits with grant strategy, grant writing, and prospect research, so they can raise more with a clear plan and less internal overwhelm.
What led you into this work?
As an in-house grant writer, I realized how intertwined so many issue areas are in the nonprofit sector. I found myself becoming curious about climate and environmental causes, economic development, democracy and grassroots organizing, and human services. I'm so excited to be supporting the missions of many of these causes through grant and prospect research consulting!
What was one of the hardest parts of building your career or business?
One of the hardest parts was realizing that talent and results weren't enough if I didn't have the right support around me. Early in my career, I spent a lot of energy managing organizational dynamics that had nothing to do with the actual mission I cared about.
What moved me through it was paying closer attention to who energized my work instead of draining it: people who wanted to see me succeed. Those relationships reminded me what good collaboration actually feels like, and they gave me the confidence to stop adapting myself to unhealthy environments and start building something better.
That's a big part of why I started Sundberg Grants & Research. I wanted to spend my time and expertise on what actually moves the needle: strategy, relationships, and fundraising that builds a more just and equitable world.
What's a project you're proud of?
For a community mobility and built infrastructure organization, I developed a prioritized list of 30 philanthropic, corporate, and major donor prospects, then produced in-depth funder briefings for the organization's top 10 priority targets. Each briefing paired funding strategy and outreach recommendations with tailored talking points connecting funder priorities to the initiative's goals, equipping leadership to engage prospects strategically and with confidence.
What are you building right now?
I'm refining my offerings of full-service grant strategy support for small and mid-sized nonprofits. The needs of these organizations can vary, so I am calibrating my offerings to various needs.
What belief about consulting or nonprofit work has changed for you?
I used to believe that if I wasn't in a formal management role, I couldn't do much to change the mentorship gap I saw hurting young nonprofit professionals. I'd experienced that gap myself, and for a long time I thought the fix had to come from inside an organization's hierarchy (better managers, better onboarding, better internal culture), none of which I had much control over as an individual contributor.
What's changed is realizing mentorship doesn't require a title. It just requires showing up consistently for people. Now I do that through community instead of through a chain of command: building relationships at AFP, serving as a steward of the DC-area Community-Centric Fundraising chapter, and offering to review resumes for people navigating the nonprofit fundraising job search. None of that requires anyone's permission or a seat at the leadership table.
Going independent actually gave me more room to do this, not less.
What advice would you give someone earlier in their journey?
You'd be surprised how far networking can actually take you. Putting yourself out there, telling people what kind of work you're doing or want to be doing, plants seeds. You won't always see the payoff right away, but those seeds have a way of sprouting into opportunities months or even years later, often when you least expect it.
My advice: don't be afraid to put yourself out there. Send the email. Attend the event. Ask for the informational interview. The worst someone can say is no, and then you simply move on. You're no worse off than before you asked. But you never know which conversation is going to open a door.