About Us

About Ellen

Founding Principal Ellen Davis is a storyteller, grant expert, and fundraising strategist with more than 10 years of experience developing grant programs, strengthening institutional funding strategies, and writing and winning grants. Before launching Future Funding, Ellen was Grants Director at Fox Advancement for three years, where she provided grant writing and grants development support to a diverse portfolio of nonprofit clients. Before that, she spent seven years working in Washington, D.C. for a variety of international development nonprofits. Ellen has a MA from Georgetown University and a BA from American University. She always has time to bake cake, debate the correct ranking of the Mission Impossible movies, discuss the proper technique for a right hook, and hear about what fantastic restaurant you just ate in.

About Future Funding

We believe: Grants don’t have to be so hard. Budgets are a crucial piece of your story. Partnership is invaluable. Understanding power dynamics in funding is critical. It’s OK to push your funders. It’s OK to like your funders. Metrics matter. Stories matter. The best programs build with a community not for a community. American buttercream is just better. Reports are fundraising documents. Always read the RFP. The whole RFP. Congressional budget justifications are more interesting than you might think. A better future is possible, no matter how hard it might be to imagine in the present.