Higher Education Grants Consulting and Government Relations

Higher Education Grants Consulting and Government Relations

Since 2004, McAllister & Quinn has partnered with small and mid-sized colleges and universities to secure over $1B in external funding from federal agencies, states, and private foundations.

We generate a direct return on our clients’ investment while building their grant-seeking capacity and culture through:

  • Submission of increasingly competitive proposals in a complex funding climate

  • Built-in, “on-the-job” capacity building for faculty and staff

  • Proactive and strategic approach to external funding

  • Enhanced relationships with members of Congress and federal decision makers

$ 500000000 +

In Funding Awarded to Small and Mid-Sized Colleges and Universities

Our team of 100+ in-house experts and 450+ network consultants partner with clients to maximize results by:

  • Pursuing federal, state, and foundation grant opportunities by providing proactive prospect research, project management, collaborative proposal development, and grant writing support

  • Delivering capacity building services to support a culture of grant seeking

  • Sharing actionable strategic intelligence on grant programs, trends, and policies impacting higher education to enable strategic priority setting that aligns institutional goals with external resources

  • Establishing tailored federal government relations strategies

LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS SERVICES

Actionable Intelligence, Proven Results

McAllister & Quinn takes a 360-degree approach to support our clients, which blends strategic intelligence, proposal development, capacity building, and government relations. We give our clients a competitive advantage to: pursue existing and forecasted grant programs in advance of their peers; cultivate new opportunities for funding; strengthen the grant-seeking culture at their institution; and position themselves strategically within an ever-changing funding landscape.

 

Contact Us

Managing Partner, John McAllister

John McAllister

Managing Partner

Jessica Gerrity, SVP

Jessica C. Gerrity, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President, Leader of the Higher Education Practice

Maeve Connolly, SVP

Maeve Connolly

Senior Vice President

CONTACT US TO LEARN ABOUT OUR SERVICES

Capacity Building Services

We offer services that increase and diversify funding streams and build capacity for grant seeking at your institution.

The McAllister & Quinn faculty development model was created with faculty and staff at teaching institutions in mind. We offer tailored and comprehensive faculty development programs and faculty fellowship coaching, as well as monthly webinars, on topics that aim to help faculty and staff improve their grant-seeking approach and learn more about funding opportunities. 

We work with colleges and universities to conduct grants operation assessments tailored to the institution’s specific needs. Following a comprehensive assessment of existing grant administration systems and documented policies/procedures, we provide personalized recommendations for adopting evidence-based best practices in grants management. 

McAllister & Quinn’s capacity benchmarking analysis is designed to comprehensively evaluate an institution’s current capabilities and performance in various domains, such as research, funding, and collaboration, relative to its peers and aspirational counterparts. The resulting analysis provides strategic recommendations to enhance the institution’s competitiveness and effectiveness. 

 

We partner with Feldesman LLP, a Washington, DC-based grants compliance and post-award legal firm, to deliver training on higher education post-award processes and compliance. Post-award training increases institutional capacity and confidence to manage federal funding and anticipate funder questions in the post-award stage of grants. 

McAllister & Quinn can help your institution prepare and negotiate a federally negotiated indirect cost rate. A negotiated rate can amount to thousands of dollars allocated to the institution per federal award, and hundreds of thousands of dollars over time. Indirect cost dollars, to be allocated at an institution’s discretion, can help support a grants culture on campus. 

Our Grants Academy is a structured training program that helps institutions’ grant personnel build the skills, processes, and confidence to advance the institution’s overall grant-seeking capacity. Through on-demand modules, live workshops, and practical tools, institutions have a strong foundation in proposal development, federal systems, and award management.  

Recent Client Wins

St. Bonaventure University secured $1,100,000 in FY2026 Congressionally directed spending for facilities and equipment for healthcare workforce development.
Biola University was awarded $3,450,228 from the National Institutes of Health to support a research project to advance public health by fostering new approaches to genomic medicine.
Indiana University of Pennsylvania was awarded $2,295,315 from the U.S. Department of Education for a FIPSE -Special Projects Civil Discourse grant.
Hawaii Pacific University was awarded $10,000,000 from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a Rural Health Transformation grant.
Western New England University was awarded $1,995,005 from the National Science Foundation for a Scholarships in STEM (S-STEM) Track 2 grant.

What Our Clients Are Saying

“McAllister & Quinn has been an extraordinary partner for Le Moyne College. They have a great team of professionals and really understand the culture AND IMPACT of small colleges. Working with them has produced millions of dollars in federal grant funding for our college.”
Dr. Linda LeMura President, Le Moyne College
“Sacred Heart University has partnered with McAllister & Quinn for a number of years. Together, we have worked successfully to expand the University’s federal grants program. Their expertise in this area has helped us to increase the capabilities of our sponsored programs office, which has made a difference for many programs at the University"
Dr. John J. PetilloPresident, Sacred Heart University
“We have worked with McAllister & Quinn for several years and the partnership has produced millions of dollars in federal grant and foundation funding for Juniata. The firm is a great strategic partner and the return on investment has been significant.”
Jim Watt Vice President of Advancement, Juniata College
"I have worked with McAllister & Quinn for nearly 20 years at two different institutions. No one else in the industry is able to help small colleges and universities reach for grants that they once believed were unattainable. McAllister & Quinn provides the expertise and experience to help your faculty achieve grants that support both scholarship and institutional mission
Bryon Grigsby, Ph.D.President, Moravian University

Our Clients

Moravian University

Doane University

SUNY Geneseo

Lewis University

Sacred Heart University

University of St. Thomas

REPRESENTATIVE CLIENTS

Recent Insights

Our Leadership Team