What Elysian does

Elysian Trust is a privately held strategic advisory and nonprofit consulting firm formally organized in 2022, operating as the consolidated successor to a continuous advisory practice dating to 2012. The firm is headquartered in Galveston, Texas, operates as a fully remote/virtual practice, and is led by two principals: Nathaniel "Nth" Bar-Fields (Founder/CVO) and Polite D. Stewart, Jr. (COO/CTO, Managing Partner). Across the principals' careers, the firm reports $107M+ in total funding delivered for clients, with a publicly disclosed record of 66 grants spanning $24.5M+ between 2012 and 2025. Its published maximum single award is $5.0M (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2013).

The firm sells six integrated service lines — Grant Writing, Contract Procurement, Strategic Advisory, Leadership Training, Digital Infrastructure, and Fractional Executive Consulting — primarily to 501(c)(3) nonprofits, mission-driven organizations, and government contractors eligible for SBA set-aside programs. Pricing is transparent and tiered: Grant Writing uses five flat-fee tiers from $750 to $38,000 matched to grant size; Contract Procurement uses five tiers from $3,500 to $75,000+ plus standalone SBA certifications ($1,000–$7,500); Strategic Advisory operates on a four-tier monthly retainer ($1,000–$10,000/month with quarterly funding caps up to $1M, minimum three-month commitment). Bundle discounts of 25–35% incentivize cross-sell. All engagements begin with a complimentary readiness assessment (Grant, Contract, or Funding Readiness Assessment) functioning as a lead qualification and tier-matching mechanism. Go-to-market is principal-directed sales with no intermediary channels, supported by embedded Google Calendar booking tied to individual principal profiles.

Elysian Trust's technical infrastructure is a notable differentiator: its production website (elysiantrust.org) is custom-built with pure HTML, CSS, and JavaScript — zero third-party frameworks — deployed on Cloudflare Pages across 300+ edge cities, with serverless backend via Pages Functions and Workers, Google Sheets persistence via service-account JWT, strict Content-Security-Policy, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance including deuteranopia-safe and monochrome vision modes. The site comprises 21 custom pages, ~19,000 lines of code, ~100,000 words of original copy, and ~100 JSON-LD structured data instances. The website itself is published as a white paper ("Designing for Trust") and serves as both marketing artifact and a demonstration of the firm's Digital Infrastructure practice capability, benchmarked against $95K–$400K+ agency replacement costs.

Name

Elysian

Legal name

Elysian Trust

Website

https://elysiantrust.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Elysian Trust is a privately held strategic advisory firm that provides grant writing, government contract procurement, and digital infrastructure services to nonprofits and mission-driven organizations. Two principals lead a remote practice with a published track record of $24.5M+ in client funding secured across 66 grants since 2012.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Strategic Consulting

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Philanthropic & Charitable Trust Services (FSAAANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Trust Funds & Multi-Donor Pooled Funds (BPADAOAE), Directed Trust & Trust Advisory Services (FSAAANAK)

Keywords

• Grant writing services
• Government contracting advisory
• Nonprofit strategic consulting
• Federal procurement support
• Institutional fundraising

Headquarters

HQ city

Galveston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Writing (Project-Based): Flat-fee grant writing services across five tiers matched to grant size (up to $25K through $2M+). Tiers are confirmed at intake based on grant value and application complexity, not self-selected. Payment terms vary by tier: Tier 1-2 paid in full at kickoff; Tier 3 default full at kickoff with 50/50 split available on request; Tier 4-5 split 50/50 at kickoff and final submission. Rush delivery (inside one week) carries a 25% premium.
2. Contract Procurement (Project-Based): Flat-fee proposal development and certification services across five tiers matched to contract value (under $250K through $50M+). Certifications and registrations (SAM.gov, 8(a), WOSB/EDWOSB, HUBZone, SDVOSB) are standalone services. Bundle pricing offers 25% off à la carte totals when two or more certifications are combined; 35% off when bundled with a Strategic Advisory retainer at onboarding.
3. Strategic Advisory (Monthly Retainer): Monthly retainer covering grant strategy, contract pursuit, nonprofit consulting, and executive education across four tiers: Opportunity ($1,000/month, $50K quarterly cap), Standard ($4,000/month, $250K quarterly cap), Growth ($7,000/month, $500K quarterly cap), and Comprehensive ($10,000/month, $1M quarterly cap). Minimum commitment of three months. Additional 501(c)(3) formation services available at $1,750 (1023-EZ) or $4,500 (standard Form 1023).
4. Digital Infrastructure (Project-Based): Project-based engagements for website revitalization, technology stack optimization, and workflow automation. Pricing is custom-scoped based on organizational need and budget. Two engagement modes offered: Studio Engagement (commission-based, faster delivery) and Partnership Engagement (collaborative, more revision sessions). The firm references a $100K+ agency-market replacement cost while charging materially less.
5. Fractional Executive Consulting (Project or Retainer-Based): Scoped executive engagements for strategic assessment, vendor/tool selection, operational process design, SOP development, and on-call executive support. Engagement formats include defined-scope projects, ongoing retainers, or hybrid structures. Pricing is custom-scoped during a complimentary strategy call.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Elysian Trust is a mission-driven strategic consulting firm providing grant writing, government contract procurement, strategic advisory, leadership training, digital infrastructure, and fractional executive consulting services to nonprofits and mission-driven organizations. The firm combines senior principal-led delivery with transparent tiered pricing and complimentary readiness assessments that scope each engagement to organizational capacity and opportunity size.

Product overview

Elysian Trust is a mission-driven strategic consulting firm offering a portfolio of six integrated service lines for nonprofits and mission-driven organizations: Grant Writing (project-based, tiered flat-fee pricing from $750-$38,000), Contract Procurement (government contracting support, $3,500-$75,000+ flat fees with certification services), Strategic Advisory (monthly retainer model, $1,000-$10,000/month across four tiers), Leadership Training (customized coaching and organizational development), Digital Infrastructure (custom website development and technology deployment in ~2 weeks), and Fractional Executive Consulting (scoped senior executive support). The firm operates a complementary diagnostic layer of three readiness assessments (Grant, Contract, and Funding Readiness Assessments) that feed clients into the appropriate service tier. A flagship white paper ('Designing for Trust') documents the firm's own technical build as a demonstration artifact. Funding procurement and advisory engagements are priced transparently on flat-fee or retainer models, with a published track record of $107M+ total funding delivered across principals' careers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grant Writing Project-based grant writing service with five flat-fee pricing tiers ($750 to $38,000) matched to grant size, covering federal agencies (NSF, NIH, HHS, HUD), major private foundations, and state and local programs. Includes funder research, narrative drafting, budget development, compliance verification, and submission support.
• Contract Procurement Federal, state, and local government contracting service with five flat-fee pricing tiers ($3,500 to $75,000+) matched to contract value. Covers RFP/RFQ/RFI responses, past performance positioning, and compliance pipeline management, with standalone certification support including SAM.gov registration, 8(a), WOSB, HUBZone, and SDVOSB applications.
• Strategic Advisory Ongoing monthly retainer engagement bundling grant writing, contract pursuit, nonprofit consulting, and executive education. Four tiers ($1,000 to $10,000/month) matched to organizational budget scale, with quarterly funding caps ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000. Three-month minimum commitment.
• Leadership Training Organizational leadership development service offering executive coaching, systems thinking, change management, and team alignment. Delivered through focused workshop series, sustained coaching engagements, or comprehensive organizational development programs tailored to client structure and growth stage.
• Digital Infrastructure Technology foundation service building production-grade websites and operational workflows. Includes website revitalization (custom-coded, mobile-first, accessible), technology stack optimization (project management tools, time tracking, password management), and process/workflow automation. Delivered in approximately two weeks.
• Fractional Executive Consulting Scoped senior executive support providing strategic assessment, vendor/tool selection, operational process design, SOP development, and on-call executive guidance. Offered as defined-scope projects, ongoing retainers, or hybrid engagements, sized to organizational need rather than full-time executive cost.
• 501(c)(3) Formation Nonprofit formation service available as project-based add-on to strategic advisory. Covers articles of incorporation, bylaws, IRS Form 1023 or 1023-EZ filing, EIN acquisition, and state registration coordination. Two tiers: Express ($1,750) for 1023-EZ eligible organizations, Full Formation ($4,500) for standard 1023 filings.

Quantifiable outcome

• $986,000 secured for Cheetah Conservation Fund across 7 funders in 3 jurisdictions (DEFRA, Baker Trust, US Fish and Wildlife Service)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature6 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Heller Consulting: Heller Consulting is a nonprofit technology and fundraising CRM consultancy serving large nonprofits with system selection and implementation. Comparable to Elysian's Digital Infrastructure and fractional executive technology advisory offerings.
• The Bridgespan Group: The Bridgespan Group is a nonprofit strategy and philanthropic advisory firm that advises nonprofits, philanthropists, and funders on strategy, organizational development, and growth. Elysian Trust's Strategic Advisory and Fractional Consulting lines are directly comparable in mission and methodology.
• La Piana Consulting: La Piana Consulting provides strategic planning, executive transition, and nonprofit consulting services to mission-driven organizations. Elysian's Leadership Training and Strategic Advisory practices target an overlapping client base with similar consulting deliverables.
• Campbell & Company: Campbell & Company is a fundraising and nonprofit consulting firm supporting nonprofits with feasibility studies, campaign counsel, and development planning. Elysian's Grant Writing and Strategic Advisory services compete in the same nonprofit funding-advisory category.
• Your Part-Time Controller: Your Part-Time Controller provides fractional CFO and financial management services to nonprofits. Comparable to Elysian's Fractional Executive Consulting line, addressing the same executive-gap pain point for resource-constrained mission-driven organizations.
• Groundwork Group: Groundwork Group is a small, mission-driven consulting firm specializing in grant writing, capacity building, and nonprofit strategy. Elysian's Grant Writing and Strategic Advisory services are highly comparable in target customer, methodology, and pricing structure.

Regional players

• Foundation Source: Foundation Source provides foundation management services for private foundations, including grantmaking administration. It is a regional/segment peer that competes for philanthropic services in adjacent territory rather than directly with Elysian's core grant writing work.

Emerging players

• Instrumentl: Instrumentl is a grant discovery and management platform used by nonprofits and grant writers to find and track funding opportunities. It is an emerging tech-enabled peer to Elysian's Grant Writing practice, addressing the same funder-research pain point through software rather than services.
• Whole Whale: Whole Whale is a digital agency and B-Corp serving nonprofits with marketing, web development, and data strategy. Elysian's Digital Infrastructure practice and Whole Whale's nonprofit web work target the same client segment with overlapping deliverables.

Broad incumbents

• BDO USA Nonprofit Practice: BDO USA operates a broad nonprofit advisory practice offering audit, tax, and consulting services. It competes with Elysian at the upper end of the nonprofit advisory market and represents the incumbent scale alternative for large institutional clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elysian-trust
• Xx.com/Elystrust
• Facebookfacebook.com/elysiantrust

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Elysian