Empowering Impact Through Funding

Grants That Drive Real Results

Aspire Grant & Development is a Certified Women-Owned firm with over ten years of experience helping nonprofits and corporations secure and manage competitive public funding at the local, state, and federal levels. Our success reflects a deep commitment to excellence, with impactful results across a range of grant programs.

Together with our clients, we aspire to create a better tomorrow.

Aspire Grant & Development, LLC was founded in 2014 by Michele Miller Beener. The diverse, professional consulting team brings a wealth of experience to clients, allowing top level identification, submission and management of public and private funds to support philanthropic causes and large-scale economic development.

Since inception, the firm is proud to document sound management of millions in public and private grant awards. Aspire is proud to hold national certification as a Women Business Enterprise (WBE) and Women Owned Small Business (WOSB).

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What Sets Us Apart From the Competition?

A team of credentialed grant professionals with graduate-level education and expertise in areas including health and welfare, opioid prevention, nonprofit and economic development, sustainability, and sports tourism.

Aspire’s Founder, Michele, has served several federal agencies, and a few national foundations, as a registered grant reviewer, increasing the point score for grants prepared by our firm. Our applications compete at a national level.

All Aspire grant professionals maintain membership in the National Grants Management Association, which prepares them to meet or exceed compliance standards in managing philanthropic funds—both public and private.

We provide training on in-demand topics, including updates to Uniform Guidance (2CFR 200), Grant Writing 101, Best Practice in Post Award Compliance, and more.

Core Capabilities

Our team provides expert assistance in identification of grant opportunities, management of grant and philanthropic funds, grant preparation and management, and assistance with audit compliance post award.

Consulting

Aspire offers relationship-based fund consulting. We put investor, foundation, and organization goals first, prioritizing impact, compliance, and legacy over the number of grants submitted or awarded.

Recent Grant Awards

Port of Walla Walla

$108,547,980 awarded under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, under the umbrella of its Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant (MPDG) program.

Pittsburgh International Airport

$24.4 million awarded under the U.S Department of Transportation’s BUILD Program.

Piggly Wiggly

$500,000 awarded in project funding under the Reinvestment Fund’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative, and the City of Albany, Georgia.

Waynesburg University

$1,536,578 awarded by the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) for the development of a Health Workforce Resiliency Plan.

Children's Aid Home

$56,000 awarded by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to support the purchase of a handicap accessible vehicle.

West Penn Hospital

$3 million in public funding to support the construction of a comprehensive women’s health center.

Client Testimonials

Michele, Lauren and the Aspire team are nothing short of extraordinary. Not only do they know their craft and the associated systems and processes well, they are an absolute blast to work with. So fast, and so thorough.

Nicholas Gilson Gilson Snow

Michele has done a great job assisting with business strategy during a difficult economic time for coal, connecting the local community to government and other critical stakeholders. She has opened doors for fundraising opportunities and kept us connected on relevant legislation impacting our industry. Her advocacy has been a tremendous asset for the employees and stakeholders of Corsa Coal.

Mr. George G. Dethlefsen Chief Executive Officer, Corsa Coal Group

Working with Aspire has been a game changer for our organization. Our grant funding assets have grown based on the team’s expertise and industry knowledge. In addition, Aspire has taught us how to approach grant writing to improve our efficiencies and success rate. To put it into one word; having Aspire on our side is transformational.

Patrice Matamoros President, Junior Achievement of Western PA

As the solicitor of several small municipal organizations in rural Adams County, Pa. we were interested in applying for ARPA Grants but had no idea how to go about getting them. In particular, a sewer water authority wanted funding to expand their plant plus extend a line outside of town in order to bring service to an industrial / commercial property. The property in question had several potential buyers for it but we were unable to supply the necessary sewer and water services. As a result, the potential buyers located in the adjacent county and Adams County missed out in getting 250- 300 new jobs.

Michele Beener and her staff put together grant applications at both the county level and at the state level. My client got the largest single grant of seven figures from our county and we got both state grants that we applied for due to Aspirer’s excellent work! The total received was $1.7 million to expand the plant and extend the new lines of service. Aspire was worth every penny we paid ! We wouldn’t have gotten it without them.

Matt Battersby, Esq.

Erin has been one of the most delightful people I’ve ever met in over 15 years of working in the nonprofit sector. Her attention to detail is phenomenal. Within two weeks of taking AbleGamers case, she had learned all of our internal language and specifics of the charity’s mission and initiatives as if she had been working with us for decades. I can’t speak highly enough of this amazing team.