Supporting your funding journey

I’m Sarah Jessie Tucker—Grant Writer, Fundraising Strategist, and Poet. 

At the heart of everything I do is story: the stories we inherit, the stories we create, and the stories that have yet to be given the resources to be told.

I'm Treaty No.13 People with family history from Newfoundland and settler ancestry reaching back to England, Ireland, and Scotland. Exploring my lineage has taught me to pay attention to what gets remembered, what gets lost, and whose stories are given space. It has shaped both my creative practice and the kind of work I choose to support.

Before starting SJT Writing, I spent a decade working in litigation. Practicing law taught me how to navigate complex systems, conduct in-depth research, build evidence, ask better questions, and turn a complicated set of facts into a clear and persuasive story.

Today, I bring those skills to artists and organizations navigating another complicated system: funding.

Through SJT Writing, I work as a consultant and collaborative partner helping clients develop stronger projects, identify funding opportunities, build long-term strategies, and communicate why their work matters. Sometimes that means writing the grant. Other times, it means stepping back and asking the questions that need to be answered before an application should ever be written.

I'm particularly drawn to artists and organizations that tell untold stories, preserve cultural memory, challenge inequitable systems, strengthen communities, and create work with social and cultural impact.

My decolonial approach is rooted in mentorship, as it has shaped my own journey. Since starting my business, I have intentionally learned from mentors, grant professionals, writers, facilitators, artists, and community leaders who have influenced my understanding of funding, storytelling, leadership, creativity, and creating safer spaces. I bring those teachings into every collaboration.

And through it all, I remain a poet.

Being an artist helps me understand the vulnerability of asking someone else to believe in an idea that may not yet fully exist. Being an innovative strategist helps me figure out how we get it there.

This is the work that inspires me: helping transform meaningful ideas into fundable projects—and empowering the people behind them to gain the knowledge and confidence to move forward.

Funding Success: Successfully secured over $1.3 million in funding through strategic proposal development.

Grant Writing Certifications: University of Calgary, LearnGrantWriting.org, and Dr. Beverly A. Browning's Grant Writing Foundation.

Creative Writing Expertise: Earned a certification in creative writing from the Writer's Studio at Simon Fraser University.

Cultivating Safe Spaces: Completed certifications in Cultivating Safe Spaces, including CSS facilitator training.

Legal Expertise: I hold a Law Clerk diploma, which enhances my understanding of legal documentation and processes.

Proposal Writing Experience: Over 13 years of experience in crafting compelling proposals for litigation negotiations and fundraising.

Membership: Associate member of the League of Canadian Poets, and Board Treasurer at Tribe Artist Society.