Participatory grantmaking
Field-tested infrastructure
A consulting practice led by Melissa Zellner Gomez

Strategy and systems for the work that actually changes things.

Project Mavens is the consulting practice I built to do one thing well: help mission-driven organizations design programs, grantmaking, and infrastructure that hold up in the field. Federal agencies, state systems, foundations, and supportive housing networks have hired this practice for the parts of the work that are hardest to get right.

Start a conversation → See past performance
$0M+
federal grant portfolio advised at U.S. DOJ Office of Justice Programs
$0M+
awarded through participatory grantmaking I led
0
field guides authored, including Opening the Door
0+
years in homeless response, justice, and health systems
How I work

I bring field practice and framework authorship to the same engagement. That combination is rare, and it is what makes the work land in the systems it is meant to serve.

Most consultants either write the framework or run the program. I have done both, in the same domains, often on the same projects. That means the strategy I design is shaped by what actually happens after the deck closes.

My practice is built around four lanes where I have deep credentials and named past performance: participatory grantmaking design, homeless response and shelter systems, AI governance for mission-driven organizations, and program design for federal and state agencies.

I work as a sole principal on smaller engagements and lead a project team for larger builds. I am comfortable as primary contractor or as a subcontractor partner.

Practice areas

Four lanes. Real credentials in each.

I do not list capabilities I cannot back with named projects, published work, or sustained role experience. These four lanes are where the practice has both.

01

Participatory Grantmaking Design

End-to-end design and implementation of participatory and community-led grantmaking. Application architecture, review committee design, decision frameworks, and evaluation. Field-tested through two major foundation initiatives, documented in two published guides.

Application design Review committee facilitation Community engagement spectrum
02

Homeless Response & Shelter Systems

Curriculum design, technical assistance, and infrastructure for low-barrier shelter and homeless response systems. Four published field guides, including Opening the Door. Active center administrator role for a state-funded TA center in Illinois.

Low-barrier operations Training series design Coordinated entry
03

AI Governance for Mission-Driven Orgs

AI readiness, governance frameworks, and digital infrastructure for foundations, nonprofits, and public sector teams. The Fourth Lens framework analyzes adoption through technical, financial, operational, and power dynamics. Practitioner work paired with published frameworks.

AI readiness assessment Equity-centered adoption Partner portals
04

Strategic Operations & Program Design

Program architecture, scope of work design, partner contracting, and operational close-out for federal and state agency portfolios. Background includes senior program consulting at the U.S. Department of Justice and project management at Walter Reed.

SOW & contract design Federal portfolio support Close-out & compliance
Past performance

Named projects, real numbers, documented outcomes.

These are projects I led directly, either as principal or as the contracted practitioner. Each has a public record. References available on request.

We Rise Together · Bold Ventures

Together Fund: participatory grantmaking across two tracks

Designed and led a two-track participatory grantmaking process for the Together Fund. Built the application architecture, recruited and facilitated the community review committee, and oversaw the full decision and award cycle. Featured case study in the published guide Getting Real About Participatory Grantmaking.

$1.63M
awarded across 12 grants
200
applications across two tracks
Chicago Cultural Treasures · Culture Forward Chicago

Community-majority review across nearly 200 applicants

Led the participatory grantmaking process for the Chicago Cultural Treasures and Culture Forward Chicago initiatives. Stood up a community-majority review committee, developed equity-centered scoring frameworks, and managed the full award cycle. Documented in the published practitioner guide Participatory Grantmaking in Practice.

$3M
awarded to 77 organizations
~200
applications reviewed
HETAC · Supportive Housing Providers Association · Illinois OPEH

Statewide technical assistance center for homeless response

Director and lead content developer for the Illinois Homelessness Education and Training Technical Assistance Center. Designed and delivered the Low-Barrier Shelter Training Series 2026. Currently serving as Center Administrator and contracted lead for the HETAC Visibility Project, building the public brand, website, and partner portal infrastructure.

$10M+
in program budgets managed
Statewide
across the Illinois OPEH-funded TA network
Melissa Zellner Gomez, Founder and Principal of Project Mavens
Author of 4 field guides
Lead practitioner Participatory grantmaking
Principal

Melissa Zellner Gomez

I have spent the last fifteen years in the work that mission-driven organizations call the hard parts. Homeless response. Justice systems. Foundations giving real money to communities they have not always trusted. AI adoption inside the kinds of nonprofits that cannot afford to get it wrong.

Before founding Project Mavens, I served as Senior Program Consultant at the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance, Community Health Strategist at AmeriHealth Caritas, and Project Manager at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence at Walter Reed. I am Dominican-American, first-generation professional, and based in the Greater Tampa Bay Area.

Field publications
Four field guides, including Opening the Door and two participatory grantmaking practitioner guides
Education
MBA in progress · B.S. Information Technology & Networking, DeVry
Certifications
Certified ScrumMaster (Scrum Alliance) · Certified Advisor (21/64) · Project Management Professional
Current roles
Center Administrator, HETAC · Founder, Project Mavens
Published work

The frameworks I use in client engagements are the same ones I publish in the field.

Authorship and field practice on the same domain is the differentiator. RFP reviewers can read the methodology before they sign the contract.

Field Guide

Opening the Door: A Practical Guide to Low-Barrier Shelter Operations

The operational reference used by shelter providers across Illinois and adopted in TA conversations beyond the state.

Field Guide

Participatory Grantmaking in Practice: A Guide for Donors and Foundations

Authored. Introduces the Community Engagement Spectrum used by foundations designing participatory processes.

Field Guide

Getting Real About Participatory Grantmaking: Reflections from the Field

Authored. Documents lessons from the Together Fund and other initiatives, including the "polish is not readiness" principle.

Curriculum

Low-Barrier Shelter Training Series 2026

Multi-workshop curriculum architect. Includes sessions on intake simplification and active substance use and mental health in shelter settings.

Newsletter

Intelligence, Adjusted

A space to discuss ideas at the intersection of AI adoption, equity, and mission-driven systems. Published through The Fourth Lens.

Framework

The Fourth Lens

A framework for analyzing AI adoption through technical, financial, operational, and power dynamics lenses. Asks who benefits, who decides, and whose voice matters.

Let's talk

If you have an RFP open or a hard problem worth a real conversation, send it.

I respond to procurement inquiries within 48 hours. For coffee-conversation pace, the booking link is open.

Send an RFP inquiry → Book a conversation Request capabilities statement