About Us
Funding strategy built by people who've sat on your side of the table.
Aldergate & Wren was founded by two former district administrators who were tired of watching good programs die for lack of funding — and even better ones lost in a maze of grant paperwork.
Our Story
Founded inside the system, built to serve it.
Margaret Aldergate spent eleven years as a grants director for a mid-sized district; Thomas Wren ran federal compliance for a statewide charter network. In 2016 they founded Aldergate & Wren to give schools the kind of senior-level grant support usually reserved for large research universities.
A decade later, the firm remains intentionally small — a boutique team that writes, manages, and reports on every grant it touches, rather than handing proposals off to junior staff.
What We Value
The principles behind every proposal.
Rigor
Every figure is checked, every claim sourced, every deadline hit early.
Partnership
We work as an extension of your team, not an outside vendor.
Clarity
Plain-language proposals that funders — and your board — can actually follow.
Accountability
We stay on after the award — compliance and renewal included.
Our Team
A small team, deliberately.
Margaret Aldergate
Founding Partner
Former district grants director, 11 years in K-12 funding.
Thomas Wren
Founding Partner
Former compliance lead for a statewide charter network.
Priya Nandakumar
Senior Grant Strategist
Leads funder research and pipeline strategy for every client.
Daniel Cho
Grants & Compliance Manager
Manages reporting, compliance, and renewal timelines post-award.
Let's talk about your next initiative.
We’ll come back with a funding strategy within a week.