When a nonprofit leader asks me about writing grants for their organization, this is how the conversation ends: “Can you work on a contingency basis?” We can pay you when we get the grant.” “Can we pay you out of the grant funds? We don’t have the money to pay you right now.” “We’ll pay […]
Someone recently asked me how long it took to get where I am today with my grant writing career. That’s a hard question to answer. The simple answer is that I’ve been writing grants for over 25 years. But, how long did it take me to know what I was doing? That’s an entirely different […]
I’ve got my nice new planner, all clean with no appointments in it yet. (There are appointments on sticky notes but nothing is written on those beautiful, clean pages yet.) I prefer a paper planner that I can doodle in, take notes in, and slap sticky notes on, as well as an online calendar or app. […]
If you’re Facebook friends with me, you know I love animals and volunteer for a local animal rescue organization. I write several grant proposals for them every year. Here’s where the lessons start, folks: A good grant opportunity came up for our organization. The Director was out of town, but gave us permission to put […]
Any seasoned grant writer will tell you there are a gazillion (don’t use that word in a grant proposal) places to find grant writing information. You can search for them on the Internet. But I don’t have time for that, so I look for one-stop shops that offer resources, funding information, and professional development. To […]
Finding sources is the most difficult part of the grant writing process. You can write grant proposals all day, but if you don’t have anyone interested in funding you, you’re out of luck. In almost every case, the funder will award a grant to a nonprofit that can help the funder further its mission and […]
You’ll be in hot water if you continue to believe these 3 myths about grants. If you’re new to the grant-writing field, you’ll soon learn that there are plenty of myths floating around out there about grants. You need to understand the truth about the myths and bust those myths for your coworkers and your […]
3 Steps to Getting Grant Ready Think you’re ready to write a grant because you’ve found a great source and know the grant writing format? Well, wait just a minute (or a couple of days, if possible.) If you aren’t grant ready, writing grants will be much more difficult. And, if you were to actually […]
3 insider secrets to get you started with your first successful grant proposal. So the boss stops by your office and says, “Congratulations, you’re our new grant writer. “ Wait, was that in your job description? Ah, yes, that would fall under “any other duties as assigned.” Well, before you quit your job or tell […]