Grants are offered each year by agencies and organizations to assist and aid individuals, educational institutions, nonprofits, and corporations in receiving funding and completing their projects to improve the well-being of the general community. Grant applications must be completed in full detail so that an organization needing funds can obtain the necessary grant money.
But who creates and submits these grant applications? It’s the grant writer.
Some say that grant writing is an entirely different genre of writing. It is. To obtain a successful funding campaign, a grant writer must have broad knowledge how the nonprofit/philanthropy sector works. This includes having the knowledge of what a business provides, understanding the grant application process and its financial specifications, and knowing where to search for appropriate funding.
Qualities of a grant writer
Grant writers don’t just submit proposals to acquire charitable funds or government grants. Grant writers are a skilled bunch: they have excellent writing and communication skills, as well as having the ability to work independently and understand budget matters, be attentive to details, and meet tight deadlines. Grant writers are critical thinkers; this trait is important in crafting well-written proposals.
Grant writers often work for an organization or business. Others are professionals who may come from different backgrounds and work as freelance writers. They also spend a great amount of time researching online and participating in email campaigns.
Grant writers usually have degrees in English. Some have taken courses in grant writing or have gotten some grant writing experience. Many organizations do prefer grant writers who have worked with foundations and other charitable institutions; they have been previous publicists or fundraisers.
Grant writing basics
Familiarity with the grant application process is crucial when writing grant proposals. It’s called graftmanship – where grant writers extensively research funders to obtain funding success. The basic parts of the grant proposal creation process include:
- Figuring out the target audience
- Analyzing its purpose
- Researching and collecting information
- Selecting the appropriate type of grant proposal
- Writing and formatting
- Revising, proofreading, and editing
- Submitting the proposal
Grant proposals typically request for funding to support projects and activities that are in-line with an organization’s social mission. Larger corporations offer philanthropic programs that provide grants to assist local educational insitutions, social and human services, and arts organizations. . Grant funders often include the federal government, state and local governments, charitable foundations, businesses, and individuals.
Writing the proposal
In order to acquire successful funding, grant writers know how to create understandable, well-organized, concise and grammatically correct grant proposals.
Being explicit with the proposal narrative is key; it should contain adequate planning and details why the proposed application is better than the other proposals. Furthermore the budget proposal must be reasonable enough for the project. It must also reflect the project’s goals and be consistent with the funding requirements. Good grant proposals seek for resources that are just sufficient to complete the project and they should not be extremely high in amount. Grant writers also make use of charts and graphics with captions to drive a point home.