Benefits of Grant Writing Training

Most agencies, non-profit organizations, foundations, and schools rely on grants from government agencies, wealthy donors, community foundations, and other organizations to financially fund their programs.

Non-profit organizations depend heavily on grants to fund their charitable work, while academic researchers seek funding for their research projects. As a result, millions of dollars are being offered worldwide by government and private organizations to help foundations, agencies, and schools to help fund their work.

A grant is the sum of the money given to a non-profit organization or individual, and they do not have to pay it back, provided the terms and conditions of the agreement are followed. You can apply for a grant in several ways, out of which the easiest and convenient way is writing a grant proposal, which is why it is essential to get the proper training to learn how to write grant proposals.

In this article, we will not only explore what grant writing is but also see its various benefits and the objectives of writing a good grant. By the end of this post, you will be able to be in a position to write a successful grant. So, let’s get started.

What is Grant Writing?

Grant writing is the procedure to write a grant proposal or grant application required to apply for a grant. Sometimes the procedure can be quite simple and may involve writing just a few sections of information. In most cases, it is a complex process involving writing a lot of information about goals, financial information, and future intentions to utilize the funds.

Therefore, grant writers need to have writing and research skills and comprehensive knowledge of non-profit organizations, finances, sociology, and more. Without these skills, grant writers cannot write compelling proposals to help their clients secure the grant.

Several benefits can be gained from grant writing training ranging from economical to organizational. It is, therefore, necessary for organizations to spend time and money to get proper grants writing training that would result in better prospects for grants.

1.   Economic Benefits

Obviously, proper training in grants writing would yield better results in securing grants, which is an economic benefit. The grant amount may vary from hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars, depending upon the type of grant and the organization offering the grant.

If you are well trained in writing grants, you can successfully fund that you never have to pay back, which means the only cost incurred to you is the cost involved in writing grants. You would be surprised to know that the investment required for getting trained in grants writing will probably be just a small fraction of the grant you will receive upon successful application.

2.   Organization Benefits

One important aspect of grants writing is that it requires the company to write a brief description of how it intends to use the funds, which requires the company to prioritize its goals and make its mission clear before deciding on which grants to pursue.

This process will indirectly help the company ensure effective time management, personnel management, and economic resources management required to pursue grants and ensure effective utilization of its resources.

3.   Team Building

In most organizations, the task of grant writing often requires that the framework of the proposal be framed by the team of the organization. Teamwork is required as the grant proposal needs to have information about the organization and its activities and plans for the future, which requires teamwork to develop the most accurate and most attractive information that might be included in the grant proposal. This process not only builds a team but also enhances the sense of involvement in organizational decisions.

4.   Brand Image

Grants proposals require the organization to describe itself both internally and externally. Grants proposals serve a dual purpose; one is to acquire grants while the other is marketing to strengthen its brand image by including marketing material such as joint venture proposals, etc.

Once the organization receives a grant, it becomes evident to the clients and partners that the organization is determined to its mission and goals and has the ability to acquire funding for its projects through its professionalism. Thus, the organization’s credibility is increased, and it only opens more opportunities in terms of future ventures and future grants.

5.   Critical Thinking

By writing proposals, you are required to think about your ideas critically. Critical thinking can help in three ways: First, you learn how to sell your idea. Your ideas may seem attractive and unique to you, but how can you write a proposal to make it look appealing to the grant-giving authority. Second, you learn to calculate the cost of your project or research. This is really important if you are pursuing a career in research Thirdly, we get to revisit the steps required to achieve our goal, a process that may reveal weaknesses and give a chance to come up with better alternatives. Lastly, there is mostly a limit on grant proposal word count, which helps you to limit the proposal to only the main points.

6.    Freelancing

Most organizations outsource the task of writing a grant proposal which makes it an outstanding freelancing career. Not only the grants writers are high in demand, but they are also being paid well. Additionally, grant writing is advantageous, as you will get the opportunity to work with organizations trying to bring a change on a local, regional, or worldwide basis. You may get a chance to work for causes aligned with your values, and you will get to learn more about certain aspects of different social causes.

Working as a freelance grant writer will also help you make more money than you may be making right now. An average grant writer charges $25 to $100 per hour for their work, depending upon the organization you are working for.

Additionally, depending upon your skills, organizations may enter into long-term agreements with you to apply for grants every month. The training program will help you stand out among the crowd, and your chances of being hired by non-profit organizations will increase tremendously.

7.   Earn Credibility

The grants training program will help you earn credibility, and you will most likely secure grant writing contracts. In addition, non-profit organizations prefer grant writers who are properly trained over those who have no experience or practical knowledge.

8.   Connect with Organizations

The training program will also guide you about how you can connect with potential non-profit organizations. Connecting with organizations is very crucial to give a boost to your career start. In the beginning, the most difficult thing being faced by a grant writer is to get connected with the organizations, which is training would be of great help if you to start your career in grant writing.

What Are the Main Objectives of Grants writing training?

The grants writing training program is designed to teach you to prepare for, write and submit a grant proposal to increase your chances of getting funded. Some of the objectives of the training are:

Develop the ability to research, plan, and write most efficiently to acquire grants.

Completely understand the process of writing a grant proposal which includes scope definition, project management, and financial projections.

Understand the roles and responsibilities of funding institutions, grant-giving agencies, and philanthropic foundations.

Identify which grants suit the goals and objectives of the organization. It is beneficial in identifying which grants to pursue and which grants not to pursue. For example, an organization would not want to write a proposal to a grant-giving authority with different goals and objectives than the organization itself.

Learn how to research and collect data effectively. It has been known that the main reason behind the failure of most grant applications is their poor statement of goals and objectives. The grant-giving agency must know what advantage they should expect for their investment in the project.

Learn how to write a compelling cover letter.
Learn how to write an executive summary effectively.

Learn how to write an effective problem statement that would describe the problem the society is facing and how your project can help overcome the project, which is why the project deserves the grant.

Develop the skills required to understand and propose an evaluation strategy. The grant-giving agencies are very much interested in knowing how the project’s progress will be evaluated to make sure that their funds will not be wasted. The evaluations sometimes require feedback from the community as well, and the training will guide you about how you can effectively get desired information from the community.

Learn how to outline the project budget effectively. It is a crucial step as overcharging may result in grant refusal, while on the other hand, underquoting might get you the grant, but you will have to struggle with the finances.

I hope this article has answered all your questions regarding grant writing, and now you are in a better position to decide if you want to pursue a career in grant writing or not. Grant writing can be an advantageous business, but you must get the proper training to make the most out of it.