How Did I Learn Grant Writing? - Derek Link

Non-Profit Consultant and Expert Grant Writer, Derek Link, provides the first contribution to our How Did I Learn Grant Writing?" series:

Often people ask, "How on earth did you learn grant writing?"  Obviously it isn’t one of the careers that a high school counselor suggested and I’d wager it’s not one of the careers indicated by any career assessments.

My entry into the world of grant writing started when I took a job in which I was expected to write “Continuation Applications” for federal grants the agency secured before my tenure in the position. Fortunately, the consultant who wrote the grants originally was under contract to assist with evaluation and I was soon under his grant-writing tutelage.

My new mentor liked my writing style which tends to be direct and to the point.  After his contracts with our agency ended, he asked me if I was available to moonlight with his company as a freelance grant writer, so I asked my boss if he’d object to me doing that.  My boss gave me the green light and before long my nights and weekends were spent at the computer pecking away at grant narratives.

Now I don’t want to give you the impression that I was some grant-writing prodigy, some technical-writing-Mozart sitting blindfolded at the computer whipping out successful narratives: I most certainly wasn’t!  My mentor was a brutal and brilliant grant editor and he wielded a micro-cassette recorder as he read my narratives providing biting, insightful commentary which I often swore at (I’m not proud of it but it’s true) as I listened to the comments revising my writing again and again.

Another key thing I did to learn grant writing was take a grant writing class.  The class I took was rather basic, especially after my recent experience in writing grants but it did reinforce some important concepts and practices vital to becoming successful.  The grant writing course taught things like organization, writing style, voice, use of data, integration of the RFP outline, etc.

So in summary, my process to learn grant writing involved a number of things including:

1. I had a job that required me to write grants.
2. I had a great mentor.
3. I had the motivation to persevere in the learning process.
4. I took a grant writing course.

The intellectual exercise of writing a grant is still a great challenge.  Being able to hold the whole program in your mind as you write ensures continuity and clarity and requires you to be fully mentally present throughout the process.  I find grant writing to be a strenuous mental exercise. Learning to write grants will kind of make your brain sweat.

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Grant Writing Success through Thoughtful Planning and Preparation

Grant Coach MaryEllen Bergh knows a few things about achieving grant writing success through planning and preparation. In this post, she shares some of her valuable knowledge and experience with you:

A successful grant proposal is one that is thoughtfully planned, well prepared, and concisely packaged. When you have found a funding source that is a good fit for your proposed project, the temptation is strong to immediately begin writing; however, your proposal will be much more effective if you take some time up front to plan.  Thorough planning helps you determine where to start, where you want to go, how to get there, and how to know you have arrived. Grant writing success requires that you communicate your proposed project effectively and in enough detail so the funder has a clear understanding of all the components of your project, how it fits their funding priorities, and how you will carry out your program or service over the project period. Writing successful grant proposals requires preparation, attention to detail and a great team with passion and perseverance. Here are 3 tips to prepare for a successful grant proposal:

1. Gather your proposal team. Most successful proposals are written by teams. The team members each contribute specific expertise, so that the organization can prepare its proposal more efficiently.
2. Read the funding guidelines. The most important step in writing a successful grant is thoroughly reading the funder’s Request for Applications (RFA) or Request for Proposal (RFP) before you start. Since you will be responding to the guidelines established by the funder, you want to make sure that each member of the team understands the funder’s priorities and instructions for submittal. If the RFA includes a reference to a website or publication, it is often helpful to read that as well.
3. Complete a proposal outline. The outline gives you and your team a roadmap to follow. Establish a timeline for gathering information and input needed to complete each section of the proposal.

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The Best Ways to Learn Grant Writing

Let's face it.  Grant writing is not rocket science, but people are always asking me how they can learn grant writing.. I consider it a craft because it includes elements of both skill and art, but anyone with good basic writing skills can learn to be a decent grant writer.  Of course, there are some notable characteristics and "secrets" of really successful grant writers, but those, too, can be learned for the most part. The most important thing is a willingness to learn.

So, what are the best ways to learn grant writing?

I learned grant writing by jumping in and writing one.  I was fortunate enough to be successful on the first try, but I would have kept trying anyway.  After a while, I found a grant writing mentor, an expert in the field who took me under his wing and taught me the craft. I learned many things from him beyond writing. While I strongly encourage people to take grant writing seminars and workshops, I didn't take my first one until I was already a professional grant writer.  The individual attention, instruction, and support I received from my mentor was exactly what I needed.

If you don't know someone you can ask to mentor you, you may want to take a grant writing course first.  That will increase the chances that you'll meet a mentor (your instructor) and it will provide you with the basics of what you need to know to be successful, allowing you to maximize your time.

There are many grant writing workshops you can take; however, if you are serious about really learning the trade, I recommend that you take a full-blown course.  Our Grant Writing 101 course is an example of a comprehensive course that will give you an excellent foundation.

Once you have the basic foundation, the best way to improve your skill is to write.  Write grants.  Write many grants.  I suggest that you start with mini-grants.  They are quick and easy and you'll get to experience some success quickly.

As you move on to larger grants, be sure to review the feedback from the funding source (regardless of whether or not you were funded) to learn from your mistakes as well as what you did well.

If you focus on taking advantage of the available learning opportunities, you'll be able to learn grant writing in no time.

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Grant Writing Success is Just the Beginning

Hearing that your organization has been awarded a grant is exhilarating!  You want to tell everyone.  You want to celebrate your success.  Then it hits you ---grant writing success is only the beginning.

That's right.  While you were focused up to this point on all of the work involved in getting the grant, the real work hasn't even started yet.  The "real work" is all about turning that vision into reality.  It's at this point that you learn some valuable lessons about grant writing, and now is the time to make note of those lessons so you don't have to learn them again, again, and again.

Here are some post-award lessons clients have learned that have helped them to be better grant writers:

1. A realistic implementation plan and time line are important.  It sounded like a good idea at the time to say that you would get everything going within the first six months of the funding period, but now that you have the money, you understand how impossible that is.  It would have been much more helpful to have a realistic plan and time line to begin with.
2. Accurate estimation of salary costs can save many headaches later.  Many grant writers like to squeeze more room into a tight grant proposal budget by including salaries at the low end of a salary schedule.,  The problem with that is you rarely hire people at the low end of the schedule.  If there isn't enough wiggle room in the budget to be able to cut elsewhere, you can run into some real trouble when you don't have enough money to hire all the people you said you would.  It makes more sense to use accurate salary estimates and develop a realistic program from the beginning.
3. Planning the goals, objectives, and evaluation activities to fit the funding source's requirements would have been helpful.  Doing a little bit of extra homework up front to align your project objectives with the required performance measures of the funding source (if there are any) can save many hours of extra work later.  The same goes with evaluation data collection and reporting procedures.  If the funding source has some requirements, learn about them before you write the proposal.  Then you won't have to be scrambling and revising later.
4. Communicating with all of the project partners and stakeholders in the grant development process saves a lot of explaining later.  Board members don't like to be surprised by things that are in grant proposals - especially when they are asked about them in the community.  Keeping everyone in the loop and involved during the proposal development process saves time and effort later.

A little bit of advanced preparation can help your grant writing success be something you can really celebrate!

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Grant Writing Success – A Non-Profit Walmart State Grant

Non-profit consultant and expert grant writer Derek Link shares a grant writing success story:

A couple of years ago I was contracted to write some grants for a non-profit organization named Challenge Aspen in Colorado. My grant research led me to the Walmart Foundation’s State grant program and I was soon on my way to a grant writing success story.

The grant proposal we submitted secured a grant of $30,000 to support an important outdoor Challenge Aspen Military Options (CAMO) program for disabled female veterans. The program supports courageous women striving to re-build their lives after being disabled in the wars.

There were a number of important factors that contributed to this grant writing success:

1. Challenge Aspen does great work and documents what they do.
2. Challenge Aspen has a staff and a budget which ensured the work would get done that the $30,000 was targeted for.
3. There was a clear mission and measurable objectives for the proposal.
4. Challenge Aspen staff provided the documents I needed in a timely way and they gave me excellent feedback to ensure that the narrative accurately reflected the needs of the program.
5. Challenge Aspen had a competent grant writer (moi!)

Each grant writing success story involves a partnership between a functional non profit organization and an expert grant writer. It is always a joy to write for a non profit that is dedicated to its mission and can prove its effectiveness!

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