Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Currently, I work for a college as a Program Support Manager for corporate education. Basically, I am a program coordinator that helps administer classes and make sure that we adhere to the terms of the SOW/MOU's.
My boss is the director of the organization, and I know that he writes a lot of RFP's to get business. We have also participated in the grant writing process with government agencies. I have discussed assisting him with future RFP's and grants that may come our way. I am very interested in eventually transitioning into a career in Grant Writing or Proposal Writing. I am currently attaining my MA in Professional Writing, and I plan on taking some Grant Writing classes in order to be certified in the future.
I want to assist my boss as much as possible in order to get more experience in writing grants and proposals so I can have that on my resume. I know that this will not happen overnight and I am willing and able to do the work required of me in order to pursue my dream. I love the field of Marketing and PR, but I feel that going into Grant or Proposal Writing will be a rewarding career for me.
What tips and advice do any of you have for me in order to pursue my career in this field? Do you think I'm on the right path in terms of gaining experience?
If there's a non-profit you're fond of, see if you can volunteer to research and write a grant for them. Better still would be an organization that doesn't have their own development person.
If there's a non-profit you're fond of, see if you can volunteer to research and write a grant for them. Better still would be an organization that doesn't have their own development person.
Thanks. I definitely want to do that in the future, but I want to try and build my experience within my organization first before I render my services. We do have a grant-writing/development office at the college I work at, but if we write the RFP's ourselves, they do most of the editing.
Your plan sounds like a good one. Grant writing positions generally look for experience. I second the idea of volunteering, you could also ask to spend some time with the grant writing department of the college you work with. Grants are generally worded differently than RFP's and have a different legal structure.
A community college or local school might have a certificate course, or just a plain how-to course, on such specific writing. If you're already working somewhere where that skill is needed, it seems ideal to learn how anywhere you can, and just slip into doing it at your job. Offhand, I do think that people who write grants, etc., tend to be people who are already in the organization, at least that's what I've seen in my area where several friends work in media/non-profits, and grant proposals are a part of their jobs in development (not the only job). Best wishes.
You've gotten some good advice here. But you REALLY need to take advantage of your current environment.
I suggest you ask your director of Corporate and Foundations Relations, or Chief Grant Writer, if you can buy them lunch and pick their brain about their area of expertise. Explain you are "considering" it as a career. Be prepared to stay on schedule, have your questions ready, do some research first. And more than anything, let them talk! Ask how they got into it. What they look for in a grant writer, what they'd do in your position to gain experience, ask if you can help them during their crunch times by proofreading - another set of eyes is always needed!
As for your boss, you need to ask to meet with him, give him a two sentence explanation so he can be prepared. Make your intentions clear, ask his advice, ask him how he might help you. Explain you are willing to take on extra work of this kind to gain experience and assist him, and truly do try to take some weight off him, don't just say it. Any federal experience will pay dividends in the future, so working on RFP's with him would be beneficial.
Familiarize yourself with the Foundation Center in NY...they are an excellent resource. They have free areas of their website for foundation research. And then areas that are for paying members.
Sign up for trade pubs - Philathropy Journal, Philanthropy Journal and search for local non profit centers for resource and events. You need to focus on basic homework as noted above, then networking, and education and then experience.
What many do here is hire on as a grant writer with their salary dependent on the amount of grant money generated. Most of those folks then transfer into a civil service job with the County government at the first opportunity.
Join the Association for Fundraising Professionals, and find the local chapter. It's a great resource for learning and networking.
Learn to write persuasively, study case statements, and brush up on your composition, grammar and spelling skills.
Quote:
Originally Posted by North Beach Person
What many do here is hire on as a grant writer with their salary dependent on the amount of grant money generated.
That is forbidden under AFP ethics;not to mention it's unfair to the writer, who has no control over poorly run programs, soft budgets, or other flaws that would cause a foundation to reject a proposal. Proposal writers must be paid a salary, or a set fee.
Join the Association for Fundraising Professionals, and find the local chapter. It's a great resource for learning and networking.
Learn to write persuasively, study case statements, and brush up on your composition, grammar and spelling skills.
That is forbidden under AFP ethics;not to mention it's unfair to the writer, who has no control over poorly run programs, soft budgets, or other flaws that would cause a foundation to reject a proposal. Proposal writers must be paid a salary, or a set fee.
It may be considered unethical for foundation based grants but that's the standard procedure used by County governments in the State of MD for federal grantsmanship.
Ohiogirl is right in that AFP asks members to abide by their code of ethics. Which I personally feel that any fundraiser should want to do.
However, the fact is, that many organizations still do pay based on grants awarded. Personally, I'd want no part of an arrangement like this.
For the OP, I think this link (below) might help them understand why AFP feels as they do. One thing to bear in mind is that when you apply for a grant, you include financial info regarding costs associated with the program in question - where the funds are needed and will go. AFP's members feel that funders would not be happy to see that a portion of the grant money goes to the writer as a "bonus". I don't know of any foundations that would expect to see this. The grant writer is generally considered a fixed cost, the cost of doing business. Their salary should be included in the admin labor costs, not as a line item associated with a particular grant.
http://www.raise-funds.com/040202forum.html (broken link)
Having said this, maybe North Beach Person didn't elaborate enough on the payment structure? Perhap's rather than a % of the awarded grant as we assume it to be, their writers receive an employee bonus? This is an indirect way of rewarding the writer and not having to include it in the grant application. I personally wouldn't have anything to do with this, but some might. APF guidelines state that you should not receive a % based on awarded grant. See # 21 http://www.afpnet.org/files/ContentD...EthicsLong.pdf
OP - you are getting a crash course
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
