What is a Grant Writer?

Grant Writer Jobs and Resources

Oct 27, 2009 Melanie Zoltan

Individuals, businesses, and organizations offer grant writer jobs to gain funding. A good grant writer can command high rates and help launch new businesses and groups.

In the world of professional writers, there are journalists, novelists, poets, business writers, and...the grant writer. Yes, grant writing is a profession in and of itself, and it is big business. The average grant specialist can make anywhere from $40 to $100 an hour and sometimes more – and their skills are very much in demand. Grant writers, at their best, convince committees to invest in their proposal, so their writing and persuasive skills must be top notch.

What Does a Grant Writer Do?

Many people, organizations, businesses, and non-profit organizations are looking for grants. Proposal and application guidelines can be a barrier to success if individuals and organizations don’t know the proper way to answer. This is where grant writers come in. These specialists are paid, either a flat fee, hourly rate, or percentage of the award, to write the proposal professionally to increase chances of award success.

A good grant writer:

• Learns the concerns and priorities of the funding organization.
• Follows each individual grant’s procedures for the proposal and application.
• Studies past proposals to better learn what the funder is looking for in an application and how it will be evaluated.
• Keeps the proposal clear and accurate so any one who reads it can understand objectives and long term goals.
• Is very specific about what the money is needed for and what it will achieve.
• Uses all the resources possible to get the funding needed.

Where are the Grant Writer Jobs?

There are many different places for people to find grant writer jobs and contracts for crafting proposals. As a matter of fact, good grant writers are in demand and can find endless work if they have the skills to get awards and a résumé to prove it. There are many places on the internet to find such work. The Grant Writers Directory lists many different specialists, their specialized fields, their résumés, and how to contact them. When someone needs a grant writer they go to these directories and find the person who best fits their needs.

Grant writer jobs can also be found at websites like Jobs.com. This website offers postings from people, organizations and businesses that are looking for the services of a grant writer.

How to Become a Grant Writer

Individuals interested in becoming a grant writer can take training and certification classes in the field. Grant Experts offers classes and training to become certified.

At first, with no credentials on a résumé except for certification, prospective funding specialists will need to accept commission-based grant writing jobs, which pay a percentage of the award once the award has been approved and given to the funding recipient. Once a grant writer has two or three successful awards under their belt, an hourly fee for application and proposal development is typical.

Grant Writer Benefits

Grant writers can launch funding opportunities for a business, person, organization, non-profit agency, or anyone looking for funding. Someone looking to become a grant writer can get certified, build a résumé, and in the long run make great money in a rewarding career. Grant writing jobs can be profitable for both the proposal developer and the funding recipient, which is the end goal for both parties.

The copyright of the article What is a Grant Writer? in Career Advice is owned by Melanie Zoltan. Permission to republish What is a Grant Writer? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

A Good Grant Writer Can Bring in Good Money

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