I might want to “write a grant” to get the “grant money.” This is a bit confusing but I vaguely understand it. I seems like some kind of loose usage where one word is used to describe two separate things that are related.

Then, just when I thought I was making progress, Alena (above) wrote that “Most grants want more tables, charts, graphics, flow ideas, etc, than they want written promises.” This makes me aware that I am still completely in the dark.

Is a grant something that is given and, if so, how is it that someone who wishes to receive that something also somehow “writes a grant?” How can a grant want anything and is it the gift or the request for the gift that wants?

I have a doctorate so I am usually not such a nitwit. Please, if you can, elucidate me and correct the error I must be making while trying to figure out this grant business.

Thank you kindly.

KKR

It’s absurd to me that an organization will expect a professional to take on the critical role of finding money on commission. Why would you commit something as vital as fund procurement to such a haphazard process? Without money there is no mission, no matter how “worthy” the cause.

I feel limited working the traditional 40-hours at an agency. I want to work from home doing proposals as a full-time gig. Are there any suggestions you may have regarding self-marketing and getting past the “lookie-lews”? I’m struggling to get past the “commission only” or “work on spec” mindset that seems to permeate nonprofits in my area. I’m a trained professional with a solid track record, not a volunteer.

I like E. Peevie’s recommendation to forward prospective clients to the AFP ethics statements. Still, it’s a tough sale.

Can you, or fellow proposal writers, comment on the following:

**How long did it take you to reach a break-even (I-think-I’ll-make-it-at-this) point in your venture as a proposal writer?

**How do you sell out-of-state prospects that are hesitant about not having a local writer?

**Does anyone have insights about writing RFP’s for corporate clients?

Thanks for the article, Lisa

I always tell them no thanks, and I link them to the ethics statement of the AFP (Association of Fundraising Professionals).

However: I believe some government funding sources allow applicants to build the cost of grantwriting into the budget. I have not encountered this myself, but I’ve talked to a couple of people who have written proposals with this unusual non-standard standard.

I still don’t think it’s a good idea, though–for all the reasons you mentioned.

Now I’m looking forward to the next part of this series.

Best,
Caroline Reeder
http://www.careersingrantwriting.com

I do very very little math when writing a grant – and have never created a flow chart. Basically, I let my clients know “I’m a writer, not an accountant,” and that seems to cover it. I have the client do their own budgeting, too.

In addition, I almost never meet with clients: almost all of my clients are far too distant to make that practical. We meet by phone; they review drafts. So I am absolutely a WAHM!

I think it depends largely on what kinds of grants you’re writing, and for whom. But the federal grants I’ve done (the biggies) are almost exclusively in the cultural and educational realms (with a bit of science tossed in) – and I’ve written plenty of smaller and/or foundation grants that are straight narrative.

Lisa

Also, I did an internship in grant writing, and I think another thing that writers looking to go into the field should know is that it’s MUCH more math and research than it is writing. Most grants want more tables, charts, graphics, flow ideas, etc, than they want written promises. You’re also looking at a massive amount of meetings with the client, so if you’re one of those writers who write at night and spend your day raising a family, grant writing may not be for you.

But thank you for this, I cannot tell you how many new non profs think they can pay a grant writer from grant monies. It’s ridiculous!