What’s the one thing many nonprofits, libraries, university programs, business ventures, and medical and scientific research can’t live without? Grants.
Government agencies, private foundations and individuals give millions of dollars to worthy causes, special needs, artistic enrichment and community development every year. So it’s crucial to know how to compete for that money.
“Grant writing is a specialized skill welcomed by many employers these days,” said Kathy Sanders, program manager for online training at the College of Continuing and Professional Education at Kennesaw State University.
The college offers a grant-writing certificate that students can complete totally online in about five months.
“We have people working for nonprofits or [who] want to work in that sector take these courses, as well as employees for companies or educational institutions who have had grant-writing added to their job descriptions,” Sanders said. “The online format makes it convenient and flexible for everyone.”
To earn the certificate, students complete four courses: A to Z Grantwriting, Get Grants, Grant Proposal Writing Advanced and Writing Effective Grant Proposals. Each course is six weeks long and costs $149.
“Students who are just interested in learning something about grants don’t have to take all four courses. The A to Z Grantwriting course is a good introduction and [is] one of our top 10 online courses,” Sanders said.
The class teaches students how to research and develop relationships with potential funding sources, organize grant-writing campaigns and prepare proposals.
The Get Grants course focuses on the step-by-step process of developing and writing grant proposals that are professional, competitive and compelling.
The Grant Proposal Writing Advanced course gives students a fuller understanding of the criteria that foundations and other organizations use to select projects and programs to fund. The process is highly competitive.
In the last course, students learn by doing. They take the tools they learn in previous courses to assemble, write and submit grants for their own favorite organizations.
Getting grant money hinges on the quality of written proposals. It takes knowing how to research and how to write clearly and persuasively, Sanders said. Pulling information together from different departments or individuals within an organization requires good organization skills and attention to detail.
The difference between having a proposal accepted or rejected depends on knowing who and how to ask for assistance, following the rules and meeting the deadlines. From the mission statement to a financial budget, a proposal must engage the reader and show how a grant will not only make a difference, but will be used effectively to complete a worthy goal.
Because grants are a huge funding source, the demand for good grant writers is high. Some work for organizations, but those who are entrepreneurial start small businesses and contract their services to various clients. According to Salary.com, the median annual salary for a grants/proposal writer is $56,350.
To learn more about Kennesaw’s courses, call 770-499-3355 or go to http://ccpe.kennesaw.edu. To learn more about the profession, go to the American Grant Writers Association (www.agwa.us) or the Grant Professionals Association websites (www.grantprofessionals.org).
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