How To Break Into The Grant Writing Field

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Assess Yourself

If you are used to creative writing – get ready to enter a whole new field of writing. Grant Writing is challenging; It is extremely detail-oriented, analytical, factual, and technical. 

If you are a writer that generally procrastinates and fluffs up your work, grant writing is not the proper specialty for you. As grants must be written clearly and concisely. In addition to this, a grant writer must meet deadlines and work in an efficient manner to do so.

Further, grants require a lot of research and study – to create a grant proposal that includes correct information and that appeals to the grantor.

Make sure that grant writing is the right field for you before you commit to the work it will entail.

Learn about grant writing

There are many resources and classes you can take to learn about grant writing. In addition to this, there are many articles written that will help you learn more about grant writing, such as the Basic Steps Of The Grant Writing Process, 8 Success Habits of Top Grant Writers, and
How to Write A Winning LOI (Letter of Intent)

Moreover, many colleges offer a certificate program and/or classes in grant writing. There are also many books available that can provide you with essential grant writing information, such as The Only Grant Writing Book You’ll Ever Need.

Practice!

Firstly, subscribe to a grants database, such as GrantWatch. Allowing you to have the ability to view grants from all over the USA and from international countries.

Look over many grant proposal requirements and familiarize yourself with what is needed in a grant application. Remember, that grants are not only available to nonprofits, but for businesses and individuals too.

Write your first grant proposal. If you do not know of any organization or company that is willing to have you write a grant for them, it is perfectly ok to write a grant for yourself. 

Build your portfolio

To become a reliable and experienced grant writer, you must be able to show your accomplishments.

Try to find as many grant writing jobs as you can, even if you are working for free or for $10 an hour – consider these projects to be an internship job. You need the experience to take on bigger projects and to expect better payment.

In order to develop a clientele, build your network in the nonprofit community. 

You can also work for other grant writers to help them develop grant proposals for their clients. Moreover, you may learn a lot about grant writing from a professional that is experienced in this field!

Work as a professional and experienced grant writer

Once you have boosted your skills and have built your portfolio – you will be able to show your experience to potential clients. 

You can either do freelance work or work for a specific organization, as many nonprofits have a grant writer employed on their team.

Further, GrantWriterTeam can connect you with many different clients and will give you the ability to take on many grant writing projects! 

On GrantWriterTeam, you can create your own fees and be paid for your work.

Make sure to take on grant writing projects that you are passionate about – It is a great feeling to help nonprofits and for-profits see their dreams come true!

The Process of Hiring a Grant Writer on GrantWriterTeam

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Step 1: Submit a grant writer request

Submit a request for a grant writer on GrantWriterTeam. In your grant writer’s request, you will need to include your primary purpose for hiring a grant writer, your funding/dollar needs, grants you are requesting to be written, etc. Make sure to include all necessary information so that your request will give the grant writers an understanding of what your project consists of. If your request is incomplete, you may need to revise it.

There is a $50 administrative fee for the submission of your request. Once your grant writer request is complete and paid for, GrantWriterTeam will publish your request on our Grant Writing Projects list and send your request to highly skilled and experienced professional grant writers.

Step 2: Receive bids on your request

The grant writers will respond with bids for your project, with their experience, expertise, a list of awarded grants, and writing samples.

They will also include their pricing structure. Grant writing fees vary according to the grant writer’s experience and expertise and the economy of the location where the grant writer resides. Grant writers set their own hourly fees, ranging from $40 an hour and up, for research, writing, and curriculum development. 

If you request a specific grant to be written, the bid will include a flat-rate fee for that grant, so you will be able to know how much the grant writer will charge for the entirety of the grant writing work for each grant requested in your project.

Step 3: Accept a bid

After you accept a bid– the grant writer will be given your contact information and will phone or email you. 

Step 4: Prepare a contract

Together you and the grant writer will be able to set up an online contract for your project, which consists of a retainer and a series of deliverables. With the contract, before you approve, you will be able to review the grant writer’s full resume and two references.

Step 5: Approve the contract

Once the contract is submitted to you for approval, you may request changes to be made to your contract. When the contract is approved, you need to pay the agreed-upon retainer and your grant writer will then start your project. Once each deliverable is complete, your grant writer will upload the completed work – requiring payment for the deliverable, and then you will be able to view the file(s) uploaded.

Step 6: Add more work needed

Would you like to work with your grant writer after all deliverables are complete? Simply ask your grant writer to add a new deliverable. You will then have to approve the newly added deliverables because they were not approved when you originally approved the contract. The grant writer can then proceed as usual and upload a file of completed work once each deliverable is completed.

Contact us

We at GrantWriterTeam are here to help you! If you have any questions regarding your process with GrantWriterTeam, email us at Support@GrantWriterTeam.com.

Grant Writer’s Guide on How to Keep Your Clients Happy:

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Grant writing is a service, and like all services, we want the client to be satisfied and happy. This is important as it can lead to a long-term relationship with your clients and thus, they can bring in more projects and more work for you. 

Furthermore, it can alleviate much of the grant writing stress. An upset client can ruin a project. It may mean payment will not be made on time, the client may opt-out and hire a new grant writer, etc. Hence, it is crucial to ensure that your client is satisfied and happy.

Communication

Communication is key to every relationship. The same goes for a relationship between a grant writer and his/her client. When speaking to your client, make sure that you are clear and understood. You do not want the client dissatisfied with your work because he/she wanted something else to be done or did not understand the procedure.

Further, make sure to contact your client right away when a bid is accepted or when the grant seeker hires you. This presents a level of professionalism and responsibility – that you are reaching out to the client immediately. This will be much appreciated by your client.

Always respond to emails and phone calls. Do not leave your client wondering what is going on with the project; this can lead to much frustration and confusion. If you are unavailable at the time, respond to the email or call and let your client know that you are unavailable and will respond or call back in a certain time frame. 

In addition to this, update your client constantly so that your client is aware of what is going on with the project, what work is being done, what is needed, when to pay, etc.

Collect documents

Be sure to collect all documents necessary from the client. No one is happy when the client is scrambling for paperwork the date of the grantor’s deadline!

Transparency

Be transparent with all your work for your grant writer.

Create a contract with a series of deliverables (similar to GrantWriterTeam’s contract template), so that the client knows clearly what date the work will be completed. This will also help you complete the project in a timely fashion.

Moreover, make sure that each deliverable is clear as to what work will be delivered. So that the client is aware of the process and the work before signing the contract. If any confusion occurs, you can always point the client to the contract that he/she signed.

When submitting a draft to the client in your deliverable, be sure to label it as a draft – so that the client does not get upset from errors that may appear.

Professionalism

Always keep a professional decorum so that the client is ensured that they are in good hands. You need the client to trust your work and believe that you will provide excellent work to them.

Check your spelling and grammar for anything that you send to your client. You must maintain a professional persona in any of your emails, letters, and conversations with the client. If your emails have errors, the client may think that your grant writing work will have errors.

If any mistakes are made, take responsibility for it, and happily fix your errors. If the client does not like something that is written – edit it, instead of not acknowledging their request because you believe that you know better.  Many grant writers seek to create the best proposal to get the grant awarded. Since the client is paying you for your work, their requests must be completed accordingly.

Create a long-term relationship

Thank your client for working with them and let them know that you are available for any further work that may be needed in the future. If your client is happy, chances are that he/she will contact you if he/she needs grant writing services again.

GrantWriterTeam allows you to work for many different clients, and to build long-term relationships. Deliverables can always be added to a contract. We also seek to ensure that all of our grant writers and their clients are happy with the work completed and the process. We check in on our clients at times to ask how satisfied and happy they are with their grant writer’s work and process of things.

How to Optimize Your Resume as a Writer

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Introduction

Writer CVs are a peculiar thing. Usually, people try to land their dream jobs by emphasizing their achievements in their resume. Then, HR staff and recruiters read through this and decide whether or not they want to meet the candidate. With writers, it’s a bit different – your resume is, at the same time, a piece of your portfolio. You will not only be judged by your work experience and skills (as is the case in other industries) but the very writing style of your CV.

That’s why we have prepared this guide to the tricky realm of resume writing for writers. Let’s have a look at how you can craft the best possible CV!

Make it text-dominant

The usual piece of advice when it comes to CV writing is to keep it short, succinct, and visual. Many people use CV templates and diagrams to say as much as they can visually and not waste too many words. The reason for this is to grab the attention of the reader (HR manager) and stand out from other prospective candidates.

This is one of the main differences between a regular resume and that of a writer. As a writer, you should use text as a tool and a weapon, and not resort to the attraction tricks of visual elements. Being able to capture the attention of your reader using pure text says a lot about your writing abilities.

Make it readable

At the same time, text-heavy pieces need to be organized and neatly structured. Another peculiarity in this sense is that you would usually use bullet points, lists and short sentences to get your point across. In a writer CV, it’s different. You want to show that you can tackle „long stories“ without resorting to lists or similar elements.

Still, there are many tricks that you can use to achieve that. For example, you should make your paragraphs shorter and make a beginning indent in each – this makes the readability higher for the person checking your CV. You can also split different sections under different headings and give them interesting names.

Hire experts

Many writers use paper writing services to help them craft the perfect CV. It seems counter-intuitive to hire someone else to do it for you, but you can usually get clearer insights into your CV from a different perspective.

You can also use the Grant Writer service for your resume needs. Writers on this service usually craft grant proposals, so they are knowledgeable in fixed-structure work that aims to impress the reader and present the subject in the best possible light.

Flaunt your creativity

Employers who are on the lookout for writers are usually searching for someone who can think outside of the box. In other words, you need to show that you know how to view and observe things from an unusual angle and make the reader think.

A resume (or your motivational letter) is the perfect chance to take a fixed, rigid structure that’s prone to clichés and corny phrases and make it completely your own. For example, if you like using humor or cynicism, you can even make a slight parody of the CV form.

Emphasize your strengths

When you continue with the hiring process, it’s the company’s turn to impress you with amazing employee experience. However, whether you like it or not, the CV is considered your turn to impress the employer. You won’t get too far by being too shy and humble, unfortunately. No matter how you usually approach your work and your stance on bragging, it’s actually the perfect time to do so in your resume.

Think about what the employer or client could gain from having you in their writing team, that they can hardly find in other writers. When you think about this, put yourself in their shoes. If you feel like your client would prefer speed to creativity, present that you are able to write very quickly (of course, only if you really are).

Refer readers to your portfolio

With every writer job application you submit, it is always best that you add a portfolio of writing samples you are most proud of. You should also emphasize that readers of your CV can see examples of your actual writing in the samples that you have enclosed. Unfortunately, the resume itself can sometimes divert too much attention from what really matters. If you are lucky, recruiters will be looking at your work first, and then the resume. However, it’s often the other way around.

Avoid clichés and buzzwords

This is a piece of advice that can be applied to any resume, but it’s infinitely more important for the CV of a professional writer. When you add cliché phrases to your CV, it is like you are instantly demonstrating a lack of skills to express yourself in an original way. This may be acceptable in a job application for a data scientist where other skills take centre place, but it should be absolutely avoided in a writer’s resume.

The sneaky thing about clichés and buzzwords is that you can start using them without actually becoming aware of it. They can even slip under your radar after you’ve read your CV several times. That’s why it’s a good idea to run it through writing checkers like Grammarly or ProWritingAid that will underline cliché phrases. 

Conclusion

A writers’ resume is important, but you should also emphasize your portfolio and writing samples. In most cases, employers and potential clients will focus more on these than the resume itself. That said, it is still important to make sure your CV is high-quality, especially when it comes to correctness. In writer resumes, there is zero-tolerance for mistakes. 

Dorian Martin is a professional writer working with the best dissertation service for PhD students. He helps students around the world submit high-quality, innovative work on time. Dorian is especially interested in the fields of HR and psychology.

What Nonprofit Start-Ups Need Before Hiring a Grant Writer

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Many new nonprofits seek funding at the beginning of their journey. However, some grants require specifics that your nonprofit organization may not be ready for.

Many Nonprofit start-ups hire grant writers without the proper funding and proper paperwork for their project. This may result in a waste of time and money. To prevent this from happening, ensure that you are actually ready to hire a grant writer. 

These are some things that nonprofits need before hiring a grant writer.

Stable Funding: Before applying for a grant, make sure that you have the proper funding to prove to the grantor that you are a worthwhile investment. Foundations do not want to grant funding to nonprofits that will fold. Many grantors require an outline of your budget in your application.

Further, grant writers do not work based on commission. Your nonprofit must have the proper funding to pay the grant writer before any award from the funding source is granted. If you tell the grant writer that you only have $200 for your project; there is not much work the grant writer can do for you. Moreover, grant writers will not agree to take on a project that only involves grant research because that is all your organization can afford.

Crowdfunding is a great way to gain funding for your organization before hiring a grant writer. YouHelp is the perfect platform in which you can create a fundraising campaign for your nonprofit start-up.

Accomplishments: When grantors view applications, they want to award the organization that most qualifies to win the grant money. You must be able to prove to the grantor that you are worthy of receiving the funding. In order to do so, make sure that you have made some accomplishments that you can put in your grant proposal.

Clear Direction: If you are unclear as to what your organization stands for or specializes in, you are not ready to hire a grant writer. You need to have a plan as to what your organization programs are/will be, what you stand for, what you need the funding for, etc. Grant writers expect to receive clear information from you. Without the proper direction and organization, the grant research and/or grant writing process can become a difficult maze.

Moreover, to apply for a grant, you need to be clear in your direction. Your grant proposal must be concise and understandable. If you don’t know the details of your own nonprofit, how will your grant writer prepare the grant proposal for you? Grantors award their funds to organizations that have a clear plan and goal. As said before, they want to make sure you are a worthwhile investment.

So before hiring a grant writer, make sure to have a clear, focused, and organized plan for your nonprofit organization.

Paperwork: Grants are extremely detailed oriented and require a lot of planning. The funding source may require some legal and financial paperwork (IRS 501C3, tax return, etc.) to authenticate that you are a liable organization and meet their qualifications. It is frustrating for a grant writer to constantly ask for details and paperwork that are needed for the grant. This is time-consuming and will cost you a lot of money.

Look at examples of grant applications, so that you can see what information you need so that it is available for the grant writer immediately. 

Make sure you have all information ready before you hire a grant writer. So that your grant writer will have to work fewer hours on your project and the process will be smooth and quick.

When you are ready to hire a grant writer

When you have stable funding, some accomplishments, a clear direction, and have collected the necessary paperwork for your project; you may hire a grant writer. GrantWriterTeam has many experienced grant writers that can take on your project today!

Why Your Grant Proposal May Have Been Denied and What To Do About It

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Denied Grant Proposal

A denial letter from a grantor can be very discouraging, yet it is a common occurrence. When applying for a grant, there are always high hopes for an award. Although, many times the results are not what is wished for. 

When applying for any grant, you must know that an award is never guaranteed!

Rejection is one more step towards acceptance. Just because a grant proposal was denied, does not mean that your organization/company cannot gain funding from another grantor.

There are many reasons donors deny funding:

Capacity to give: Many funding sources have a finite amount of monies they can give each cycle, and most of what is requested from organizations exceed their budget. 

Competitiveness: In addition to this, many grants are competitive, and thus there is not enough funding available for all applicants. When applying for a competitive grant, there is less of a chance that your organization will be awarded the grant.

Priorities Wanted: Grantors have specific priorities and qualifications for the organizations that they want to give their funding to. If your organization technically meets the requirements, but only “touches” upon some priorities, it is less likely to receive the awarded grant.

Quality of the proposal: The biggest and most obvious reason would be the quality of the proposal. Grantors want to ensure that they are giving their funds to organizations that are worthy of it. If an organization fails to abide by the guidelines given (font, page limits, margin,etc.), an automatic red flag is presented. Furthermore, if the grant proposal was not well written, and presents a weak program design, grantors will most probably deny the application. Grant proposals must be clear, concise, and compelling. 

What to do if your grant proposal is denied

Get feedback from the grantor

Knowing the reason behind your denial letter will only improve your chances of being awarded a grant in the future. If your grant proposal was rejected by a grantor, make sure to send them a thank you letter for allowing you to have the opportunity to apply for their grant.

Moreover, contact the program officer and ask why your proposal was denied and for feedback on how you can improve your grant proposal for the future.

Apply for more grants

Accept all feedback and edit your grant proposal accordingly. There are many other grants accepting applications. GrantWatch is a great platform in which you can search for grants that are applicable to your organization’s needs.

As grants are never a guarantee, make sure to apply for several grants, so that if one funding source denies your award, you have the chance of receiving funding from another grantor.

Hire a grant writer

Grant writing is a tedious process, so you may choose to hire a grant writer for future grants. GrantWriterTeam is a great platform to hire a grant writer for your organization. Grant writers are experienced in what they do and they can greatly increase your chances of being awarded the grant. Grant writers can research grants that you qualify for and have a good chance of being awarded. They also have the writing skills to create a high-quality application.

Save the grant proposal written and hand it to your grant writer, so that he/she has a base to start with to apply for new grants. 

Grant Writing For Small Businesses

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Most people associate grants with nonprofit organizations, as they do not generate their own revenue. While this is correct, there is a whole world out there of grants for small businesses.

Although for-profits generate their own revenue, many businesses fail to generate enough income to cover all their necessary costs. Entrepreneurs need a constant flow of cash to keep things running in their business, such as payroll, rent, advertising, etc.

Especially during times of the pandemic, many small businesses have fallen through the cracks and are barely holding up. Applying for grants is a great way to gain funding to recuperate from a significant financial loss.

Fortunately, there are many grants available for small businesses. GrantWatch is a platform that has many available grants for nonprofits, individuals, and businesses.

Finding grants may be easy with GrantWatch, but applying for them can be challenging. To be awarded the grant, your application must be well written and detailed oriented. If this is outside your skillset, then consider employing the skills of a grant writer on GrantWriterTeam. Their expertise will increase your chances of acquiring the funding you need for your small business.

What does it take to write a winning grant for a small business?

Below are some tips that will guide you through your grant writing experience, and help you secure the proper funding for your business!

Check the Requirements of the Grant

Grants have specific guidelines as to how they want their applications to look. Look through the requirements thoroughly, as a small mistake can prevent you from winning the grant.

If the funding source requires double spacing and 12’ Arial font, make sure to align with these guidelines. In addition to this, if a grant is requiring the promotion of medical research, make sure to highlight your company’s accomplishments and activities in this area.

Structure Your Grant Proposal Correctly

Ideally, you should follow the exact guidelines of the grant, but at the very least, these elements should be included in your grant proposal.

  • Cover letter 
  • Executive summary 
  • Statement of need/Problem statement 
  • Project Description 
  • Goals/Objectives
  • Budget Information
  • Staffing

Not all grant proposals match this template, but make sure to follow exactly what your founder requires. Remember that you are competing with many other companies that are in the same market, so you must make sure to stand out amongst them.

The Executive Summary Should Stand Out

The Executive Summary is the first thing the founder will be reading, so make certain that it is eye-catching so that the founder will continue to read through the rest of the proposal.

In this document, write specifics of why the grant is needed and how it will aid the grantee. Highlight your value proposition and what issues your company will address.

Make sure to write precisely directed toward the grant, and not to speak in generalities. The founder wants to know why you are the perfect company for their specific needs.

Convey a Professional Image

Your grant proposal must be written professionally and concisely. Each sentence must have meaning and must be essential to the grant proposal.

Write clearly and use industry-specific language, so that your grant proposal is well understood by the founder. A grant proposal that is too long and too complex will leave the readers uninterested in your proposal.

Grammar and spelling are extremely essential. One misspelled word can affect your chances of being awarded the grant. Using an app like Grammarly can be a great way to check your proposal for any revisions that are necessary.

Make sure to proofread your writing and have others on your team read through it, because they may find mistakes that you haven’t found.

Hiring a Grant Writer

Grant writing may be a complex and tedious process for many businesses. That is why many companies hire grant writers to do the job for them.

GrantWriterTeam has many professional and experienced grant writers that can write the grant for you. With the grant writer’s expertise and experience, he/she can greatly increase your chances of winning the grant.

7 Mistakes Nonprofits Make When Hiring a Grant Writer

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Grant writing is a job suitable for a meticulous and skillful individual. Hiring a professional grant writer is one of the most significant investments a nonprofit organization can make. The right hire ensures that the organization never runs out of funds.

Your grant writer should capture the entire story of your organization in a concise and definite manner. They also need to have an excellent team spirit by cooperating with multiple stakeholders and working within the indicated timeframe always. Hiring a grant writer is undoubtedly no child’s play and should not be taken lightly.

It is noteworthy that grant writers not only ensure proper and continuous funding of your nonprofit. They also build secure long-lasting connections with funders for your organization.

Separating writers who had their resumes put together for them from individuals who genuinely have the copywriting skills to secure your grant can be very tricky. Any poor writing could stop your funding or even jeopardize your organization’s reputation.

Nonprofits overlook some vital information when hiring grant writers. Here are some mistakes they make:

  1. Unclear Mission and Objectives:
    The first thing to consider when hiring grant writers is your mission and objectives. The main reason nonprofits hire grant writers is to enhance their work. If your project or organization’s objectives are unclear, the writer won’t capture the project goals effectively or add details that would convince sponsors to disburse the grant.

    An organization without the right objectives or mission cannot hire the right person or position the grant writer for success. Unfortunately, some nonprofits don’t consider this. Their unclear objectives result in:

    HIRING THE WRONG WRITER – Without the right objectives, you can’t guarantee that a writer is suitable for the role. You may hire an individual for the wrong reasons or not be able to test potential hires for the specifics of the project appropriately.

    LACK OF A STRUCTURED HIRING PROCESS – Finding the right grant writer doesn’t happen immediately. However, unclear objectives could delay the hiring process. Since the project mission and goals aren’t clear, it would take longer to put the project details together. In the end, the nonprofit would have to meet deadlines or complete the project within the stipulated timeline.

    Therefore, they prioritize speed over quality because they’re under pressure to fill the role as soon as possible. They might end up skipping essential steps in the hiring process or hire the first candidate that seems without making sure that the individual can execute the job properly.

    Before hiring a grant writer, nonprofits ought to ask for updated resumes. A resume shows you if your prospect is as skillful as they claim. An outdated resume lacks a history of past feats achieved and sample grants from recent jobs that were successfully funded. You’d also need to ask for references from three clients the writer has worked with.
  2. Accepting an Outdated Resume:
    Before hiring a grant writer, nonprofits ought to ask for updated resumes. A resume shows you if your prospect is as skillful as they claim. An outdated resume lacks a history of past feats achieved and sample grants from recent jobs that were successfully funded. You’d also need to ask for references from three clients the writer has worked with. Nonprofits end up skipping this essential step by allowing outdated resumes that don’t capture the individual’s skills Nonprofits end up skipping this essential step by allowing outdated resumes that don’t capture the individual’s skills.
  3. Cutting Costs:
    Most times, the promised remuneration could determine the quality of a job. The amount of salary you budget for the job post can go a long way in choosing qualified candidates who know vital grant writing techniques.

    Specific nonprofits estimate way too low for salaries of grant writers. Therefore, they settle for just rookie grant writers who would do the job at a lesser price. This action jeopardizes the quality and success of the job.

    Some organizations try to spend the least amount of money possible on every project. In the bid to cut costs, they discard skilled and experienced consultants for less qualified individuals.

    The proposal is crucial to securing the grant. Discarding skilled individuals for less qualified writers won’t give you the chance to get the proposal that could secure the grant.
  4. Overlooking Evidence of Past Success:
    Evidence of prior success refers to the previous jobs done by the prospective grant writers and how they ensured the organization’s funding. To get this information, you need to call the three clients (references) listed in the candidate’s resume.

    Getting honest essay writing service reviews of the candidate from these previous clients might be tough because they won’t want to tamper with the individual’s chances. Therefore, ask questions about the point(s) they feel the candidate could improve on. Also, ask the candidate about their previous work experience. Any negative comment about former clients is a big no-no, you shouldn’t hire such a grant writer.

    Some nonprofits don’t want to go through this seemingly rigorous task and thus hire grant writers without getting a review from previous clients.
  5. Hiring Candidates Who Lack Team Spirit:
    Every grant writer you hire should be able to work with other stakeholders and have a good relationship with funders. One way to discover a lack of team spirit in a potential hire is to listen to what they say during the interview. Be wary of candidates who keep emphasizing how they can work alone even when you suggest putting them in a team; it’s a red flag.

    Every grant is about having a team.
    A full team of grant writers consists of a grant manager whose job is to supervise the whole group, a project monitoring and evaluating officer, a procurement officer, and a project finance officer. Additionally, there can be technical officers in charge of the e-mails and a communication officer for publicity.

    There should be synergy between everyone in the team to ensure efficiency. Nonprofits trying to save costs end up hiring a few hands consisting of loners with a low level of expertise.
  6. Lack of Consideration for Organizational Skills:
    Candidates with organizational skills should have a work plan and project development objectives. Potential hires should tell you how they can meet up with deadlines and ask how they would handle the situation if they ever missed a deadline.

    However, most nonprofits don’t put the organizational skills of candidates into consideration. Therefore, they overlook it during the hiring process. This action could lead to hiring the wrong grant writer.
  7. Hiring Candidates Who Lack Passion:
    A candidate’s personality can go a long way in letting you know how passionate they are about the job. Most nonprofits focus solely on the candidate’s experience and skills, failing to recognize that character and attitude are also important. The grant writer’s personality should match the company’s culture.

    Additionally, serious candidates who look forward to your nonprofit’s success should ask questions about your projects. It showcases their passion. Passion is often overlooked during the interview stage, leading to employing writers that are unsuitable for the job.

    You may want to conduct a personality test so you can hire the right grant writer. As an NGO, you wouldn’t want your proposal only to show facts and figures. It should relate to humanity and appeal to emotions to depict the NGO’s real culture and identity.

Conclusion

For your nonprofit organization to make headway and never run bankrupt, it’s imperative to avoid these mistakes so you’d get a grant writer whose proposal attracts funds.

9 Editing Tips That Will Make You a Better Writer

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Whether you are an amateur writer or an already established one, we suppose that you have already mastered the English language. However, being a good writer is not only about making your work understandable; it is way more complicated.

Surprisingly, outstanding writing skills are more about editing. First, you put your words on the paper. Usually, most writers do it quickly, in a creative outburst. Then they spend far more time polishing their work, adding or cutting some things out.

You can learn how to write well enough, but there are hardly any self-editing courses. More than just proofreading, good editing improves the clarity and forcefulness of your work.

Self-editing also helps you detect obvious mistakes like grammatical or spelling errors.

Submitting an article packed with errors is immensely unprofessional. Thus, make sure to always proofread the final version of your copy. There are numerous editing tips you can use to make sure your work is flawless. We have chosen some of the most efficient that will definitely improve your editing experience.

  1. Read in reverse. Instead of reading your work from the very beginning, try reading backward. This proofreading trick bypasses your brain’s tendency to fill in what it expects to see. Thus, you will be able to find mistakes you might otherwise gloss over. However, this doesn’t work with pieces of writing where the idea is perceived from phrases and word order. In this case, try reading in reverse, sentence by sentence to save coherence.
  2. Sleep on it. Writers rarely splutter their best piece of work on the first try. Drafts serve to hash your thoughts out on paper. So, after producing the first copy, it is nice to wait for a while. This way, your mind will be clear, and all false mental connections will be gone, and you will be able to edit your work with fresh eyes.
  3. Avoid elegant variations. This tip has to do with the content. The term “elegant variation” appeared thanks to usage commentator Henry Watson Fowler. It refers to the excessive use of rare or poetic synonyms for more common words. “Elegant variation” is considered to be ironic, as it usually feels overwrought. Therefore, next time you’ll want to avoid repeating, don’t try too hard. It might be engaging to a certain degree, however, really easy to overdo.
  4. Ditch Empty Filler Words: Filler words or grammar expletives tend to weaken your writing. Thus, it would be a wise decision to avoid watering down your writing with excessive wording that simply shifts the focus from the main point. Common examples of filler words include unnecessary adverbs like just or basically, and grammar constructions like it won’t, it takes, here is, etc. You will greatly benefit from training yourself to cut out such expletives in order to make your writing more straight-to-the-point.
  5. Don’t be too fancy. Some writers tend to use stuffy words that sound more complicated. But instead of getting the point across, such words are often confusing for a reader. If a reader needs to find a dictionary to read an article (of course if you are not submitting it to a scientific journal), your writing can use some improvement. The English language is considered to be one of the richest languages in terms of the expansiveness of its vocabulary. It’s better to find a simpler or more common word than jargon or fancy one – luckily you have a lot to choose from.
  6. Paragraphing is crucial. Most writers overlook the importance of paragraphing. Long and never-ending paragraphs confuse the reader and dilute your writing. To grasp any reader’s interest, try dividing your passage into small paragraphs.
    Also, bullet points help to make your content scannable: they grab the attention of the audience and make them read on. While editing, make sure that all of your paragraphs are short enough, however, remain coherent.
  7. Know your tells: You can be an experienced writer, but you can still have the tendency to build sentences in a stylistically disadvantageous way or use repetitive vocabulary. The more you edit, the more you acknowledge your tells, as well as the more merciless you are to cut them out from your draft.
    So let’s say, “allow to” combination plagues your writing, forcing you to overuse this phrase within one copy. But once you look for it during revisions, you are able to fix it.
    (Tip: If you are unable to catch it yourself, Google Doc’s search function can help you out. You’ll find any word, hence you can fix this problem.)
  8. Refine your content: If you are writing for a blog or online magazine, you will need tools to take your content to another level. Packing your piece of work with big data can be challenging unless you use some useful resources:
    OptinMonster is a robust customer acquisition and lead-generation application. It helps you generate highly effective opt-in forms. They, in turn,  guarantee your growth maximization. The service allows you to convert your leaving website visitors into followers or clients.
    Dummies have always been helpful in taking on multiplex concepts and making them simple to grasp. The service is the best at helping everyone be more knowledgeable and confident in applying what they know.
    Every writer knows that adhering to a deadline is key when it comes to professionalism. Make use of helpful services like HubSpot Free Content Calendar that set non-negotiable deadlines. And having non-negotiable deadlines on content is crucial to be consistent.
  9. Make use of big data. Even if you are developing a small blog, you can still enjoy the benefits of its resources. One of the principal search engine ranking components is backlinks. These are basically “votes” from other websites. They have a positive effect on your site’s ranking position. The more you include, the higher your site will show up in Google, Bing, and other searchers.

But not all backlinks work wonders. The most valuable ones are quality backlinks.

“A detailed and well-worked link building campaign will help you reach Top 10 in Google, Bing, Yahoo, AOL, and 500+ other search engines. A smart link building strategy can easily bring in +30,000 visitors/mo within the first 3-6 months”


– assures Ben Poitras, a Quality assurance Manager at Linksmanagement Backlink Service.

Proper backlinks can assist anyone in drawing in more organic traffic to a website, upscale, and boost earnings.

So the best tips for better writing are based on simple principles. It’s important to follow each step in the process of editing very carefully. The main idea here is to double-check everything and work with different tools that ease the process.

Basic Steps Of The Grant Writing Process

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While grant applications may differ in format, they take a similar structure regarding the information you are to provide. Regardless of the type of grant you are applying for, either for your charity organization or project collaboration, grant writing is a skill you need. You should be able to define the project and deliverables for the money sought clearly. Therefore, your grant writing process needs to be carefully prepared, planned, and packaged to succeed.

So in this guide, we’ll look at the necessary grant writing steps you’ll require to achieve a convincing and winning grant application. 

Step 1: Go through the Grant and Research a bit on Your Grantor

Once you have found a grant that aligns with your proposed project, you must take an in-depth look at the grant to understand what your grantor needs. It also allows you to get all the questions you need to provide answers for and the necessary documents you may be required to add to support your grant application. It would help if you likewise took note of all the keywords or phrases you might need to keep on referring to in your application.

Also, do a little research on others who your proposed grantors have given to in the past. It will provide you with an idea of whether or not the application is fit for your mission. And then carry out an honest inventory of your organization’s grant-readiness before you write out your application. 

Step 2: Proposal Title Page and Document Collation 

The next phase of your grant writing process is to prepare a title page for your grant application. It can also be in the form of an abstract. The purpose is to give your grantors brief but sufficient and specific details about your application at a glance. Make sure that your title page is appropriately coached. Since it is the initial impression your potential grantors will have of your brand, you should put to have a well-designed, very informative, and error-free write up.

It should carry information such as the title of your proposed project, business name, proposal objectives and outcomes, name, and tile of your company representative, legal business information, and contact. This information will quip their attention to read the proposal further and make them take you seriously. It will also help you organize your thinking on how to write the main body of your application.

Additionally, now is the time to have a checklist of all the documents required and collate them together. It is advisable to do this to avoid last-minute scampering. Documents such as a list of board members, your IRS determination letter, financial reports, a statement about the organization’s history, etc. should all be up to date. When you fail to provide a requested document, no matter how incredible your concept may be, the funder will likely dismiss your application immediately.

Step 3: Writing the Body of Your Grant Application 

Writing the body of your proposal is the most critical step, and it should contain the following parts:

  • The executive summary helps to give the grantor a brief insight of what your project is about. It should be short and straightforward, providing all the vital information. The executive summary provides the grantor with a glimpse of your proposal and what they should expect.
  • Needs Statement: is the essential aspect of your grant proposal. Therefore it needs to convince your grantor that your proposed project is crucial. Also, write on your organization’s capability in handling the project and the impact the grant money can make. Your needs statement should be detailed, so whatever information the reviewer fails to pick in your summary, they can easily find it here.
  • Goals and Objective: provides information on how you will handle the project and what you aim to accomplish at the end of the project. Thus, the goals are the projects’ overall outcomes, and the objectives are the steps that you will follow to achieve these outcomes. For instance, if you need the grant to set up an essay writing service review site like Best Writers Online. Your goals can be delivering 1000 quality essays daily, while your objectives will be the procedures you will take to write out quality essays.
  • Program Design: This is the part of your application where you give your grantor a detailed approach to your project’s objectives. It should contain information such as the step by step model approach and timelines.
  • Evaluation Section: This section shows how you are going to assess the success or failure of your project. It gives you room to explain to the grantor that their money accomplishes a purpose. Therefore, you should explicitly state your evaluation plan and the records you intend to use in the evaluation process. If you plan to use an internal or external firm for auditing the project, also state so.
  • Project’s budget: here, you will need to give details on the cost of your project. You should evaluate your budget correctly to avoid the estimation of the cost.
  • Visual Data & Social Proof Matter: Enhance your textual content with adequate visuals such as your company’s infographics and other visualized data. Getting the perfect balance between written and visual content makes your partnership professional, well-curated, and highly informative. You can also include testimonials from your clients, existing social media data, and other stakeholder data to increase your grant application’s approval.
  • Table of Content: providing a table of content makes it easy for anyone to locate paragraphs and data points in your proposal. Your table of content should be informative and straightforward. Do not include additional details that aren’t in the grant application.
  • Cover Letter: it is best practice to attach a cover letter to your grant application. It can also serve as an introduction and summary of your request, so make sure it contains information that will make your grantor look forward to reading your application.

Step 4: Review and Submit Your Proposal

Finally, once you are done with compiling everything, ensure that you crosscheck the full application and documents in case of possible errors. You can use the following checklist to review your application before submitting: 

  • Ensure that all of the questions in the grant application have all been addressed
  • Crosscheck your budget figures and justification
  • Match you written request against the grant format guidelines if any 
  • Edit and review for any typographic errors. If your application needs a paper writing service review, sites like Online Writers Rating provide such services.
  • Be mindful of the deadline.
  • Ensure that every required document is attached and according to the required number of copies 
  • Send the application in the manner requested by the grantor, either by submitting an electronic copy online or sending a hard copy. 

Extra Step: Follow Up

Your work is not complete just because you have sent out your application. You can still reach out to your grantor to engage them and convince them further. However, please don’t rush the follow-up, wait a few days before reaching out to the grantor. Also, don’t wait for the investor to reach out to you first. Truth is they might not. Additionally, you can keep the conversation going with calls, texts, and emails. Consistent and well-timed follow up will increase the odds of raising the funds you need.

Conclusion 

The grant writing process may not always be easy, but it is usually straightforward. But hopefully, with these steps and good practice, you should be able to write put successful grant applications with more ease. Bear in mind that the writing process is about selling your project as it is about convincing the grantor about your competency and capacity to use the funds and perform successfully.

Aaron Swain is a writing specialist. He is passionate about marketing and SEO. He expands and improves his skills throughout the writing process to help and inspire people.