grant writing for dummies

I’ve talked about grant writing for nonprofits – grant writing tips, where to research and find grants, and more. But when should you consider hiring a professional grant writer (versus DIY your grants?!). #nonprofits #grants #grantwriting WRITEANGLE:https://www.writeangle.net/// WHAT TO WATCH NEXT Grant Writing for Nonprofits: 7 MUST Haves Before You Starthttps://youtu.be/jATPSO5If7oNonprofit Grant Applications: Each Section Explained!https://youtu.be/hTeY_NfZyrcNonprofit Fundraising: 7 Traits of Top Fundraising Campaignshttps://youtu.be/xGxy0byoY0E// CHAPTERS00:00 Welcome!01:45 Introductions05:55 What professional grant writers do14:42 When should you hire a grant writer?22:19 What do you need before hiring a grant writer?29:48 What are realistic expectations of getting grants?37:10 If you want to contact WriteAngle// MORE ABOUT ME Hi! I’m Amber, a nonprofit founder, Executive Director, and public speaker on social impact, changemaking, nonprofits, leadership, and more. Join my newsletter to receive updates and resources for changemakers and nonprofit leaders: https://tinyurl.com/nonprofitsandchangemakers FOUNDER TO FULL-TIME ACADEMY: Want some training and guidance on starting a nonprofit (and potentially even working for that nonprofit full-time someday?)? Check out my online training courses at my Nonprofit Founder to Full-Time Academy! http://foundertofulltime.com/ Want me to come speak at your business, college, or event? Check out my site: https://ambermelaniesmith.com/ On Facebook? Talk to me and other change makers about social change, nonprofits, social enterprise, leadership and more in my Facebook group, Change the World or Bust: https://www.facebook.com/groups/changetheworldorbust/ I’m also on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ambermelsmith

📢 Tired of struggling to secure funding for your nonprofit organization? 🤔 We dive into the inspiring journey of Abigail Cool, an Executive Director who shares her journey of combining grant writing with her passion for helping others, and how it has transformed her organization’s impact. 💪 Executive Director’s wear a lot of hats. Interested in how you can find more balance in your role as an Executive Director? Check out this video on less chaos days: 👉 https://youtu.be/PU9hATSFnZwAbbigail Cool didn’t take the traditional path. She cared for her children, focused on family, and headed back to get her degree in 2022. After graduating, she felt called to give back. She landed her dream job as the Executive Director of a Women’s Respite Care Center after dabbling in grant writing with the Global Grant Writers Collective. Abbigail talks about the challenges of getting an organization “grant ready,” and how it’s not just about writing grants, but also about building relationships. You need to position your organization for success. 🤝 Finding her footing as an Executive Director for the first time, she shares the importance of surrounding yourself with supportive individuals to grow and learn. She now has the confidence to know her role and think creatively when securing funding. 💪 Abbigail also discusses the impact of grant funding on her organization, including the expansion of their services and the ability to help more women in need. 🌟 Abbigail has a unique perspective on grant funding being in the Executive Director position. She shares her top secrets to managing her responsibilities and securing funding:1️⃣ Start by educating yourself and building your tool belt of skills. 📚 2️⃣ Surround yourself with a supportive network of people who believe in you. 🤗 3️⃣ Focus on building relationships and positioning your organization for success. 🏢 4️⃣ Stay confident in your abilities and never stop learning. 💡 Interested in the secret sauce of getting more grant funding? Here is a free training on how to win more grants while writing less: 👉https://www.learngrantwriting.org/nonprofit-grant-writer/ 💥00:00 Intro03:47 Small organization transitions becoming an Executive Director08:39 Building relationships, and networking for success10:23 How to jump into a new role, transition careers12:30 It’s all about who you hang with15:59 Advocating for others18:45 Using past experiences to help others18:53 The Global Grant Writers Collective as empowerment19:56 Support and resources20:20 Rapid fire “get to know you” questions23:43 The collaboration and community effort needed to achieve the dream

Meet Maria Beotegui a grant writing unicorn who didn’t want to sacrifice her wellness and ♥️ her family’s quality of life for a paycheck. Maria left a well paying career with the federal government because she was burned out. A year later she reflects on motherhood, intentional work, and meeting financial barriers from a practical approach. 🌟Burned out from your career? Want to know if grant writing is a good fit for you? Take our career fit quiz here: ➡️ https://www.learngrantwriting.org/successful-grant-writer-quiz/Maria’s first love was connecting children to themselves through nature discovery and inquiry. She worked as an environmental educator for county parks, non-profits and the National Park Service. She worked tirelessly, nurturing partnerships, leveraging resources and managing grants. With dwindling budgets she was pushed to be more and more creative to meet not only program goals, but also the goals of numerous initiatives. Maria experienced first hand how chasing grants and bending to fit grant requirements lead to burnout. 😩 She left her career with the federal government to focus on her family and her own wellness during the pandemic. In that time, she went back to the drawing board to determine how she could put her professional skills to good use. After a lightbulb, “candy bar” conversation, she realized her expert project management, creative problem solving and thoughtful writing skills could serve the greater good, as a grant writer. 👏 Maria shares how she’s taking the journey one day at a time focusing on work that lights her up and supports her family. ⭐ She speaks on the practical approach of “backing in” to the financial needs of her family to set realistic goals with her consulting business (Lantern Strategy). 💡 She now measures success through connection and wellness instead of financial gain. Want to explore a career in grant writing? Start with a training on how to create recession-proof opportunities without prior experience. Training here: ➡️ https://www.learngrantwriting.org/become-a-paid-grant-writer/Timestamp:02:00 What did success look like when you joined and how it’s changed.04:45 Aligning with your work goals with your financial goals and intentional visual reminders07:26 How to meet financial examples with consistent action10:50 How to come through challenges with eased, picking yourself up from the bumps13:16 Most proud of being able to not sacrifice my wellness and quality of life14:40 What has come from facing financial fears 18:20 Rapid fire get to know Maria

Did you know a group of unicorns is a blessing? The blessing has spoken. When we asked grant writing members how they wanted us to allocate resources this year, their #1 vote was for “Money Makin’ Interventions.” So let’s pull back the curtain on new tech, strategies, and curriculum updates this fall. Ready to build a life you love through the grant writing profession? Join the Collective here: https://app.learngrantwriting.org/offers/dtzLVzwQ/checkoutYou’re here to learn. And you’re here to earn. 🔸 Make $15,000 freelancing alongside your full-time job and busy home life.🔸 Experienced? Scale to pay yourself double.🔸 Don’t want to freelance? We have a path for you too.We are obsessed with your success. Tech is only one piece of the equation to get you where you want to go faster. It takes a roadmap and we’ve updated ours.We cover: 🤖 Sneak peek at our build of new AI software🦄 Unicorn chat buddy (like a search function on steroids)🧠 3 mindset strategies (curious conversations, soul care, belief upgrades)💰 Updates on what to charge and how to contract💡 NEW Earn & Learn acceleratorHave questions about the Collective? Come have digital coffee with me here: https://forms.gle/pp98iJ4zKPb4ubW48Timestamp: 00:00 Intro00:30 Technology adoption curve04:15 Can AI help our members05:00 AI Copilot demo 06:30 Finding clients with AI (thinking differently about outreach)10:32 Informational interviews, Toolkit, and contracts14:45 Courtney’s story, getting up to speed with a new client (saving 5 hours)23:13 Key takeaways from AI24:15 What to charge and how to contract (cake pricing)29:05 3 keystone activities that make your goals a forgone conclusion30:20 Unicorn chat buddy (a search function to efficiently find answers to your questions)38:49 What is the Global Grant Writers Collective41:59 Are these themes keeping you on the fence?42:50 Our juicy guarantee48:00 Belief upgrades50:56 Wins from the Collective JUST today52:16 Bonuses if you join before 11/15/2355:50 Q & A

Have you been lurking? 👀 I see you. You’ve done your homework, binged our spotlights and reviews, but you’re still on the fence thinking this won’t work for you. Sound familiar? Let’s get into the three questions you should be asking yourself if you’ve been lurking on the Collective! Ready to turn all your DIY learning from the outside into real action? Get your booty in the Collective by clicking here: 👉 https://app.learngrantwriting.org/offers/dtzLVzwQ/checkoutMy lurkers out there, you can likely relate to “Lucy’s” story. At first glance, Lucy was doing the right thing. She found a local mentor to apprentice under and was advised to volunteer to gain experience. The mentor told Lucy we were off our rockers promising you can get paid to find grants without prior experience. 🤦‍♀️ ​Just as I warn against,​ the volunteer gig was going nowhere. 18 months had passed and Lucy had only grown frustrated, without new experience and certainly no earnings.Fast forward, Lucy shows up to a group Q&A call in September, and it was déjà vu! Yep, Lucy had come to one of our group Q&A calls a YEAR AGO! Lucy had done her homework. 📚 She knew the ins and outs of the Global Grant Writers ​Collective​. Triple checked the reviews. Binged YouTube content. Showed up to live events. And yet was still on the fence. 🤺At that moment, I realized the issue…There was no other proof I could hand over that would change her beliefs that our method would work for her, because she had not yet addressed the limiting belief in herself that she could do it. We all have limiting beliefs. Yours truly included. 😉 That’s why you are supported on mindset upgrades throughout your time in the Collective, but I can’t help you from the outside. ⚠️ If YOU ARE lurking, I want you to do three things 👉 TODAY to decide if you’re all in or all out! ONE…Write down your limiting beliefs of why you think this won’t work for you. Straight up paper and pen your beliefs. ❌I don’t know what I’m doing. ❌ I can’t make $$$ doing this. ❌ I won’t find any clients. etc.) Then, write down an incrementally better belief for each. ✅ I can learn new skills. ✅ I have done hard things before. ✅ With a roadmap, I can make money doing mission-driven work.TWO…Ask yourself, who am I taking advice from? Only consider taking advice from people who are where you want to go! Seriously, the peanut gallery is opinionated. Find yourself a mentor that can actionable show you how to build a life you love because they’ve done it themselves. THREE…Calculate the cost of inaction. Lucy above, joined the Collective. In her first month, she made 💸 $3k. Yup. Multiple that by the 18 months she spent lurking and you have only a fraction of her cost of inaction. ⚡ You can’t afford to know what you don’t know. NOW…It’s time. Come out of the shadows, my friend. Let’s get this show on the road! Building a life you love takes action, not tire kicking.So are you all in or all out?For you magical unicorns all in, here’s the link to join the Collective: 👉 https://app.learngrantwriting.org/offers/dtzLVzwQ/checkoutTimestamps: 00:00 Intro00:27 Lurkers among us01:13 Meet Lucy who after 18 months of old school grant mentorship made no progress01:47 Doing your homework vs. limiting beliefs02:17 Why you believe this won’t work for you02:49 Take advice from those who are where you want to go03:24 Calculate the cost of inaction03:58 Our juicy guarantee for joining the program05:15 Get your booty in the Collective

ChatGPT became mainstream in December of last year. We immediately wondered, “Can AI help our grant writers win work faster? Deliver better work? Write more winning grants?”Through lots of failed attempts 🎢 and a serendipitous encounter, we’re pleased to report – yup, we sure can!!!Grant writers, picture this: Less grind, more brainpower for research & strategy. No more burning the midnight oil! Inspired by AI’s game-changing efficiency in various fields, we leaned into curiosity.Join us for Ready, Set, AI: New Tech For Grant Writing Unicorns and level up your skills before the year’s end.Discover how our AI-Copilot:🚀 Supercharges your deliverables🌟 Crafts your funding roadmap📞 Generates contact lists for interviews📧 Whips up killer email copyBut wait, there’s more! 😉 I (Meredith) have been on a creative rollercoaster, transforming your curriculum for even faster success. Get the scoop on the autumn updates live.EVENT DETAILS:Nov 8th – 11 am PST/ 2 pm ESTGet registered here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsfu2hrD8pHtG9XFyo43akC_ithC-4jn_a#/registrationSEATS ARE LIMITED because we have this open to members of the Collective (600+ members deep). 🌟 This is your chance to unlock the ultimate grant-winning arsenal if you join in November! 🌟🤖 6 Months FREE of our AI Co-Pilot Software!💲 Instrumentl – Best Pricing from any Partner✨ From Pen To Polished: Learn To Write Well and Say What You Mean In Grant Applications – $750 value💰 Salary Negotiation Training from Emily Liou – $400 value🧠 Victoria Song’s Mindset Workshop on 11/10 – $400 valuePlus, be part of our FIRST Earn and Learn Cohort for onboarding and accountability – 30 days to MORE success! 🚀Party starts here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsfu2hrD8pHtG9XFyo43akC_ithC-4jn_a#/registration

ChatGPT became mainstream in December of last year. We immediately wondered, “Can AI help our grant writers win work faster? Deliver better work? Write more winning grants?”Through lots of failed attempts 🎢 and a serendipitous encounter, we’re pleased to report – yup, we sure can!!!Grant writers, picture this: Less grind, more brainpower for research & strategy. No more burning the midnight oil! Inspired by AI’s game-changing efficiency in various fields, we leaned into curiosity.Join us for Ready, Set, AI: New Tech For Grant Writing Unicorns and level up your skills before the year’s end.Discover how our AI-Copilot:🚀 Supercharges your deliverables🌟 Crafts your funding roadmap📞 Generates contact lists for interviews📧 Whips up killer email copyBut wait, there’s more! 😉 I (Meredith) have been on a creative rollercoaster, transforming your curriculum for even faster success. Get the scoop on the autumn updates live.EVENT DETAILS:Nov 8th – 11 am PST/ 2 pm ESTGet registered here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsfu2hrD8pHtG9XFyo43akC_ithC-4jn_a#/registrationSEATS ARE LIMITED because we have this open to members of the Collective (600+ members deep). 🌟 This is your chance to unlock the ultimate grant-winning arsenal if you join in November! 🌟🤖 6 Months FREE of our AI Co-Pilot Software!💲 Instrumentl – Best Pricing from any Partner✨ From Pen To Polished: Learn To Write Well and Say What You Mean In Grant Applications – $750 value💰 Salary Negotiation Training from Emily Liou – $400 value🧠 Victoria Song’s Mindset Workshop on 11/10 – $400 valuePlus, be part of our FIRST Earn and Learn Cohort for onboarding and accountability – 30 days to MORE success! 🚀Party starts here: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsfu2hrD8pHtG9XFyo43akC_ithC-4jn_a#/registration

Thrown into the role of being the in-house grant writer, Anastasia Oguntade’s organization joined a grant writing cohort. Now she’s manifesting greatness and leading a team bidding to write a $16 million dollar proposal less than a year later! If your organization is looking for additional professional development training on how to build in-house grant writing capacity check out: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/group-training/Anastasia’s dream lifestyle can be summarized in one word – opportunities✨She joined a group grant writing training program. After an intensive six-week cohort, Anastasia says she had all the ingredients and can now create her recipe for success. She marks the completion of the cohort as one of her major accomplishments from the year. However, her success didn’t stop with her certificate. 🎉 Anastasia went on to win a $50k grant and a $120k grant for organizations she loves and supports in her community. The sky’s the limit for Anastasia as she looks ahead to applying for a federal grant alongside a coalition of others. This spotlight follows Anastasia’s journey from zero grant writing experience to winning funding. We touch on her current goals as an in-house grant writer and of course her superpower–falling asleep anywhere.💤 Resources and links:🔸 In-house grant writing training: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writing/🔸 Free grant writing class: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/free-grant-writing-course/Curious about the Global Grant Writers Collective and how others have experienced success? Check out this page chock-full of member reviews: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/reviews/ Or, email us at info@senworks.org with your questions!🧡 The Team at Learn Grant WritingTimestamps00:00 Intro03:00 Leveling up to President and beyond in her consulting03:34 Rapid fire questions06:56 Joining a grant writing training cohort in 202208:29 Successful training = Gaining skills to sustain and develop a secret sauce09:49 One year accomplishments: apply skills in-house, repeat clients, story-telling through grant writing11:15 Grant writing is creating opportunities12:02 Biggest surprise! People WANT to work with a grant writer (imposter syndrome)14:04 Crushing a year goal to help fund a six-figure grant! Successfully funded a $50K grant and $125k grant14:45 Big rewards in seeing grant proposals come to life 18:10 How do you continue to stay true to your values in such a busy career?21:23 Putting self & family before work

English teacher Caroline found herself without a voice, burnt out, and pushed to her physical limits in the classroom. In 2021, Caroline quit and took a leap into the unknown. Googling “jobs for burnt out educators,” she found grant writing. After five months in the Collective she made $35k in revenue and has won $5.6 million in funding to date! Curious how you could get into grant writing and build a career in it? Here is a free training on how to do that without volunteering or having prior experience: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writingCaroline likes to say she accidentally started a business. When she joined the Collective, she had her eyes on working with an organization in the bay area. She needed to level up her skills. As she gained the skills to research and write grants, she pulled in some clients along the way. She quickly met her first goal of working with a local organization as a contractor. Suddenly she was building a business. Like a dream, she was winning funding for causes she cared deeply about.Caroline started as a newbie, but she’s crushing grants and building teams not even half a year in. She’s now part of the %5 Club with the Global Grant Writers Collective as she continues to grow her consulting business to $250+. Check out more stories about how we help new grant writers build the life they love: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/reviews/🧡 The Team at Learn Grant Writing Timestamps: 00:00 Intro02:00 Transition from burnt out teacher04:00 Overcoming the fear of being without paychecks05:52 Finding grant writing as a good fit over tech industry08:47 Surpassing goals as a new grant writer11:42 Winning a competitive grant14:10 How long before you saw success as a grant writer?16:56 What it’s like to subcontract18:02 The Global Grant Writers Collective has helped me18:18 Rapid fire get to know you questions21:53 How is The Collective helping you get to the next level of hiring a virtual assistant

No joke, writing a proposal is a hunk of work. 💪 You have the project management skills to complete the marathon of writing a proposal in strides, but a hunch tells us you’re looking for ways to make the grant writing process easier. We had the same desire! ♥️​Enter Philip Deng 💡 co-founder of Grantable, an AI-powered proposal writing assistant that helps individuals write grants 5x times faster. Even if you’re hesitant about the emergence of Ai, take a hot second to think about that– 5x more free time. Buy back your time ringing a bell? 🔔We’re all about more time for the things you love!Here is a free training on how to build a flexible life with a career in grant writing: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writingWe wanted to tackle our own questions around Ai + grant writing so we teamed up with Philip Deng to ask questions about Ai in the industry. 🤖Philip brings 15 years of nonprofit sector experience, including as a founder and executive director, grants manager, and freelance grant consultant.He’s been using his genius to explore the cross section of technology and the nonprofit sector since 2020.In this fireside we get into the meat of Ai and its role in the nonprofit sector: ✨ Is Ai Going To Take My Job As A Grant Writer?✨ How Grantable Came To Be✨ How Is Grantable Better Than Chat Gpt For Grant Writers?✨ How To Learn Ai Re-Training & Prompting (Boundaries, Examples) ✨ The Workflow Of A First, Second, And Third Draft✨ The Number of Organizations Going After Grants Will Increase (the sector prioritizing equity)✨ Nonprofits As Part Of This Tech Revolution With Ai Being Human-Centered Technology​Bottom line: Ai won’t take your job. Someone using Ai will. Whether you’re pumped about it or threatened (all valid feelings!), know that you’re on the font end of this. You’re not getting left behind. Take a deep breath and lean into your curiosity, explore, tinker listen and learn from Philip as he talks about thinking forward with excitement. Pretty neat that the nonprofit sector has an unprecedented role to play in this technical revolution. You can sign up for a free Grantable account with a name and email here: https://grantable.co/?via=lgw↪️ Upgrading to the premium account? Use discount code UNICORN at checkout for two months free (equivalent of 100,000 tokens of usage).Wanting to build on Ai technology, but not confident about grant writing? Listen to Meredith’s book, “How to Write a Grant: Become a Grant Writing Unicorn” for free here: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/free-audiobookWe’d love to know your thoughts. Drop us a comment below. Feel free to DM us on Instagram as well. https://www.instagram.com/learngrantwriting/🧡 The Team at Learn Grant WritingResources: Grantable: https://grantable.co/?via=lgwThe Process Podcast: https://philipdeng.substack.com/Philip Deng’s article “Removing the AI From Artificial Intelligence”https://philipdeng.substack.com/p/removing-the-ai-from-anxiety?utm_campaign=removing-the-ai-from-anxiety&utm_medium=social_link&utm_source=missinglettr-linkedinStats: 1% Of All Applicants Take Down Half of all grants every year 93% write grants without external help 7% use external help from consultants or firms75% of organizations have a budget of $500K or lessTimestamps:00:00 Intro02:00 Who Is Philip Deng? Touching Grant Writing From All Angles02:40 Is Ai Going To Take My Job As A Grant Writer?04:14 The Number of Organizations Going After Grants Will Increase (the sector prioritizing equity)04:40 Some Real Numbers In The Industry, Potential For Growth05:37 Competitiveness Rates and Funders Adopting Changes?08:50 What Will Happen When The Grantors Start Using Ai To Gauge Authenticity (False Positives In Detectors)11:55 High-Level Overview of Grantable13:30 How GPT Is The Large Language Model From OpenAi15:01 How Is Grantable Better Than ChatGpt For Grant Writers?18:18 How To Learn Ai Re-Training & Prompting (Boundaries, Examples)20:15 How The Model Works (Analyzing, Computing, Billions Of Data Points)24:45 The Educational Side Of Using Grantable (Curiosity)29:50 Inputting Information From Clients & Privacy 32:00 Reviewing Grants?36:06 Live View Demo Account Using Real Grant Application40:16 The Workflow, The First, Second, And Third Draft44:45 Should You Bring Clients In To Collaboration47:10 Tokens (Not Crypto) Like Fuel In Your Tank or Battery, Ai Usage49:40 How To Use .PDFS in Grantable 51:07 How To Think Forward, Nonprofit Is “Business On Hard Mode” 55:00 Nonprofits As Part Of This Tech Revolution With Ai Being Human-Centered Technology56:55 ChatGPT As A Researcher (A Problem)

The million dollar question: how do you break into a new career with no prior experience and without having to go back to school accumulating debt? 🤔🗝️ The Organic Networking Framework 🗝️This methodology is a way to break into any new career and get paid better than you might feel you’re qualified for. 🤩Curious how you could get into grant writing and build a career in it? Here is a free training on how to do that without volunteering or having prior experience: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writingThe basics of the Organic Networking Framework include two key strategies:🧁 We recommend you freelance/side hustle your first $15,000 in any new career that interests you. 🧁 Then, decide your next career move: freelance full-time or land a full-time job.You can achieve this through our 5 step process: 1️⃣ Create An Outreach Contact List👉🏾 Pssst…the best part about this is that it’s an introvert friendly method for creating opportunities for yourself that are endless. 🎉🤸🏾‍♀️2️⃣ Host Informational Interviews3️⃣ Offer A Deliverable That Will Allow For A Quick Win4️⃣ Complete The Deliverable & Exceed Expectations5️⃣ Amend The Contract✨ Bonus Step 6️⃣: Repeat!Remember that amazing things can happen for you beyond your wildest dreams if you learn a methodology and pattern you can follow. 🦄Resources and links:🔸 Free training on how to build a career in grant writing: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/webinar-videos/discover-grant-writing/Curious about the Global Grant Writers Collective and how others have experienced success? Check out this page chock-full of member reviews: https://www.learngrantwriting.org/reviews/ Or, email us at info@senworks.org with your questions!🧡 The Team at Learn Grant WritingTimestamps00:00 Intro00:35 What Is The Global Grant Writers Collective?00:55 What Is The Organic Networking Framework?02:00 Step #1: Create An Outreach Contact List02:42 Step #2: Host Informational Interviews03:36 Step #3: Offer A Deliverable That Will Allow For A Quick Win04:32 Step #4: Complete The Deliverable & Exceed Expectations05:10 Step #5: Amend The Contract06:24 Bonus Step #6: Repeat07:05 Decide Your Next Career Move

Hey there! This video won’t be edited and I’m definitely not putting on makeup! 😉 I have more updates than can be shared in our community group or succinctly in an email. So…here’s a quick video for the Grant Writing Unicorns in the Collective. You can add a comment below or post in Circle. 💗