CONTACT US
(855) 520-6806
CONTACT US
(855) 520-6806
Course Code: gw1
In the first lessons, you'll cover the basics of grant writing services, as well as tips for getting into the grant writing field and for finding funders. Then, the lesson will walk you through the information you need to gather and organize, and show you how to use the Research Information Sheet (RIS) to keep your research focused and on track.
Many people are often surprised at how much research needs to go into finding a potential funder who is a good match for your program efforts! Finding funders takes a lot of time, effort, and planning, and this lesson will walk you through the information you need to gather and organize. You will gain an invaluable tool here—the Research Information Sheet (RIS)—which will help you keep your research focused and on track.
You'll look at some creative tips for networking with community members and foundation representatives to help you find contacts and support. Then, you'll learn how to make that crucial initial contact with a potential funder. You'll also meet some development team members and learn how to put a team of your own together. Finally, you'll get acquainted with your collaborative partners, and discover how to put together a successful site visit.
Now that you have a feel for what kinds of information to gather in your search for good match potential funders, you need to know how to effectively organize it. You'll begin with a big-picture overview of the grant writing process, so you'll know where your research fits in each step of the way. Then you'll get some proven techniques and tools for organizing an efficient and smooth-running development department. A grant writing campaign means submitting an ongoing calendar of proposals to a wide variety of potential funders, and an organized office is the only way to accomplish this goal!
Developing community relationships is crucial to finding support for any worthy cause. So, in this lesson, you'll look at some creative how-tos of networking with community members, VIPs, and corporate, foundation, and government representatives to help you find contacts and support in your community. Then you'll lay the groundwork for making that crucial initial contact with a potential funder. This might be a bit nerve-racking at first, but with the proper preparation, it can be extremely rewarding.
Research, relationship-building, phone contacts, organizing—does it all rest on the shoulders of one grant writer? Thankfully, the answer is no! In this lesson, you'll meet the development team members who implement the grant writing campaign and get some ideas for how to put a team of your own together. You'll also get acquainted with the collaborative partners who work side by side with you and your organization, and you'll discover how to put together a successful site visit.
It's important to know how to present yourself, your organization, and your proposed program effectively. In this lesson, you'll explore the elements of two all-important letters: the letter of inquiry and the letter of request. Most funders will want either one or both of these letters, so knowing how to write them is essential. You'll also learn how to ask for the right grant amount and how to overcome any fears you may have about asking for support.
You'd be amazed at how many organizations go about their grant writing campaigns backwards! To spare you a great amount of extra work, stress, and unnecessary discouragement, you'll walk through a vital technique: the Rollover Concept. You'll also begin a detailed exploration of the elements of a Gold Medal Proposal Package, including your organization's history and background, mission statement, goals, major accomplishments, and many other documents and materials that potential funders require.
In this lesson, you'll pick up where you left off in Lesson 8. You'll see how to write your need statement, proposed program paragraphs, measurable objectives, timeline, and evaluation plan. You'll also get a good idea of what kinds of financial documents and materials funders expect in complete proposal packages, including your organization projected income and expense budget, audited financial statement, proposed program budget and request, and future funding paragraphs.
What happens to your proposal after you apply for a grant? In this lesson, you'll discover all the hoops it goes through once it reaches the program officer's desk. If your application should be declined, you'll see how to turn that into an opportunity for future success. And if your proposal should be accepted, you'll learn about the essential thank-you letter, how to put together the final report, and how to acknowledge and provide benefits to the funders supporting your program efforts. You'll also understand how crucial it is to diversify your funding base!
This lesson will teach you about the A to Z of creating business (for-profit) and individual artist proposal packages. You'll also get some important tips and techniques for putting together proposals for government funding sources, which, as you can imagine, will be more complicated and much lengthier than proposals to foundations, corporations, or individual donors.
In the last lesson, you'll learn about the importance of presentation when it comes to your proposal package. And you'll also gain some insights into what your board of directors can do for you regarding fund raising, as well as get some ideas about how to get them motivated to do it!
Linda Vallejo has over 30 years experience as a professional grant writer and grant-writing instructor. She has written proposals for a variety of nonprofit organizations, universities, schools, and county and city agencies with interests ranging from the arts, education, environment, health and human services, and faith-based programs to community and economic development projects. Ms. Vallejo has written and received over $30 million in grant funds from foundation, corporate, government, and individual donors for her many clients. She also holds a Master of Fine Arts degree and is a practicing professional artist exhibiting her art nationally and internationally.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites to take this course.
Requirements:
Hardware Requirements:
Software Requirements:
Other:
The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.
This course speaks mainly to nonprofit organizations, schools, religious institutions, and municipalities seeking grants from foundation, corporate, government, and individual donors. It's also an excellent primer for individuals wishing to become grant writing consultants or community grant writing volunteers.
Many of this course's elements also easily translate to the for-profit field and to individual artists, which are covered in the last sections of the course. Material specifically designed for businesses and individuals is included as well. We’ll make sure you learn everything you need to know, no matter what industry you choose.
Instructor-Led: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.
Self-Paced: You can start this course at any time your schedule permits.
Instructor-Led: Once a session starts, two lessons will be released each week, for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends.
Self-Paced: You have three-month access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period.
Instructor-Led: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes 2 weeks after each lesson is released, so you’re encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
Self-Paced: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons before your three-month access.
Instructor-Led: The Final Exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the Final Exam has been released, you will have 2 weeks plus 10 days to complete the Final and finish any remaining lessons in your course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.
Self-Paced: Because this course is self-paced, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.
Organizations such as the government, corporations, foundations, or trusts may all have funding they set aside to award to certain nonprofit or for-profit entities for a particular purpose. Grant writing is the process of applying for such funding, and is a vital skill for many businesses and charities. When you take this comprehensive ed2go course, you’ll learn these essential skills and more.
Grants from federal or state government agencies are considered public funding, while grants from other sources are typically private funding. Both public and private funding have pros and cons that should be considered when you are choosing where to submit grant proposals. You’ll learn all about this in our robust grant writing course.
Many grant writers start out in another role within the organization before transitioning into a grant writing position. You can also gain experience by volunteering your time in an organization and getting to know the people involved in funding. Additionally, it’s a good idea to complete some type of professional grant writer training like this online A to Z Grant Writing course. By following these steps, you’ll better understand how to write grants and get funding for the organizations you support.
No. Grants are money that does not need to be repaid. They consist of funds or products that are gifted by grant makers, often a corporation, trust, foundation, or even government organization, to nonprofits, educational institutions, individuals, and businesses.
Yes. There are two main types of grants that you will encounter as a professional grant writer: block grants and categorical grants. Block grants are money given for broad purposes and generally have very few stipulations as to how money should be spent. Categorical grants are money given for very specific purposes and often come with several restrictions on how that money can and should be used.
There are many different places you can go to find grants for your organization. Some grants are more general and others are very specific about the types of organizations that qualify and the use of money granted. This A to Z Grant Writing course will walk you through many different ways to find grant money as well as they best ways to fill out applications to ensure that you receive it.
Many grant writers start out in another role within the organization before transitioning into a grant writing position. You can also gain experience by volunteering your time in an organization and getting to know the people involved in funding. Additionally, it’s a good idea to complete some type of professional grant writer training like this online A to Z Grant Writing course. By following these steps, you’ll better understand how to write grants and get funding for the organizations you support.
Yes. Experience in communications, budgeting, or fundraising can be valuable to you as you begin writing grants. Volunteer positions with non-profit organizations can also be valuable as you learn the inner workings of these types of organizations
I want to thank you for such an informative and convenient course! I've learned so much and have recently accepted a postion working with a local non-profit group as a grant writer. We have many programs on the burner, so my work is cut out for me. Again, thank you!
"This was one of the best courses I have ever taken. Your vast experience and attention to detail, along with your obvious passion for what you do, shows in all of the lessons. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and learning about grant writing. I plan to take more grant writing courses and possibly change careers into this field. Thank you!
"This class has been very helpful. I have greater confidence in the approach to grant writing, and to potential funders. Thank you for your time, effort, extensive information and resource material. Thanks also for showing the order for presenting all of these elements. This class was well worth my time and finances.
"I finished my final exam and I'm excited as I look back at everything I've learned in such a short time. With every lesson I experienced a renewed sense of admiration for the way you have put this course together. It is extremely informative yet simple for anyone to understand. Your examples are relevant and very helpful--along with the valuable advice and tips you offered. The organization methods with pictures (binders, file cabinet, folders) were so practical. I have learned so much from this course!!
"Each lesson amazes me at how much research and work goes into grant writing. Thank you for all your extremely well-organized training and your willingness to share your vast knowledge.
"Thank you for offering this course, and sharing your knowledge of grant writing! I found the course interesting and engaging. I will be utilizing the material provided in the course as a "grant writing reference manual"...The course is very learner-friendly...When I began this course, I felt like I had no idea where to start when approaching a grant/good match potential funder, or what the field was really about. A to Z grant writing has put a lot of those elements into perspective for me.
"Thank you so much for the wonderful information, guidance, tips and resources. This was an awesome class! The course exceeded my expectations and I feel the information you provided was extraordinary. I will be passing my lesson's learned and suggestions to my director. I am sure we will be able to implement many of the guidelines you provided to improve our methods for applying and receiving grants for our non-profit organization. Thanks so much. I really enjoyed the class.
"I have two college degrees and love workshops and other continuing education opportunities. This is my first online course. You have made a believer out of me for sure! Thank you for a well-organized, highly informative, and surprisingly personal experience.
"Thank you for putting together an awesome, educational program for fledgling grant writers...It will greatly improve the quality of our local library and will help me polish my job and networking skills...Thanks again!!!
"I couldn't help but thank you for the time-saving methods that you are teaching us. Initially, I thought that this grant writing thing would be unattainable, but you give us so much of yourself and what you have used to be successful that it makes me feel that I can do this and do it well myself. I am taking further courses and I can only hope that all of the instructors will be as transparent and helpful as you have been. Thank you!
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