Nonprofit Jobs: Grant Writing

There are plenty of nonprofit jobs out there, all of which fill the many skills and trades you study.  One of the more popular skills needed at today's nonprofits, however, is grant writing.  Grant proposals are used to get funding for various projects that a nonprofit will undertake, so it is important that a grant writer not only has a good sense of numbers, but is also a skilled communicator.  If you can't convince the person reading the proposal that the project is worthwhile, you are likely to have your project rejected, no matter how eloquent your writing is.  Here is a basic outline of what your grant proposal should look like, from The Foundation Center:

1.  "Executive Summary"-A blanket statement of the case you are trying to make, and an overall summary of your proposal.  This should be no more than one page.
2.  "Statement of Need"-Why the project in question is needed. This should be no more than two pages.

3.  "Project Description"-Explain how the project is going to be implemented and evaluated by your team.  No more than three pages.

4.  "Budget"-The financial description of your project.  Also include notes to explain the details of the money involved.  No more than one page.

5.  "Organization Information"-History of and the governing structure of your nonprofit.  This includes it's main goals, audiences, and services.  No more than one page.

6.  "Conclusion"-Final summary of the grant proposals main points.  No more than two paragraphs.

Now that you have the basic outline down, you now have the basic idea of how to write a grant proposal.  But as much as this job is in demand, you should make sure you have the necessary skills to do it.  If you don't, but are interested in pursuing a nonprofit career in grant writing, I would recommend checking in with local colleges and universities to see if they offer any grant writing courses.  Otherwise, see if you can get in touch with any grant writers in your area to see if they can give you any advice.