Five Ways to Learn How to Write Grants or Improve Your Grant Writing Skillset

If you are a grant writer looking to launch or improve your grant writing career or a nonprofit leader simply trying to keep the lights on, this post is for you.

Here are five concrete and actionable ways to increase your grant writing skillset today:

Read Books

Books are an effective and economical means of transferring knowledge from a subject matter expert directly to you. They are the next best thing to having the subject matter expert standing in your living room talking to you directly. Books are a phenomenal way to invest in yourself and enhance your career trajectory. Start with Dr. Bev Browning's Grant Writing for Dummies and go from there.

Attend Conferences

I will also mention conferences as one of the best ways to increase your grant writing skill set. Why? Conference sessions led by experts in the field bring a real-world perspective to your everyday work. Not only do conferences touch on other recommendations in this post, but conferences also:

• Introduce you to experts that you can follow up with to have more detailed conversations
• Presenters can be a future resource to tap into if you are ever in a jam
• Attending conferences also reinforce other recommendations in this article.

As a grant professional, I will always recommend attending the Grant Professional Association's annual Grant Summit. It's where I enhanced my grant writing career. In full disclosure, I currently serve as the President of the Grant Professionals Association. However, even if you had asked me this ten years ago and prior to being President, I would still have said, "go to where all the grant pros go."

Connect with Peers

Speaking of going to where all of the grant pros go, connecting with fellow grant writers and nonprofit leaders is priceless. It is difficult to get exposure and experience in every facet of grant writing- the scope is too vast. Peers can help fill the gap and be a great way to learn from others and broaden your exposure. These same peers can become your best grant writing pal, a future subcontractor, or even a future employee! The opportunities are endless.

The opportunities gained through connecting with fellow nonprofit leaders are even more vast. The direct connection to winning grants through building relationships are:

1. Partnering on projects and grant applications
2. People thinking of you and referring grant opportunities
3. Learning from each other

Find a Mentor

Mentors are game changers because they can guide you through your journey, saving time and resources. You can find a mentor through membership organizations. The Grant Professional Association has a mentoring program for its members. LinkedIn is another place to approach potential mentors. When it comes to writing grants, mentors are crucial because a lot of what you can't find in a book can be learned through mentors.

Register for Grant Writing Training

What better way to increase your grant writing skills than to register for grant writing training? Through my firm, Think and Ink Grant Consulting, I provide team-based grant writing support to large nonprofits, institutions of higher education, and municipalities. I also train emerging nonprofits to write grants through our Get.Grants.Better.® platform. Attendees leave each training with a fully written grant writing template so they can immediately write and win grants. If you are interested, learn more here.

-Shavonn

Need help? Schedule a complimentary consultation today: www.thinkandinkgrants.com.

About Shavonn V. Richardson, MBA, GPC

Shavonn is the Founder and CEO of Think and Ink Grant Consulting. As a former nonprofit leader and grantmaker, Shavonn has over 20 years of experience delivering practical, real-world advice to nonprofit leaders nationwide.  Shavonn earned the GPC (Grant Professional Certified) credential from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute in 2020 and is a Grant Professionals Association Approved Trainer. Shavonn also serves as President of the Grant Professionals Association.

Think and Ink Grant Consulting®

Think and Ink Grant Consulting® helps large nonprofit organizations with budgets of $3 million or more, institutions of higher education, and municipalities increase their grant dollars. Need help? Let's chat here.

Get.Grants.Better.®

Get.Grants.Better.® provides grant writing training and discounted services to underserved 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with budgets of less than $3 million. Adapted from our traditional client offering Think and Ink Grants® (www.thinkandinkgrants.com), Get.Grants.Better.® is designed to meet the unique needs (and budgets) of emerging nonprofit organizations. If you are an emerging nonprofit organization, sign up for our Get.Grants.Better.® Grant Writing Training and discounted services here.