It was a small office, so most projects relied on an all-hands-on-deck mentality.
My roles included fundraiser, volunteer coordinator, event planner and social media manager.
Eventually, grant writing fell into my lap, too… and now its my full-time business.
Could it be a fit for you, too?
Heres how to become a grant writer.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
Your job is to make the argument that your nonprofits work deserves funding.
It was hard work, and it still is.
Only around 1 in 10 grant applications is accepted, even at bigger nonprofits that are household names.
Its a competitive arena, and the task has its share of frustrations.
Over time, I realized there was a huge demand for qualified, successful grant writers.
Lots of nonprofits outsource the work because they dont have enough volume to justify hiring someone in house.
I took that nugget and went solo, building a grant writing business that now employs seven writers.
Its very much in demand, but the work requires some extremely specific experience.
To become a grant writer, you should first gain a significant amount of nonprofit experience.
Any nonprofit work will help you gain experience.
Take your expertise and interests and use those as ways to open doors into nonprofit employment.
From there, youll want grant-writing experience a significant amount.
There are loads of classes and books on the topic, even certifications you could pursue.
And there are generally local groups of fundraising professionals that offer conferences, training and professional development opportunities.
How Much Do Grant Writers Make?
Entry-level grant writers in smaller markets can make around $40,000 a year, according toGlassdoor.
Some grant writing jobs are short and sweet, and youll invoice for only a couple hundred bucks.
My first few years of grant writing involved lots of low-hanging fruit and low-paying gigs.
Combined with other writing projects, I earned only about $35,000.
Fast forward about a decade, and that number shot to $80,000.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
