Individuals, businesses, and organizations offer grant writer jobs to gain funding. A good grant writer can command high rates and help launch new businesses and groups.
In the world of professional writers, there are journalists, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, poets, business writers, and…the grant writer. Yes, grant writing is a profession in and of itself, and it is big business.
The average grant writer can make anywhere from $40 to $100 an hour and sometimes more- and their skills are very much in demand. A grant writer, at their best, convinces grant committees to invest in their proposal, so their writing and persuasive skills must be top notch.
What Does a Grant Writer Do?
Many people, organizations, businesses, and non-profit organizations are looking for grants. Once you find the grants you need, the proposal and application guidelines can be a barrier to success if you don’t know the proper way to write them.
This is where grant writers come in handy. Grant writers are paid, either a flat fee, hourly rate, or percentage of the award, to write the proposal professionally to increase your chances of getting the money you are looking for.
A good grant writer:
- Learns the concerns and priorities of the funding organization.
- Follows each individual grant’s procedures for the proposal and application
- Studies past grantees’ proposals to better learn what the funder is looking for in a proposal and how they evaluate.
- Keeps the proposal clear and accurate so any one who reads it can understand objectives and long term goals.
- Is very specific about what the money is needed for and what it will achieve.
- Uses all the resources possible to get the funding needed.
Where Are the Grant Writer Jobs?
There are many different places for people to find grant writer jobs and contracts for writing proposals. As a matter of fact, good grant writers are in demand and can find endless grant writer jobs if they have the skills to get awards and a résumé to prove it.
There are many places on the internet to find grant writing jobs. The Grant Writers Directory lists many different grant writers, their specialized fields, their résumé, and how to contact them. When someone needs a grant writer they go to these directories and find the one that best fits their needs. If a grant writer does not want to wait for someone to find them, they can actively search for grant writer jobs at websites like Jobs.com.
This website offers grant writer job seekers a place to find postings from people, organizations, businesses, and non-profits that are looking for the services of a grant writer.
How Do You Become a Grant Writer?
If you have experience with writing and receiving funding, then you could be a grant writer and make great money doing it.
However, if you are interested in becoming a grant writer, but have no real experience with writing proposals there are training and certification classes available. You can take classes and get the training you need to become a certified grant writer. Then all you have to do is find the grant writing jobs and begin working.
At first, with no credentials on your résumé except for certification, you will need to accept commission-based grant writing jobs, which pay you a percentage of the award once the award has been approved and given to the entity you do the work for.
After you have some funded grants on your résumé you can begin applying for grant writing jobs that pay you hourly or a flat fee regardless of whether the client receives the grant.
Grant Writer Benefits
Grant writers can launch funding opportunities for a business, person, organization, non-profit agency, or anyone looking for funding. Someone looking to become a grant writer can get certified, build a résumé, and in the long run make great money in a rewarding career.
Grant writing jobs can be profitable for both the writer and the funding recipient, which is the end goal for both parties.
