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Grantwriter/Consultant

Grantwriters and grantwriting consultants have a very important role in helping business and agencies obtain funding needed to run various programs and provide opportunities within the community. Most grantwriters and grantwriting consultants work for non-profit agencies that provide human services within the community such as homeless shelters, victim services, after school care for working families or run free clinics. The grantwriter works with the agency to write a proposal that will appeal to funding sources and will allow them to understand how the money they provide will be used within the community.

A grantwriter does more than just complete the paperwork to obtain the grant. He or she meets with the client seeking the grant and strives to understand their goals in obtaining the grant. They complete research on the various aspects of services the grant would enable in the community as well as outline the current structure and management of the client. The grantwriter may also research similar grants that the funding source may be authorizing to avoid duplication. Research is a key component to successful grant writing and the grantwriter will often present letters of interest to various funding sources to see which funder is most interested in providing the grant.

Grantwriters use a variety of computer programs including word processors, information from financial programs, spreadsheets and databases as well as emails and fax. Excellent writing skills as well as business and financial management are essential in presenting a logical and complete grant application to the funding source. Grantwriters will confer and meet with the client several times during the process and will make revisions based on client feedback. The grantwriter may also make suggestions to the client based on the research as to which options for the grant are most acceptable and of interest to the various funding sources.

Common work activities include:

• Meeting with clients to obtain information on the type of grant that they are seeking.
• Writing letters of inquiry to the various applicable funding sources to determine if they have an interest in providing a grant for the project.
• Researching and gathering data to support the request for the grant based on the community or population the grant is designed to assist.
• Preparing the grant, meeting with the client and revising any aspects of the grant as required.
• Meeting and networking with funding sources, government agencies and other large corporations to ensure that these sources are aware of the various clients that are represented.
• Marketing individual services as a grantwriter or grantwriting consultant and constantly increasing the customer base for the service or company.

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