A Guide to Grant Writing: How to Write and Search for Grants

By Nonprofit Quarterly | May 10, 2018

What is grant writing? Grant writing is the practice of applying for funding provided by an institution such as a government department, corporation, foundation or trust. In order to be awarded a grant, your organization must write and submit a proposal to be eligible for receiving funding. A grant proposal typically will request funding in order to support activities and programs that are consistent with a nonprofit organization’s mission. According to Wikipedia, the key parts of the grant proposal process include:

Analyzing the intended audience for the proposal
Analyzing the purpose of the proposal
Gathering information about the subject of the proposal
Choosing the appropriate type of proposal
Writing the proposal
Formatting the proposal
Revising, editing, and proofreading the proposal
Submitting the proposal

The amount of steps for a specific grant proposal can vary depending on the timeline the foundation or funder has given. Grantmakers are usually looking for a specific cause or subject to fund, such as diversity and inclusion, so always make sure to thoroughly read what the grantmaker is interested in (and that it’s relevant to your organization’s mission) before applying for a grant simply because it’s a large sum of money. To read more on grants and how to write a grant proposal, please fill out the form below to get exclusive access to one of NPQ’s most popular articles on these topics, The Basics of Grant and Prospect Research:

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Grants can be challenging to find and even more difficult to acquire.