Grant Writer
You’ve heard all about the millions of dollars available for grants from federal and state governments. This is a big-money industry, and sometimes the projects at stake are huge. Organizations, individuals and municipalities may not have the ability to handle writing grants in-house, so they pay good money to people who are able to write well, follow directions, meet deadlines and attain the money they need.
Anyone with sharp writing skills and some professional training to back it up (a college degree in anything related to writing will be a bonus, but just taking a class or two from the community college on grammar and mechanics will help improve your writing) will be able to charge anywhere from $20 to $75 per hour for time spent writing grants on behalf of others. The more success you can claim, the more you will be able to charge. Some grant writers also charge a percentage of the grant itself if they submit a successful grant application. This gives you the added drive to write a winning grant because it means more money in your pocket.
Grant writers will need to be able to research well, both about grants available and about the organization seeking the grant. The more you know about the organization and the cause they are promoting, the more grants may apply to them. You may find an investment in some grant-finding software is helpful in this research. Or you may find that your librarian is excellent at uncovering hidden grants from the government as well as private foundations.
Grants often have complex requirements for submission. You will need to follow these requirements to the letter because they are looking for easy ways to remove applicants from the pile in their efforts to select final grant winners. You do not want to be eliminated for a simple mistake in your submission process. You’ll need a computer (which we assume you have if you are reading this blog) with word processing software, plus some books to get you started in grant writing. Total initial investment may be anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on the classes you may opt to take in preparation.
These resources may be helpful:
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