How to Write a Grant Proposal – Everything You Need in One Place

Are you eager to raise grant money for your nonprofit, business, or startup? Then you have come to the right place. In this article, we’re going to go in-depth into not just how to write a grant, but how to write a grant that can win funding! 

For more than 20 years, I’ve personally written hundreds of grants and won hundreds of millions in grant dollars for nonprofit organizations and businesses. I’ve also trained hundreds of grant writers who are successfully raising money for communities in need, innovative initiatives, and overall great causes. 

If you’re a nonprofit board member, a nonprofit staffer or executive director, working at a startup (for-profit included), or otherwise new to fundraising, this article is for you. 

We’ll cover: 

• Grant Writing Basics
• My Field-Tested 6-Step Grant Writing Method 
• Top Grant Writing Tips and Common Challenges
• What to Do Before and After Submitting Your Grant

If you’re interested in grant writing as a career, check out our popular article: How to Become a Grant Writer (even if you have no experience).

Grant Writing Basics

Let’s start by defining what grant writing is, what makes grants successful, and the role of grant writers. 

What is grant writing?

Grant writing means writing proposals to request funding from grantmaking organizations in a competitive manner. Grants are awarded by various private foundations, state, federal, and international agencies. Depending on the funder, grants may be awarded to nonprofit organizations and for-profit organizations or businesses. 

Grants are a popular way to get funding for new or existing initiatives because, unlike loans, grants do not need to be paid back to the funder. This is why I’ve often heard grant writing described as: “Writing to get free money!” 

But grant writing can feel complex if you’re new to it. That’s in part because every grant funder has their own rubric, scoring, rules, etc. Private foundations and corporate foundations can be subjective in their funding decisions (however, they still have rubrics), whereas state and federal funders may have more objective rubrics in place. 

In practice, this means a GOOD grant writer needs to understand what grantmakers are looking for and how applications are being evaluated. 

Is there a formula for successful grant writing? 

Grant writing is both formulaic and an art form. It’s technical writing that needs to speak to each funder’s interests and rubric, while also connecting to their mission. Think hearts, minds, and checklists. 

There is a simple formula that forms the backbone for nearly every single grant application. (Below, I’ll show you exactly how to use this formula to write your grants.) The formula works because there are certain elements that all funders look for in grant applications that demonstrate an applicant knows what they are doing and can deliver on the programming for which they are seeking funding. 

This formulaic side is why many grant writers are leaning so heavily into AI (if you’re curious, check out our article about AI and grant writing). 

After being in the industry for so long as a grant writer, reviewer, and trainer, I predict that by 2028 (and maybe even before that), many funders will also use AI for the initial review and vetting processes when receiving grant applications. 

But technical proficiency alone does not win grant funding. 

In most cases, the success of a grant application comes down to a combination of technical proficiency and the grant writer’s ability to understand and describe the programs they are seeking funding for in a compelling way. That’s where the “art” of grant writing comes into play. 

What is the role of a grant writer? 

The role of a grant writer is two-fold: 

1) Grant writers must understand the funder (potential grantor or grantmaker), as detailed above.

2) Grant writers must understand the organization they are writing a grant for (potential grantee). 

When you are writing a grant for an organization (either as a staff member, a board member, or a contractor), before writing a word, you must know: 

• The organization’s top 1-3 funding priorities. 
• The organization’s intended impact and values that guide their approach. 
• How much money the organization needs to raise and by when. 

Knowing these three things significantly increases your chance of successfully securing grant funding. This information helps you ensure you’re pursuing the right funding opportunities, writing a narrative that is compelling and grounded in the organization’s reality (values and intended impact), and asking the right questions as you write so that you can elicit the information and nuance that will help your application stand out. 

There are, of course, limitations on the role of a grant writer. Grant writers are not magic. Too often, organizations waste time (including grant writers’ time) pursuing grants that are not a good fit–and thus are unlikely to ever be funded. 

Even if a bad-match grant IS funded, it can create risks to the organization: Applying for and winning a grant that does not align with an organization’s true vision risks mission drift and burnout. 

Mission drifting is when an organization comes up with a project just to get grant money. The project wasn’t one of their initial priorities, but they saw dollar signs and got inspired. Winning the grant funding will lead to burnout because they will still try to run their core priorities, but now be running a new fourth program and focus on that. The staff will burn out, and the mission will be diluted. 

But thoughtful grant writers can help organizations avoid this fate while also finding more ideal grant funding opportunities. 

How can I find ideal grants to apply for? 

Once you understand the three essentials about the organization you are seeking funding for, then it’s much easier to find good grant opportunities. 

There are quite a few tools to choose from to find grants and understand what funders want: 

• Premium grant databases. Paid grant databases, like Instrumentl and Candid have long sourced and organized data about funding opportunities. These tools can be incredibly helpful, but also can come with hefty fees. 
• Publicly available resources about funders. AI can now help speed up the process of reviewing funder websites, 990s, previous grants awarded, current grant applications, and more.
• Grants.gov has always been a free grant prospecting source for U.S. federal grants, but it is limited because it does not include foundation, corporate, international, business, and state grants that are outside of the federal grant platforms. 

These tools can help you FIND potential funders and grant opportunities. Once you have an initial prospect list, though, you still need to take the time to do your own research to understand the funder. 

At the bare minimum, you need to know:

1. What types of projects each grantmaker funds.
2. What geographic areas they fund (many grant makers have geographic limitations).
3. How much they fund (average grant amounts).
4. Over the last five years, how much did the funder make in grant awards per year (total dollars and number of grants). If a grantmaker is making very few grants and only to the same organizations, they are likely not a good fit unless you have a personal connection. 
5. What their current funding priorities are.
6. Eligibility guidelines and requirements, including what types of organizations are eligible to apply (501c3, 501c4, businesses, etc.) and what type of funding requests are eligible. For example, if you need to buy a boat for your community project, is that an eligible expense? 
7. When their grant cycle opens and closes (or if it’s rolling, meaning applications may be submitted at any time). 
8. How to submit a grant application (i.e., is it first a letter of inquiry, letter of concept, email, or should organizations submit a full application right away).
9. If there is a program officer Point of Contact (email, phone number, name). 

Pro Tip: Try this Grant Prospecting Strategy

If you find a good grant prospect, look at who they have funded recently for programs similar to yours. Then look up who else is funding that organization to get a quick, tailored list of good funding prospects. This is a reverse engineering style of grant prospect research we love.

What are the elements of a grant application?

The vast majority of grant applications require the same core proposal elements. This is why grant writing can be formulaic at times. 

Every grant application looks a bit different and uses slightly different language—but they are often asking for the same thing. The different questions can feel overwhelming at first, but there is a basic language of grant applications that we teach in our Grant Writer Academy. 

Your job as a grant writer is to understand what the funder is actually asking for and follow their guidelines correctly. When people in the Academy learn the code of reading grant applications, the entire grant writing process becomes easier, less stressful, and more successful. 

To help you get started now, here are the core elements that nearly every funder is looking for in their grant applications. 

NEEDS: WHY THE PROGRAM IS NEEDED

Often called the “Needs Section,” this is where you describe why the program is needed. 

Yes, you need to validate WHY your program is needed before you can secure grant funding. 

So many nonprofit organizations, businesses, and municipalities I have worked with over the years have come to me saying they have a great program or nonprofit idea.

It usually goes like this, “Holly, we have this great idea to do X and here are all the ways it’s amazing!” 

I am always the devil's advocate and ask: “Why is that important? To whom? Who will directly benefit? If this program didn’t exist, what or who would suffer, and why should people care? Is anyone else doing this already in your cause area/geographic area? What are the current gaps, and is this program really needed?”

That may sound harsh, but sometimes, within this questioning, the organization realizes that two other nonprofits are doing the exact same thing already. That doesn’t mean your idea can’t still happen, but you must work harder to justify funding. Identify what gaps still exist that you can fill, or document how demand for the service/program exceeds the supply.

GOAL: WHAT YOU WILL SOLVE 

Now that you’ve identified the problem your program will address in your needs section, it’s time to articulate what grant funding will enable the organization to accomplish. This is the goal or goals of your grant proposal. 

A good goal is a balance of ambitious and achievable, and it should match your budget and capacity. 

Think of this like the beauty pageant question, where if your answer is “World Peace,” your budget better be very, very big. Note that I don’t advise using goals as grandiose as world peace, but you do need to show a vision or North Star. 

OBJECTIVES: HOW YOU WILL SOLVE IT

Now you need to explain very directly how you will reach your goals (that North Star). It isn’t enough to say you will do it. You must show who will do what, when it will happen, and how your proposed activities are related to the goal.

This is where grant funders often ask for your activities, objectives, description of the project, a timeline, and so forth. 

OUTPUTS: WHAT GETS DONE 

This is where you need to clearly state exactly what will get done during the proposed grant period. Outputs must be tangible and measurable. For example, 10 training sessions provided, 100 books ordered, etc. In business terms, these are like the features of a product. 

OUTCOMES: THE RESULTS

Writing outcomes is where I see a lot of grant writers spin out. But outcomes are simply the answer to the question: 

What will be changed as a result of this program? What is the transformation?

If you have 10 training sessions, what is the result? I.e. an increase in self-empowerment among participants? 

I like to think of this section as the benefits of the program. 

EVALUATION: HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE RESULTS?

Evaluation is how you will measure what gets done. In other words, you did a thing, but now how do you know the thing worked? 

Evaluation plans can be one sentence in a foundation grant, all the way to multiple pages with frameworks in a federal grant.

You should also consider what information or data will be collected, stored, and shared, as you’ll need a plan for each of these. 

QUALIFICATIONS: WHY YOU? 

Often called the organizational background, this ssection is where you can show your credibility and why your organization can implement the grant program and manage the money. 

This section tends to be the most “copied and pasted” (with small tweaks) from grant to grant. 

At the core, think about showing evidence of demonstrating that: 

1) The organization can implement the project successfully. 

2) The organization can manage the grant money successfully.

This may mean showing that you have a CPA on your board who has experience managing grants, or listing similar grants your organization has won, etc. 

BUDGET: HOW MUCH? 

It’s a grant application, so of course you need to ask for money. 

Make sure that your grant budget aligns with everything you’ve written in your grant proposal narrative. If something is in the narrative and it requires funding, then it should be included in the budget.

Don’t try to get brownie points by underpricing. Funders don’t like that, as they aren’t sure if you can achieve the goal if you propose too shoestring of a budget. Vice versa, don’t inflate the budget to where the numbers don’t make sense.

Sometimes a funder also requires a budget narrative, which is just what it sounds like. Words describing the numbers. 

WHY DO YOU THINK WE SHOULD FUND THIS? 

This is where aligning with the funders priorities is SO important. For many federal grants (post-2025), you MUST align with the federal government’s priorities to get BASIC points (not just priority points). 

For foundation grants, you could write an amazing proposal, but if it doesn’t align with their priorities, you won’t get funding. 

That’s why understanding the funder is SO important. 

ANYTHING ELSE? (LETTERS OF SUPPORT, MOUS, ETC)

Sometimes a funder will request additional information: a copy of your IRS 501(c)3 document, letters of support, job descriptions, organizational charts, resumes, etc.

Make sure to read the grant application clearly to see if there are any requirements. 

6 Steps to Write a Grant Proposal: The GRANTS Framework

After writing hundreds and hundreds of grants, I’ve distilled the process into a simple, six-step process. I call it the GRANTS Framework, and it’s designed to help new and experienced grant writers craft more fundable proposals more efficiently. 

The G in the GRANTS Formula: Get the FOA/RFP

The first step in writing a grant is to find and download the Grant Instructions. This may be called the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Request for Proposal (RFP), or even just an individual funder’s grant application guidelines on their website. 

Every grant funder that is accepting grant applications publishes directions and guidance about the grant program and how you can apply for funding. The grant funder may also publish technical requirements (such as font size, margin sizes, number of pages allowed, and so forth).

To write a SUCCESSFUL grant, you must first find these grant application instructions and convert them to an editable document (such as a Word doc or Google doc). You can also use Claude, ChatGPT, or any other AI to quickly convert these instructions into a Word template for you. 

Once you’ve finished this step, you will no longer have a blank page for your grant proposal! Instead, you’ll have all the questions formatted and organized so you can ensure you’re not missing anything and more easily plan your answers. 

Pro Tip: Online Grant Application Systems

More and more foundations are putting their grant applications online, where you need to sign up for an account with your email address and progress through the form page by page in order to see all of the grant instructions and questions you must answer. 

What I like to do is put an asterisk inside each answer field in the online form so I can get through each page until the end, where I DO NOT submit but just save. This way, I can copy each question and put it into a working document that I can send back and forth to my clients so they don’t have to log into every different online application system. 

Pro Tip: What NOT to Do When Writing Grants

Whatever you do, do NOT just copy a previous grant application you wrote for another funding source and send it in to another funder. That’s a recipe for disaster and not a proven way to score high on a grant application.

The R in the GRANTS Formula: Research the Needs

Because you will need to answer the necessary question, “Why is this needed?” you will want to research the needs that your proposed program will address. 

Here are the top three elements of a successful needs section: 

1) Conduct Research and Find Citations to Demonstrate the Need for Your Program

Research, with citations, will demonstrate evidence for the need for your funding request. For example, if you have an idea to fund a project for a peer recovery program, you will want to show citations and sources about the number of people in recovery in your geographic area, what their challenges are in getting support, etc. 

You shouldn’t just write that the relapse rate is high in your city without showing evidence of where you got that information.

2) Get Specific With Your Target Population

Having a Target Population is vital in your Needs Section. You want to be very specific about who you will serve under the grant request. For example, it might not just be “people in recovery,” but instead “men in recovery in X city.”

3) Make Your Problem Statement Specific and Grounded

It’s important to ground your Needs Section with ONE main problem that the grant request will solve or address. After doing research about your target population, you probably have a lot of different ways to go. But remember, you will have limited funding depending on the ceiling of money you can request for a specific grant application. 

What is the MAIN challenge you will solve for in your grant request project?

• Problem Statement that Won’t Score Well: “In X city, there are a lot of men in recovery who relapse frequently. Peer support is what can help them stay sober.”
• Problem Statement that Will Score Well: “In X city, 2,000 men are in recovery programs. However, 90 percent state that they have no peer support and there is an 85 percent relapse rate within one year. (CITATIONS, YEAR).”

The A in the GRANTS Formula: Articulate the Goal

Now that you have your problem statement, how will your organization solve or address the problem? That is what the goal is. 

Think about flipping the problem statement to show the goal. This will demonstrate relevance for the funder since you are connecting it to the main problem.

• Grant Goal that Won’t Score Well: “We will help people in recovery with a peer support program in X city.”
• Grant Goal that Will Score Well: “X program aims to increase sobriety rates from 15 percent to 50 percent over a one-year period among 2,000 men in recovery in X city.”

The N in the GRANTS Formula: Narrow the Objectives

Now that you have a goal, you need to show how your project will reach that goal through clear objectives. Objectives need to be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

For example: 

• Grant Objective that Will NOT Score Well: “We will provide peer support for 2,000 men in X city.” 
• Grant Objective that Will Score Well: “By the end of six months, program X will train 50 peers in recovery with the SAMHSA evidence-based program so they can assist up to 2,000 men in recovery in X city.”
• Grant Objective that Will Score Well: “By the end of 12 months, the 50 trained peers in recovery will work with four men in recovery each and provide driving support, call support, and monthly small group meet-ups.”

You may have multiple objectives to meet a goal. This is normal. Objectives can also be tied to different lengths of time, as long as the time is completed within the period covered by the proposed grant funding. 

The example we have here is a one-year grant request, so my first objective is for six months, and the second one is for one year. 

Next, you will write out all tasks that need to be completed to achieve each objective. Include what the task is, the role of the person responsible for completing the task, when they will start the task, when they will complete the task, and how they will show it has been completed.

The T in the GRANTS Formula: Timetable your Activities

I recommend creating a timetable chart to make your activities easy to develop and manage. As you’ll see in this chart, I also stack the elements of the GRANTS Formula (problem statement, goal, objectives) to show the funder that our plan is concrete and relevant to our mission and their goals. 

Click here for a free timetable chart downloadable that is inside our FREE Master Grant Application. 

Problem Statement	“In X city, 2,000 men are in recovery programs. However, 90 percent state that they have no peer support, and there is an 85 percent relapse rate within one year. (CITATIONS, YEAR).”
Goal	“X program aims to increase sobriety rates from 15 percent to 50 percent over a one-year period among 2,000 men in recovery in X city.”
Objective 1	“By the end of six months, program X will train 50 peers in recovery with the SAMHSA evidence-based program so they can assist up to 2,000 men in recovery in X city.
Task	Role Responsible	Start Time	End Time	Evaluations
Hire a Program Coordinator	Executive Director	Month 1	Month 2	Contract signed
Create a Peer job announcement and distribute to community	Program Coordinator	Month 2	Month 3	Announcement published online, in newspaper, and in chat groups
Hire 50 peers	Program Coordinator	Month 4	Month 4	50 contracts signed
Train 50 peers	Program Coordinator and SAMHSA curriculum	Month 5	Month 6	Modules completed and certificates awarded

What I love so much about this timetable is that it gives anyone who is hired for the grant, or who is managing it, exact instructions on what to do and when. It also creates a checklist of what to report on to the grant funder. 

The S in the GRANTS Formula: Strategic Budget

Your grant budget must relate to the entire project, translating objectives and activities into budget line items. One of the easiest ways is to pull up your timetable and see what needs funding. 

For this example, we would need funding for:

• A percentage of time from the Executive Director
• A Program Coordinator
• Potentially a computer for the Program Coordinator to work on
• Payment for graphics or printing of job announcements
• Stipends or pay for 50 Peers
• The curriculum for 50 Peers (if it’s not free)

When you build it this way, the budget makes sense. This also eliminates guessing about how much money you need or what you need.

Common Challenges when Writing Grants (and how to avoid them)

After reviewing hundreds of grants inside our Freelance Grant Writer Academy, and reviewing 100+ grants as a federal grant reviewer, here are the most common challenges that can prevent grants from getting funded. 

Not Using Citations to Support Need or Strategy 

I can't tell you how many grant applications I have reviewed that do not use citations! Many (mostly federal) funding sources require you to cite sources in your grant proposal. A lot of foundation grants do not stipulate this, but that does not mean they do not want citations included. 

For example, if you are showcasing the needs for a community garden project, then include quotes, references, testimonials, statistics, and reports that identify the need for the project. Make sure that you include the citations from where you found these sources. For example: 

“According to the Nutritious Study Report (2022), sixty-eight percent of children under the age of ten in Gray County suffer from malnourishment.” Insert a footnote or attach a bibliography that includes the full citation.

Pro Grant Writing Tip 

If you are using AI for grant research, be sure to double-check all sources and make sure the source or data is not a hallucination. Perplexity AI shines when it comes to proven research with citations. 

Not Using Specific Language in Your Grant Proposal

I see words like “lack” and “need for” utilized a lot in grant applications, and the issue is that they are not specific. Grant writing is a technical language and requires specificity.

The following examples would not be specific enough:

• “There is a lack of community gardens in Grey County.”
• “There is a need for community gardens in Grey County.”

The following example is specific:

• “Currently, Grey County has one community garden. However, the existing community garden has a continual wait list and cannot serve the high demand for garden plots (Interview, 2022).”

When describing your grant funding need, focus on facts over flowery language. 

Emotional rambling, with no citations or specific language, will make grant reviewers pull out their hair. More importantly, they will not be able to give you the scores you need to get to the top of the funding list. 

If you DO want to show emotion or tug on the heartstrings, then tell a real-life, specific story of an individual who needs your program, who would be helped by your program, or who has been helped by your program. 

Grant Writing Tips: It’s Not Just a Proposal, It’s a Process 

Writing a grant is NOT a solitary activity (though sometimes it may feel like it). Winning a grant requires pre-writing and post-submission work to ensure the grant and the program, if funded, are a success. This is also key to positioning an organization to renew grant funding with the same funder. 

BEFORE Writing: Run a Go/No-Go Grant Analysis 

 Before you write a single word of a grant proposal, sit down with decision-makers within the organization to do these two things:

Before you apply for a grant, make sure it’s a good fit for the organization. Inside our Grant Writer Academy, we’ve developed AI prompts that can analyze and compare Grant Instructions (RFP/NOFO/FOA) and project ideas (or a Master Grant Application) to ensure the funder and the project are a good match. This is important so you can submit the most competitive proposals. 

BEFORE Writing: Conduct a Grant Strategy and Planning Meeting

Once you’ve determined a funding opportunity is a good fit, you need to pull together organizational and program decision-makers to discuss the opportunity, any potential concerns, program updates or changes, funder connections you may be unaware of, and next steps. 

This is essential to ensure decision-makers are aligned and prepared to move forward on the proposal—and that you have full buy-in from everyone involved. I also love recording this call with my AI recorder so I don’t miss any notes. 

During your grant strategy meeting, it’s also important to assign any tasks that people within the organization (who are not the primary grant writer) need to complete to ensure the grant is ready on time. 

For example, is there a Letter of Support required for the grant application? If so, who will write it, who will request it, and when is it due? Assign all required tasks at your grant strategy meeting, detailing who is responsible and their deadline.

AFTER Submitting: Keep track of grants submitted 

Submitting a grant isn’t a one-and-done process. Ideally, it’s the start or continuation of a long-term funding relationship. If you receive funding, you’ll need to track outputs, evaluate your impact, submit grant reports, and plan for renewals. 

To help do all that, after you submit a grant proposal, create a place where you track: 

• The grant name or program
• The funder
• The amount requested
• The date submitted
• The projected award notification date

If your organization is small, you may use something as simple as an Excel spreadsheet to track this. If your organization is large or you write grants for multiple organizations, you may have a full donor database for tracking. 

Tracking this information is important because after you hit submit, you are probably running to other grant deadlines and items. But this institutional knowledge is critical. I can’t tell you how many times I have clients follow up on grants and even forget that we wrote certain ones! 

AFTER Submitting: Follow up with the funder

Make a plan to reach out to the funder around the projected award date. Even if your grant is not awarded, getting any feedback is priceless.

Unfortunately, many foundations do not give feedback or notifications if your grant was not funded due to the sheer number of proposals submitted and their limited capacity. However, federal grants should all give you feedback.

Understand that rejections are very common and that a grant rejection is NOT an immediate red flag to not submit a grant application again in the future. 

Pro Grant Writing Tip

Foundation funders may reject your grant application up to three times before approving it. This is often the case, and a way to develop a relationship with the funder.

AFTER Submitting: Add next year’s deadline to your work plan

If you got your grant awarded, then see if you can apply for a renewal the following year and already mark it in your calendar. If your grant got rejected, then mark it to apply for the next funding cycle. 

Next Steps: More Resources for Writing Grants

Learning ABOUT grant writing is one thing, but going through the process of writing multiple grants is how you become a grant writer. 

If you’re interested in gaining more grant writing skills, getting faster at grant writing, and making extra money as a freelance grant writer, our Freelance Grant Writer Academy is a great place to start. 

You can also start your journey to becoming a grant writer TODAY with our Free Grant Class. 

The training takes only 45 minutes, and you’ll walk away with clarity on what it takes to start writing grants and launch yourself into one of the most rewarding careers available.

END: For the content below, we should use it for OTHER articles

Professional grant writing services – what to know before you hire

Hiring a grant writer can help immensely with your grant writing strategy. Grant writers can focus on writing and finding grants and this can take enormous amounts of time off your plate. 

In the wake of 2025, many nonprofit organizations are streamlining their budgets and also need more support for grant strategy. 

Hiring a freelance grant writer is extremely advantageous as they can have an expert focus exclusively on the grant industry, grant prospecting, grant writing, submissions, and more. 

A freelance grant writer can also be paid on retainer, so you have a set budget you pay every month for a set number of grants or deliverables over a period of time. 

Before you hire a freelance grant writer, watch out for the following:

1. If they say they charge on commission: Writing grants on commission (i.e., only getting paid a percentage from the grant if it gets awarded) is unethical and red flags an unseasoned grant writer. Seasoned freelance grant writers will charge you to write grants, even if the grants get denied for funding, because they are creating a product. This is a professional service based on what they do, not how much they get awarded. 
2. If they charge hourly: Hourly pricing is okay in some circumstances, but if that is all they offer, they probably aren’t a seasoned freelance writer. A freelance grant writer who also has a package and retainer is more seasoned because they know how long grants take to write and also include other deliverables other than just writing. *An exemption might be if you just hire them to write one grant and it is new. Then hourly might be appropriate.
3. If they give you a huge discount before you ask: This shows that they are not confident in their value. While this does not mean that they aren’t good at what they do, they are probably just new in selling their services. While this doesn’t mean they aren’t a good grant writer, what it does mean is that they are undercharging so what could happen is 1) you aren’t a priority, 2) they burnout and let you go.

Look for freelance grant writers who invite you to a Sales Call with pre-vetted questions, publish their pricing in advance, and tell you how they work. 

This is exactly what we teach inside our Freelance Grant Writer Academy. 

How to find a grant writer for your nonprofit 

When finding a grant writer for your nonprofit, you want to consider what is important for you:

Geography: Do you require someone in your specific area who may have institutional knowledge about your state or city. I would say that for most nonprofits, this isn’t a factor, but for some it is extremely important. For example, if you get a lot of state grants and want someone familiar with the nuances of state money and how to analyze what is happening, this could be a reason for you. Or if your nonprofit is international and you want someone in your timezone. 

Cause Area: Do you need someone familiar with your specific cause area? If your nonprofit is reaching those peers in recovery, do you need someone familiar with the needs and challenges and language? I specifically see this more with science or tech-based organizations who want someone familiar with the language. 

Type of Grants: You may need someone who has certain federal grant experience with a certain federal agency, or someone who knows how to develop relationships with foundations, or maybe a faith-based grant writer, etc. 

Costs: Before you hire someone, you need to know what your budget is. Understand that the more grants you want written, and the more complex (federal vs. foundation), you will pay more. 

If you want a high-level federal grant writer who has won at least $10 million in DOJ grants, then you will be paying a more premium amount potentially then looking for someone who has written foundation grants for community programs that range around $10,000 – $50,000. But honestly, maybe not… more and more organizations are needing this skill even more than federal grants. 

It is easy to find a freelance grant writer when you use our Hire a Grant Writer Directory as we list all options to easily find someone. 

How long does it take to write a grant?

The time it takes to write a grant…depends on several factors. No matter if you use AI or not. 

Is it a foundation grant?

Is it a state grant?

Is it a federal grant?

Is it an international grant?

Is it a renewal grant?

Is it for a new program or existing program?

Has the organization you are working for submitted this grant before?

Has the organization received grants before?

Is the grant a new grant?

Do you need attachments?

There are more questions to this, but this gives a good general overview of considerations. This is also why pricing a grant for freelance grant writers can be nuanced. 

Let’s examine some real situations. 

• I wrote a 4-page foundation to a new funder for a nonprofit that I’ve worked with for 10 years (writing grants for). We’ve received more than $1 million in grant funding before. We are writing for a new program but I can bring in some old programmatic grant materials. 
• Researching the funder: 1-2 hours
• Meeting with client: 1 hour
• Writing the grant and budget (include cross-referencing alignment with funder again): 6 hours

About 9-10 hours. 

When I bring in AI tools, I can speed this up. I wrote another 4-page grant proposal with another new funder:

• Researching the funder and running a go/no-go analysis, cross referencing website, etc.: 15 minutes to 30 minutes
• Meeting with client: 1 hour
• Using AI to write the grant (include cross-referencing alignment with funder again): 30 minutes – 1 hour
• Write the budget : 15 minutes to an hour
• Reviewing what was written and making sure it’s in clients voice, budget is correct in narrative, citations are real, etc.: 30 minutes to an hour

Altogether, this can save more time BUT your reviewing and analyzing time will increase. This also uses a different part of your brain (vs. writing), so be sure to have adequate time to really read this and NOT skim it. 

This also is based on how good your grant writing AI tools are built out, how long you’ve worked with the client, how many previous grants you have written for that project, etc.

Grant writing AI time: 2-4 hours

Some folks might say this is still too long to write a grant with AI, and yes this can be sped up if you work with the same client and train tools up with more knowledge. But I also see people not spending enough time really reading what AI writes or NOT giving AI enough information about the funding source so your project doesn’t hit. 

On another note, if you write a state grant, you could easily spend 30-50 hours writing this OR MORE. If you also need to meet with multiple partners and work through program design then it can be much more time.

Then there is federal grant writing, which can easily be around 100 hours. This is due to lengthy applications, getting letters of support or Memorandums of Understanding, working with partners, planning meetings, and more. 

This is where AI can probably save the most time with writing, quite honestly, as you can shave at least 50% of time, if not more. 

Once again, don’t shave the relational, thought work, and reviewing time off. The writing and formatting is where AI wins.