A Modern Nonprofit Podcast · The Charity CFO, LLC

Repost: Grant Writing 101 for Nonprofits: How to Find and Win the Right Grants

·28 min·1 clip

Kate says grant writing is technical writing, not creative writing, and funders may read 200 or 300 applications.

1. A Modern Nonprofit Podcast frames this episode around grant writing for nonprofits and how organizations find and win grants. 2. Tasha Anderson hosts the conversation with Kate, a grant writer and grant specialist who works in the nonprofit space. 3. The episode asks what grant writing is for: finding funding sources, preparing a strong proposal, and avoiding expensive mistakes. 4. Kate says one place to start is with corporations that already donate, because they may also have a foundation and a grant process. 5. She names Foundation Directory, Instrumentl, GrantStation, and GrantWatch as directories that update grant listings daily. 6. Kate says some platforms can search by geography and funding type, and Instrumentl can export information to Raiser's Edge. 7. Tasha says she never expected to spend so much time in grant writing despite her accounting background and CPA training. 8. Kate says her own first grants were written as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer and that she learned by doing. 9. She says program experience helps because she knows the work intimately and can sell the program components to a funder. 10. Kate says there is no single certification path, and much of grant writing is on-the-job training. 11. Kate says organization is the most important skill because many grants require the same attachments, including a 501(c)(3) letter and a 990. 12. She says nonprofits should keep case statements, program metrics, and evaluation data ready so they do not recreate them for each application. 13. Tasha says collaboration with accountants, program staff, and research staff becomes easier when the grant writer acts like a project manager. 14. Kate says the first step on a new grant is to comb the request for proposals and identify every required component. 15. She says she prefers a team timeline because waiting until the last minute leads to mistakes and weaker data. 16. Kate says grant writing is technical writing, not creative writing, and many grants have formulas, character limits, and strict formatting rules. 17. She says foundations and corporations may read 200 or 300 applications, so streamlining helps them compare grants apples to apples. 18. Tasha says a government agency once praised her organization for following every instruction carefully and using the application as a model. 19. The tone is practical and instructional, with Tasha and Kate trading examples from nonprofit accounting and program work. 20. People starting grant writing or managing nonprofit funding will get the most from this conversation; listeners wanting storytelling over process may skip it.

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