What is the role of grant writing training and grant management training? Proposals are generally tactical in writing and so is the story with writing a proposal for funding. So, in order to write one that is professional and appeals to the target organization, one has to fully understand what it entails. To equip yourself, you can take on a course in grant writing and management training.
Grant writing courses are available both online and in class though if possible, it would be advisable to take up the option of online training as it enables you to learn as you work. The topics to be covered in grant writing training will include, Grasping Fundamental Elements of Grant Proposals, Legal Writing including Analytical Reasoning and Analysis, Researching and discovering Grants no to mention Fundraising Aspects and Office Skills. As a precautionary measure, ensure that the institution you choose to train with can provide fully recognized qualifications to preserve validity. A good example of such an organization is the American Association of Grant Professionals, which is at the top of the list among these institutions.
The Role of Professional Grant Writing and Grant Management
As a basic qualification, you will need to have acquired either an associates or bachelors degree in one of several acceptable areas in the physical or social sciences. Many grant writers also hold a graduate degree like a masters or PhD degree. This is important for when substantial knowledge of a particular area is required. As an example having a masters in public health provides someone with knowledge of the health sciences to write a grant in the related area. The same goes for areas like education, social work, etc.
One area of study that is linked to grant writing and grant management is non-profit management. The connection is based on the fact that for the non-profit organization or non-governmental organization to operate, fund-raising is often necessary and perhaps the primary manner in which funds are raised. Fund raising often comes in the form of grants and donations from individuals, federal and state agencies, private institutions, philanthropic organizations, and endowments.
To earn these, you can find work in grant writing for a nonprofit organization, attend grant writing conferences, classes and training or even join volunteer programs that relate to this and get involved in community groups. After earn the credits, you can then sit for the examination which, once you pass, guarantees you certification. While this is not always a requirement, it certainly helps to have these extra credentials.
Many of these courses are offered over several weeks or days as workshops and seminar through various government agencies, non-profit agencies, and in-house training. In other cases, one can take a graduate level grant-writing course as part of their program requirements. Grant writing training topics covered may include:
- Writing a successful proposal
- Grant funding sources – Finding the right funder
- Federal grant regulations and procedures
- Grant writing ethics
- Grant management
- Grant monitoring and evaluation
With full qualifications, it becomes easier to pursue a career in grant writing and management training or you can choose to just find jobs in this sector. Your line of work will generally revolve around creating impressive proposals, finding out how to approach each grant, evaluating and researching on grants by selecting which are relevant to your employers, grant management and creating reports on how the company can fully gain from the grants obtained.
At the back of everyone’s mind when doing a grant writing training course is how much a job in the field of study can earn them. As far as remuneration for grant writers goes, it fully depends on the organization for which they work and their location. In positions such as college professors working at research universities, the grant salary may be built in as part of their annual salary, where a portion of their earnings may be funded by a grant they wrote.
It is however a personal choice to either work as a permanent employee earning a basic salary or in a nonprofit organization or even, as many have chosen to do, work as a freelancer who can charge a competitive rate per hour. In either case grant writing training is a helpful step toward advancing in this career path.