Grant Writing Resources

I help federal government contractors win new business in the for-profit arena; however, I'm often approached by non-profit organizations for advice on grant writing and how to locate a grant writer. Following are some of my recommended books and websites to help with grant search and grant writing tasks. Good luck to you!

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Grant Writing Books

The Only Grant Writing Book You'll Ever Need (August 2009)
Authors: Ellen Karsh, Arlen Sue Fox

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0465018696/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_sxCktb1QZANN3

I own this book. The authors are successful, experienced grant writers who have done an excellent job providing all of the information you need to develop a grant proposal.

New edition to be released April 8, 2014
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GL9TODI/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_nqCktb1CVA4D1

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Grant Writing for Dummies (new edition to be released March 31, 2014)
Author: Beverly Browning

http://www.amazon.com/dp/1118834666/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_9zCktb1SNMJF8F8C

I'm not usually a fan of the "Dummies" books, but this one is very good. I own this book.

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Perfect Phrases for Writing Grant Proposals (October 2007)
Author: Beverly Browning

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0071495843/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_ECCktb1SZGD2A

This book provides specific examples of how to construct your needs statement and provides a lot of example narrative that shows you how to describe your solution and the evaluation activities/plan that are usually required as a part of receiving grant money.

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Grant Writing Websites

Grants.gov - search for federal grant opportunities http://www.grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp

FoundationCenter.org - search for private funding opportunitieshttp://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/

Grants Alert - search for funding opportunities
http://www.grantsalert.com/grants

American Grant Writers' Association (AGWA) http://www.agwa.us/

American Association of Grant Professionals http://grantprofessionals.org/

Association of Fundraising Professionals http://www.afpnet.org/

Volunteer Match - find a volunteer to help with your grant proposal http://www.volunteermatch.org/nonprofits/

The Grantsmanship Center http://www.tgci.com

The Grantsmanship Center video series: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXiAsoeSN0Q&list=UUQKwClajjqdn9UdrbP7v5xg&index=1&feature=plpp_video

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Additional Thoughts

Based on my experience on a U.S. DoJ grant effort, I have two key recommendations to increase your win probability on any grant:

1. Include formative and summative evaluation techniques to demonstrate that goals are being met.
   
2. Include information on your program's financial sustainability (e.g., long range funding strategy, commitment of other donors, etc.).