Are you a nonprofit or small business in need of some help? Are you trying to search for grants but are feeling overwhelmed? Are you unsure of where to even begin? Then, hiring a grant writer may be the perfect choice for you!
8 Reasons to Hire a Grant Writer:
(Besides the very obvious reason: to write a grant for your organization)
- You need help with your mission and vision statements
- You want to improve your PR methods
- You need an educational curriculum
- You need someone to help research the right grants for your organization
- You can’t find the words for your goals
- You need help developing a business plan to present to funders
- You need help evaluating a program and monitoring quality assurance
- You need help creating a solid budget.
Mission and Vision Statements
Do you have a great operation but a lackluster mission and vision statement? A grant writer can help you understand what you do in terms of words. Grant writers are wordsmiths so they can create something for you in no time. Just tell them what it is you do, plus some of your goals, and they will provide you with a stand-out mission and vision statement. Remember, these are not the same thing. A mission statement includes the purpose of an organization while a vision statement includes key values. To think of it in layman’s terms, a mission statement is what an organization does and a vision statement is what an organization would like to do in the future.
PR Methods
By completing a needs assessment, a writer can determine that you need support in your Public Relations methods. They could suggest that you reach out to local TV stations and newspapers to send out regular press releases. In fact, they could write these press releases for you. A good press release answers the 5 W’s: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. Journalists need this information to report a complete story. In the press release, report facts like events, services, and targets. A quote and a clear photo can also help your message be more memorable. In addition to press releases, a grant writer from GrantWriterTeam.com can help you write text for your website or brochures! These are great places to put your mission and vision statements!
Educational Curriculum
Some educational grants, like grants for Head Start, workforce training, and youth, require an educational curriculum. For instance, say your grant is to establish an arts education program in your school district, it is necessary to have an educational curriculum. This curriculum will detail what the students will be taught, with grant funds. Just one more thing the funding source may request (if the grant is an educational grant).
Research
Check out these articles, “Everything You Need to Know About Starting a Nonprofit,” and “When Is the Best Time to Be Applying for Grants” to understand what you must have in place before applying for grants. Do you have all that information but just can’t find the right grants? They are out there!
A grant writer can help you locate federal, state & local grants as well as find foundation grants and contracts. Most likely, they will be using GrantWatch.com but with some information about your organization, he or she will be able to search for the terms that bring appropriate search results.
The Right Words
When applying for a grant, it is important to use the right words. You must convey need and aptitude. This is because if you are granted the funds, the source should be confident that you will use the money in the appropriate manner. It’s possible to get a little creative when describing your vision. I’ve read grant proposals that express the mission and vision of an organization within the body of the text. The writer created a depiction of current standards and then contrasted it with a vision for the future. Grant writers can help you express your vision in a way that is well-written and clear.
A Business Plan
A grant writer can also help you formulate a business plan to present to funders. Sometimes, a business plan is incorporated into a grant application. Other times, you may borrow sections from the business plan to include in your grant proposal. Remember, a business plan is comprised of the following sub-documents:
- executive summary
- company description
- market analysis
- organization and management
- service or product line
- marketing and sales
- funding request
- financial projections, and
- appendix
Evaluating a Program
If you are a new nonprofit, hoping to start a program with grant money, grant writers can evaluate your program. Given the right information, they will be able to prepare evaluation reports. During the course of a grant (after it is granted), the funding source needs to keep up with their money. So, they may ask for evaluation reports and to monitor quality assurance. Grant writers can do that for you too.
Developing a Budget
When releasing a Request for Proposal (RFP), many grant funders will require a budget to be included in the proposal. This budget should outline how the applicant intends to use the grant funds should they be awarded to them. Grant funders want to know that their money will go to a good cause. The larger the grant awarded, the more detailed and expansive the budget should be. Developing a comprehensive budget for your grant proposal can be a daunting task. Grant writers are often experienced in developing realistic and cost-effective budgets tailored to your organization’s specific needs.
GrantWriterTeam.com
Visit GrantWriterTeam.com to post a classified ad looking for a grant writer. After posting your ad, grant writers who have profiles listed on GrantWriterTeam will be able to reach out to you about the job. You will also have access to all the grant writer profiles listed on the site and the contact information for each writer if you would like to contact them yourself.
Once you have found a grant writer you want to work with, you will then work with them directly off GrantWriterTeam’s site. Make sure to agree on a contract and have both parties sign that contract to avoid miscommunication. Parties involved also retain the responsibility of researching and verifying credentials on their own. GrantWriterTeam’s new system is an advertising platform that involves a direct relationship and direct agreement between the grant seeker and the grant writer.
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