Many people are re-evaluating career options right now.

Currently, many employers are laying off or furloughing workers, parents are trying to juggle working from home and homeschooling, and both personal and business finances may be in precarious situations. With all this uncertainty, people need more flexibility in their lives to make it all work (which may mean a new job). Some have already lost jobs and are now looking for what’s next. 

Could “what’s next” be grant writing?

If you’ve worked in the nonprofit sector before (or are maybe hoping to make a change and start working for this sector), then you may be asking yourself if this particular career would be a good choice for you. Is the grass greener on the nonprofit side? Is a career in grant writing even still viable given the current work and economic climate in relation to COVID-19?

Grant writing absolutely is still a viable, valuable, rewarding career path. But like all career paths, you should go into it knowing what to expect and what skills and knowledge you will need in order to be successful at it.


Let’s take a quick look at some of the reasons that we think grant writing is still a great career for you to consider and then we want to talk a little about a resource that can help you take the next steps.

Ashley & Bruce’s Top 10 Reasons Why Grant Writing Is More Viable & Relevant Now Than Ever:

1. Many nonprofit organizations are looking to double down on grant writing now. 

   
   

2. There are grant opportunities springing up regularly which are meant to specifically help organizations, and those they serve, struggling with the impact of COVID-19. More grant opportunities means that nonprofits will need someone to locate those opportunities and write those proposals!   
3. Organizations with the financial capacity to do so will happily pay a grant writer who can successfully write proposals, juggle deadlines, cultivate funder relationships, and manage awards/reporting. 
4. In an environment where downsizing may be necessary, you can bet that most nonprofits are going to prioritize the positions that are able to bring in funding. 
5. Since grant writers need to be great writers, they are a natural fit to work on crafting copy for other purposes like print marketing, websites, social media, fundraising letters, and more (hello, job security!). 
6. Since grant writers also tend to be great project managers, they have fantastic skill sets that are useful throughout the entire organization. 
7. Grant writing is well-suited to working remotely. 
8. Because grant writers collect and analyze data as a regular part of their work, they are often the keepers of decades’ worth of institutional knowledge. That’s the kind of knowledge that is indispensable to running (and sometimes saving) a nonprofit. 
9. Speaking of institutional knowledge, that also often includes knowing all the upcoming deadlines for reports, what kinds of acknowledgments are required for grant awards you’ve already received, and other nitty-gritty grant management details. Since missing a report deadline or failing to adhere to the terms of a grant agreement can result in the need to give back an award, it behooves nonprofits to make sure they have a competent professional managing all of this and ensuring nothing falls through the cracks. 
10. Good grant writers create and maintain relationships with funders. Wise nonprofit leaders will think twice before severing the personal ties that have been built over the years to these funders.
    

If you think that grant writing might be what you’re looking for (or even if you’re just curious), then you’ll want to mark September 9th on your calendars now.

That’s the date that our new book, “Writing With a Mission: How to Create a Successful Career as a Grant Writer”, officially goes on sale to the public. This book breaks down what it takes to be a successful grant writer, how to break into the field, and what the day-to-day work is actually like. It’s an intimate look at this career path from two grant writers who’ve collectively taken on just about every grant-related role there is. 

We hope that you will find this book informative and humorous. But most of all, we hope that it serves as the kind of useful guide we would have loved to have had early in our careers. 

Sincerely, 

Ashley Cain & Bruce Ripley

Co-Authors of “Writing with a Mission”
and Co-Owners of Painted Post Publications

Writing With a Mission
will be available to purchase starting
September 9th!
Mark your calendar now!