Do You Need Grant Writing Experience to Get Paid as a Freelance Grant Writer?

Getting grant writing clients without winning any grants can feel akin to being a college graduate.

You may have some skills, but don’t have any real-world experience.

Let’s talk about how you can easily bridge the gap with some real-world examples of folks from the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, who were exactly where you are.

Within four months, Jen, who left her corporate job at HBO and lives in Florida, secured more than $260,000 in grant funding (writing her first grants) and booked out with nonprofit clients and got a subcontracting position. She made $73,000 in her grant writing business in four months.

She had NO grant writing experience before joining the Academy.

Tiffany didn’t have much grant writing experience, but added it to her content writing, and quit her job early. 

Jeremey lives in California and works a 9-5 in a nonprofit. Inside the Academy, he started to view his 9-5 as an anchor client while he got his business going. Within a month, he secured his first retainer client while retaining his full-time job (i.e., anchor client)

We have many folks that come in with no grant writing experience and 1) get confident in writing grants, and 2) secure clients within the year!

That is one of the reasons that we have the grant writing master course and offer grant reviews :)

#1 – Get some Grant Writing Skills to Boost Confidence in Making Sales

The Grant Writing Master Course alone has helped over a thousand people learn our simple grant formula and win grants. We have had senators take it, teachers, volunteers, lawyers, nonprofit staff, content writers, retired folks, and so many more who have literally never written a grant – learn how to write grants and secure literally millions of dollars in grant funds!

Our Unlimited Grant Reviews are the amazing kicker, because you can have us review any grant application draft or grant template draft and we give you feedback on areas to improve.

We have our 30-Day Master Grant Template Framework, too. Even if you use a fictional client, you will develop a mock Master Grant Template in the first 30 days of joining the Academy! And then you will get a personalized review and feedback on your work. 

We have folks who have gotten their first nonprofit clients by offering the Master Grant Template (and getting paid to do it for their first time!).

So you can see how you can get the grant writing skills. 

But how do you go from skills to your first paying client?

#2 – Even if you Still Haven’t Won a Grant, You Can Get a Paying Client Ethically

Why people will still hire you, even if you have never won a grant before, is because you will develop grant writing skills and you have TIME. 

Plus, in the Ethical Nonprofit Sales we will show you how to create a Change Statement so you have a process to write grants and you can actually substantiate your price. 

Think about this for a minute…

A nonprofit will hire a staff grant writer with no grant writing experience and tell them they will train them.

Oftentimes they never train that person BUT they still expect them to win grants.

This ends in disappointment for both the executive director at the nonprofit and the grant writer! 

So in a Discovery Sales Call, we teach you how to communicate why it’s ethical and makes sense to hire you – even if you have no grant writing experience.

You don’t have to worry if you are new to grant writing. We teach you the skill of grant writing AND the skill of pricing and selling to nonprofit clients.

Some folks feel more comfortable first volunteering (to get real-world experience) before pitching their grant writing services. 

This is NOT a requirement, but this might be where you feel ethical about it. 

We have an entire part of our curriculum inside the Academy on how you go from “Free to your first Paying Client”. 

So if you do want to volunteer for 3 months at a nonprofit to write grants, we show you how you will transition that into a paying job. 

We also have our “Identify 50 Nonprofit Leads in an Hour” curriculum, so even if you are new, we help you create a list of folks that you know and can reach out to.

No website required or Social Media required.

We got you.

ABOUT HOLLY RUSTICK

Grant Writing & Funding (GWF) has a Global Movement to Secure $1 Billion in Grant Funding for Good and $30 Million in Grant Writing Businesses by 2030.  Holly Rustick, CEO of GWF, is leading the movement; a world-renowned grant writer with 20+ years of experience, bestselling author, and business coach for new and seasoned grant writers to replace their full-time income writing grants part-time from home through her signature programs: the Freelance Grant Writer Academy and the Grant Professional Mentorship.  

Rustick is the host of the top grant writing podcast “Grant Writing & Funding” and the author of the Bestselling book, The Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing. With an MA in International Political Economy,  past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce, serving on numerous boards of directors, Holly is also an unapologetic feminist. She lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella. 

CONNECT WITH HOLLY RUSTICK 

Website: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/ 

RESOURCES:

• Weekly Newsletter: “Write Grants. Get Paid” - Get thought leadership on grant and freelance grant writing strategies every week in your inbox.  https://grantwritingandfunding.com/
• Freelance Grant Writer Academy: Replace your Full-Time Income Writing Grants Part-Time from Home. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/
• Grant Professional Mentorship: Double your Monthly Revenue with an Income Stream Outside of Grant Writing. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/mentorship 

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