Grant Writing & Funding

You may be wondering how long it takes to learn grant writing and to get a paying client in the Freelance Grant Writer Academy. You can do it within 90 days.  The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is a 12-Month Group Coaching, Curriculum, and Community program to help aspiring and seasoned grant writers replace your full-time income, on flexible hours, writing grants from home.Doors close to the Academy on Friday, Oct. 24th at 11:59 pm EST. This is the final time doors will be open in 2025. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/

You may be wondering if you can get grant writing clients if you don't have a network, email list, or social media following. YES. Our Academy students get clients without websites, email lists, or on social media.  The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is a 12-Month Group Coaching, Curriculum, and Community program to help aspiring and seasoned grant writers replace your full-time income, on flexible hours, writing grants from home.Doors close to the Academy on Friday, Oct. 24th at 11:59 pm EST. This is the final time doors will be open in 2025. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/

You may be wanting to join the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, but are wondering HOW to pay for it. Find out with these 8 ways. The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is  a 12-Month Group Coaching, Curriculum, and Community program to help aspiring and seasoned grant writers replace your full-time income, on flexible hours, writing grants from home.Doors close to the Academy on Friday, Oct. 24th at 11:59 pm EST. This is the final time doors will be open in 2025. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/

You may be wanting to join the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, but have no grant writing experience. That is FINE. Changemakers who have never seen a grant before all the way to seasoned 20+year grant writers get value inside the Academy. You learn grant writing and business acumen in our #1 in the Industry program. The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is a 12-Month Group Coaching, Curriculum, and Community program to help aspiring and seasoned grant writers replace your full-time income, on flexible hours, writing grants from home.Doors close to the Academy on Friday, Oct. 24th at 11:59 pm EST. This is the final time doors will be open in 2025. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/

You may be curious if 2025 is a good time to be a grant writer. YES! Nonprofits need you NOW more than ever and are streamlining their budgets to hire freelance grant writers vs. staff grant writers.  The Freelance Grant Writer Academy is a 12-Month Group Coaching, Curriculum, and Community program to help aspiring and seasoned grant writers replace your full-time income, on flexible hours, writing grants from home.Doors close to the Academy on Friday, Oct. 24th at 11:59 pm EST. This is the final time doors will be open in 2025. https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/

If you got caught in getting laid off in Academics, Health, or Research in 2025 have you considered being a freelance grant writer? This is what Caitlin did and it paid off.In this episode, Holly Rustick chats with Caitlin Doran, a student in the Academy and the brains behind Katydid Communications. Caitlin opens up about her leap from getting laid off from a large academic medical center to the world of freelance grant writing. Caitlin shares how crucial networking and leaning on her connections were in landing clients. Plus, she talks about how the coaching calls in the Academy, and the community itself, have been game-changers in getting such a huge ROI in her business quickly.About:Caitlin Doran is the founder of Katydid Communications, a strategic communications consultancy specializing in health and science. She previously led communications for a $48M NIH-funded research center at a large academic medical center. Now she helps nonprofits, scientists, health advocates, and entrepreneurs translate complex health and science topics into messaging that secures funding and sustains their work.Connect with Caitlin Doran-Website-Email-LinkedInTune in today to listen to this podcast.To learn more about the podcast episodes go to https://grantwritingandfunding.com/grant-writing-podcast/"Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple PodcastsFavor, please?If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener?This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review!“Every time I listen to Holly’s show, I learn something” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show!Thanks for listening!Warmly,Holly RustickCoaches new and experienced grant writers to earn high 5-6 figure incomes writing grants from home!Get Freelance Grant Writing Spicy Tips when you Join the weekly newsletter series “Write Grants. Get Paid”  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/———————————————————————————This podcast episode was lovingly sponsored by GEMS!This podcast episode is lovingly sponsored by Grant Easy Management Software (GEMS). Break Up with Your Spreadsheet – Get GEMS Grant Easy Management Software and NEVER MISS A DEADLINE AGAIN! Book YOUR FREE demo now! Click here: https://www.grantwritingandfunding.com/gems ———————————————————————————

Welcome to this episode of Grant Writing & Funding with your host Holly Rustick and special guest Rachel Werner, CEO of RBW Strategy Consulting and principal of My Fed Trainer. In this insightful conversation, Holly and Rachel break down the complexities around the 2025 government shutdown and its direct impact on federal grants, nonprofits, and grant writers.#grantwriting #grantwriter #government #governmentshutdown #federalgrants #nonprofitfunding #nonprofit #grantfunding #trumpadministration ✅ How the current government shutdown is affecting grant applications, drawdowns, and reporting✅The real-time impact on nonprofit cash flow, reporting deadlines, and staffing✅Major regulatory changes and executive orders influencing eligibility and compliance for federal grants✅The increased need for "grant strategy" over just "grant writing"✅Practical risk planning and collaboration tips for organizations navigating uncertain funding✅How the future federal budget may shape grant program priorities—expect major shifts toward workforce development, rural areas, and technology/infrastructure🔔 Subscribe for more grant writing and nonprofit strategy tips!➡️ Get My BOOK The Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/book🌐 Grant Writing & Funding Website: https://grantwritingandfunding.comConnect with Rachel Werner on LinkedIn for real-time updates and expert advice: Rachel Werner on LinkedInExplore training and resources tailored for grant professionals at myfedtrainer.comDon’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit the bell to keep up with all our grant writing & funding episodes.

A lot of grant writers feel like they are in an impossible situation when asked about their ‘grant writing success rate’. As if the only measurement of your success as a grant writer is based on the grants you have won.Some places on the internet state that there are ‘good’ percentage win rates for grant writers. Honestly, ‘grant writer success rates’ are crap. If you are working with start-up nonprofits, chances are your wins could be less than working with larger, established nonprofits that already receive grant funding. If you are working with certain cause areas, it might not be as ‘sexy’ to fund the cause area during these times as funding another cause area. If you are working in certain geographic areas, it may not be as easy to win grants for that area vs. other areas.There are so many reasons outside of a grant writer's control that make ‘grant success rates’ bogus.Not convinced yet? Let’s flip it on its head. Holly has only ever written one grant and it gets awarded for $500.Jonathan wrote 100 grants and got 70 awarded for a total of $13 million. Holly has a 100% grant success rate vs. Jonathan with a 70% grant success rate.See how this can be flippant?What is a better measurement of success are your deliverables.1. Helping nonprofits develop and build relationships with fundersBecause of the work that our students have done with helping their nonprofit clients develop relationships with funders, in 2025 those funders reached directly out to their clients and offered more money or unrestricted funding (without the nonprofit even asking).One student said “My equity-focused client had a Foundation reach out to them to award an emergency $100K grant with NO action needed to receive it (no application!) just because of the political climate, recognizing that now is the time they need support.”2. Developing Master Grant Templates that help the organization get clarityWhen you are creating Master Grant Templates for your clients, this will help ground a visionary Executive Director and engage the board in more effective ways. This is VERY valuable,  even if you never write grants for the organization, because you help the organization stop mission drifting and burning everyone out. The board also gets clear on what needs to get done, how much funding is actually needed (instead of ambiguous figures), and they become more involved.3. Getting things organized to preserve institutional knowledgeWhat does this mean? Well, you get all the documents organized (or developed) that nonprofits need when submitting grants. I can’t tell you how many nonprofits don’t know where their IRS Tax Exemption letter is, haven’t developed a budget for a program, or have bios for their board members.Even if they do, chances are it is all on one person’s computer, in folders only that one person can understand, and if that person leaves (or their old computer crashes) everything is lost.4. Creating a grant prospecting calendar with aligned fundersHaving a strategy to submit to 15-20 aligned funders over a period of time vs. 100 applications over a weekend is a surer strategy to get funding.This is hugely valuable to know how to find funders that align and will be competitive to get funding.5. Not burning out the entire Executive Director with (last minute) grant writing Having a grant writer, actually write grants, instead of an Executive Director working an entire weekend is VERY valuable. Even if all of your grants don’t get awarded, you are doing the work so they don’t have to. When you go into a Sales Call as a grant writer, you need to emphasize the other value of work (not just grant wins). Remember, you are not just a grant writer. You are a grant strategist. Even if you never win a grant (which many organizations won’t get in their first year), you are building the capacity for grants, and other types of funding, for the nonprofit. They will be READY to receive any type of funding and be able to manage and implement it.Find out more about the Freelance Grant Writer Academy: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/

A concept that I have been talking about this year is doing the MVP. Now you may have heard the term MVP before, with the acronym standing for Minimum Viable Product. But my MVP concept stands for Minimum VALUE Product.You want to deliver something more than just a ‘viable’ product, hence the word ‘VALUE’.What I have seen after working with more than 300 freelance grant writers in 2025 (and literally more than 1,000 over the last 10 years) is that many of you are all adding fluff to your contracts thinking it will help sell, BUT IT ONLY MAKES YOU OVERPRICED.This is an important note, especially in 2025 when streamlining is the word for every organization.In 2025 and 2026, nonprofits and organizations want:grant funding to know the ways to get them to that fundingto be updated on what is going on in the grant funding world.You need to do the work that will DRIVE forward the MOST VALUE for your client, without fluff. Figure out what is the minimum you can do to GET VALUABLE Results. Cut out the fluff from your contracts. Price appropriately.Stop delivering more than what you are getting paid to do.Now, I am not saying to take out what is important, but I am asking you to examine what needs to get done now and to what depth.Overpitching right now doesn’t make sense. And it probably makes you overpriced.If you can get results by writing 15 grants, stop pitching to write 35 grants.If that full-on Nonprofit Wellness Audit can be cut down to a DIY (vs. Done-For-You), then do it.If finding 25 grant funding prospects vs. 50 grant funding prospects makes sense, do it.If weekly meetings can be cut to monthly, do it.If live meetings can be turned into loom wrap-up videos you send over, do it.Cut the work down for you so you can do the MINIMUM VALUE PRODUCT for your clients right now.To find out more about how hundreds of freelance grant writers determine their Minimum Value Product, join the Freelance Grant Writer Academy: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy/