Grant writers prepare proposals for non-profit organizations to obtain funding. Becoming a grant writer offers the opportunity to aid an organization either as a volunteer writer or in a paid capacity. The steps in becoming a grant writer involve honing writing skills to insure success in proposals, searching for activities needing writer assistance and learning where to find grants to apply for.

As the grant writer, you will prepare detailed proposals that show how the organization's mission matches the funder's goals. Non-profit organizations need funds to operate. Sometimes donors find them on their own, but a good portion of most group's operating funds are obtained as a result of submitting proposals for grant funds. Larger organizations have grant writers on staff; smaller organizers hire freelancers to prepare their proposals.

Grant writers need excellent writing skills, but good writing alone is not enough. You also need:

1. Project management knowledge - As a grant writer, you need to be able to take the client's program, and detail how the funds will be used, the timing of the disbursements, and the results that will be achieved at each step of the project.
2. Ability to match proposals with donors - You'll need to be able to understand the project, research appropriate funding services, and be able to tailor the proposal to the specific organization.
3. Organizational skills - Grant applications usually have strict deadlines and detailed requirements. As a grant writer you need to keep track of all the details as you seek to obtain funding for your client.

You may have excellent time management skills, but need more experience learning about agency policies. Identify the areas of expertise that you lack, and work on those areas.

Often the best way to learn how to write a grant proposal is to work on an actual grant. However, when you're just starting out, this may not be possible. Although you can pay for local or online courses on grant writing, there are free resources online. Some to start out with are:

1. Minnesota Council on Foundations Guide to Writing a Successful Grant Proposalhttp://www.mcf.org/mcf/grant/writing.htm Writing a Successful Grant Proposal]
2. Foundation Center Proposal Writing Short Coursehttp://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/index.html Proposal Writing Short Course
3. US EPA Tips on Writing a Grant Proposalhttp://www.epa.gov/ogd/recipient/tips.htm Tips On Writing a Grant Proposal

Read existing grant solicitations and study the requirements. Often, one organization will have the same general format and requirements for all of its grant solicitations. By becoming familiar with these, you can rapidly jump into the writing process and know exactly what questions to ask your clients.

Grant writers can work for a variety of non-profits, including community-based organizations, universities and colleges, health care groups, and other institutions that utilize grants as a funding source.

1. Make a list of potential client organizations in your area, and develop contacts within these organizations, letting them know of your availability.
2. Volunteer to develop proposals for charitable organizations you regularly support to gain experience.
3. Join a professional group. Organizations such as the American Association of Grant Professionals has a job database that is available to members.http://careers.grantprofessionals.org/search.cfm
4. Let friends and other contacts know that you are available to write grants. Many people are involved in non-profit organizations that use grant funding, so you never know who may need your assistance.

Attending live grant writing workshops, courses, seminars, and lectures can be a very powerful way to learn - especially when there is a discussion, question, or small group discussion involved with other grant applicants and or the instructors. Look for locally given instruction from non profit organizations, charities, government, academic institutions, specialty organizations etc. You can also ask local organizations of interest if they hold grant writing workshops. If you become a volunteer or employee of an organization they may have their own training sessions on grant writing.

An excellent way to learn grant writing is to get as much practice as you can working on actual grants. This is easier than you may think. If you check with your local volunteer association you may find a selection of volunteer positions where they need help in grant writing and free training may be available. Volunteer positions also may be advertised on the Internet, in regular job search services, in special charity related information resources, or you can approach charities of interest directly and ask if they need grant writing help. It may be possible to offer your services to apply for a grant free, include some work in the grant that you could be qualified for and hope to be hired if the grant is received. Even if nothing concrete comes of any of these volunteer activities it is a good way to build up your grant writing resume so that you can apply for paid work.

Check job advertisements for grant writers in your area to find out what the qualifications and experience requirements are. That will also identify potential employers for the future. It gives you a realistic yardstick to measure what you may need to acquire to make it in grant writing in your chosen area.