joi, 19 februarie 2015

A Grant Writing Certificate Course Open World Of New Opportunities

By Olivia Cross


The non-profit organizations depend on grants and donations to fund their activities. However, many of these organizations still miss the funding opportunities, not for lack of qualification, but for lack of skills in drafting the winning proposals. It is a very technical endeavor, yet very crucial for these organizations is not surprising that the experts who write proposals for the NGOs normally occupy big positions in the organizations. Most of them are executive directors, board members, or even fundraising specialists among others. A grant writing certificate course is there to ensure that more organizations get services of experts in their fundraising bids.

Non-profit organizations have numerous opportunities for funding. The federal, the state, the municipalities, corporations, and foundations are all willing to fund worthy courses. However, in order to get funding from any of these sources, you must understand the difference in each, and the requirements for the same.

Generally, the sources of funding for the non-profit organizations can be categorized into three; the federal government, state government, and the private companies and charitable foundations. The U. S Government gives out federal grants. Writing a proposal for this is very tricky as there are set rules in regards to format, order of proposal, terminologies, number of pages, font size, double spacing, and the points that are allocated to each of the sections. The competition for federal grants is very high as it attracts applications from hundreds of organizations from each of the states.

The second alternative is the state government grants or municipal government grants. The state government funds come through the "flow-through" monies from the federal governments. With the state government, the competition is not too stiff. The proposal writing skills are still necessary though.

The last category consists of private individuals or companies that often fund charitable organizations through foundations. There is no uniformity here. It is best to visit the representatives of the targeted foundation and go through the requirements so that the proposal that is drafted meets the required rules.

However, without a foundation course in this writing, the whole exercise can be in futility. In response to this need, there are several causes that are now offered to ensure that the organizations do not miss out on these funding opportunities. Introduction or basics parts may not take long time. In some cases, it can be covered in three days to one-week active classroom session and you get certified. In some instance, the course is offered online and you complete it at your own pace. The advanced certification may require more time to complete.

During the training process, the topics such as the concept of proposal development, research and development, grant administration, and programmatic marketing skills among others are covered. Some institutions teach their students on the lobbying skills necessary to win the grants.

It is important that you don't require any degree or an advanced training on this form of writing. Most people who perform the task do not even have training. In most cases, most people learn skills from their friends, workmates and from seminars and trainings offered by the company. Generally, an employer will ask if you have experience but not a degree in grant writing. As such, being a certified grant writer gives you numerous job opportunities and increased pay.




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