The Beginner's Guide to Grant Writing: Tips, Tools, & Templates to Write Winning Grants

Holly has a way of making her writing seem more like you're sitting with her in a coffee shop, getting private lessons. It's by far the most personable nonprofit/grant/funding book I've ever read, and I've read (and slogged through) quite a few. But it's not just easy to read and understand, it's packed full (as in, the book is bulging around the edges) of experience, insights, and examples (and yes, templates!). From the moment I cracked the cover, I knew I had found the person I wanted to learn from. She was talking TO me in a way that I could easily understand, and she was giving me pretty much everything I needed to start writing proposals. I know that with Holly's book, I will be able to positively impact more people than I ever thought possible. So if you work for a nonprofit, want to work for a nonprofit, or if you have ever considered becoming a freelance grant proposal writer, you need this book (or several copies, because it's a great workbook for each proposal you're working on)!

I'm not normally one to review but with more and more people turning to grants to get thing done this book is actually important.Writing grants isn't easy, there's do much that can go wrong and there are all kinds of unspoken requirements.Enter this book. Major research and writing projects often benefit from a little hand holding help. And this workbook will get you where you need to go.So get it. Life can be easier.

I love this book and I already own and completed the first edition but we used more of a guide for board capacity building. Two years later it's time our board conducts another set of strategy sessions, update our direction and goals, and go after the grants we now qualify for and are ready to receive. Our mindset around money and funding has improved and makes a huge difference in our operation. Holly's G.R.A.N.T.S formula is easy to remember and the podcast and blog reference are additional bonuses saving us time from hunting for the resources ourselves. Last but not least, the workbook style of the book provides with loads of tips, tools and templates, while making it extremely easy to walk through the process before even sitting down to actually write a grant. Great update!

One of the primary reasons for purchasing the text was for the "free downloads" of bonus material related to grant writing. I tried each download several times with zero results. My HP laptop and internet connection work to perfection, therefore the problem does not lay on my side of the equation.However, I contacted the author and within a few hours she provided the downloads in PDF format with a promise to find out where the trouble resides. Overall the text is a worthy resource.

Nothing hardcore about how to write a grant. I purchase The Complete Book of Grant Writing by Nancy Burke Smith & E. Gabriel Works. A much better book with examples throughout the whole book, no fluff.

Let's face it--reading about grant-writing isn't always the most riveting of topics. Holly manages to navigate through the basics of grant-writing in an enthusiastic and story-like way that makes me want to keep reading! She breaks down the intimidating grant writing world into bitesize pieces and goes step by step which helps me as a non-profit leader. I found her checklist and advice on delegating tasks to board members when writing a grant particularly helpful. Not only is she a great writer but she is an excellent speaker. We had the honor of having her as a guest speaker and she inspired all of us in the room that night with her story of becoming. She also shared her wisdom about how she manages to juggle multiple large scale projects and everything in between. Don't miss out on this book to get going on your grant-writing journey! You won't regret it.

As the Grants Manager for a $23M social services nonprofit, I depended upon Holly to get me through the introductory years, and I continue to come back for her enthusiasm and repetition of the fundamentals. There are always new ways of looking at what we've been doing for a long time, so don't be deterred by Beginner's Guide if you're a veteran. If you're new to the field, you have found a gem!

This book had alot of good info and is helping us write our grants for our new business

I have never written a grant but have worked in Not-for-Profits that rely on grants and eventually became a CPA. Now while researching the ways to diversify Not-for-Profit revenues, one of the other Directors who sit on a Board I am on is interested in looking for grants. Thank you Holly for teaching me much, de-mystifying grants and proposals, and creating the tie-ins that I know are essential to the sustainability of a Not-for-Profit.