Free Grant Writing Course
Grant and Proposal Writing
Turn a funding idea into a clear proposal by defining needs, outcomes, budgets, evidence, and a practical delivery plan. Join this free grant writing course to present stronger cases and review applications with confidence.
About this course
This free grant writing course shows you how to turn a real need into a proposal that funders can assess. You will learn to define the problem, identify the audience, set measurable outcomes, organize evidence, and connect planned activities to a realistic budget. The lessons explain how grant and proposal writing differs from general business writing, why eligibility and review criteria matter, and how clear language makes an application easier to evaluate.
You will work through the decisions behind a strong funding request, from early research and stakeholder needs to timelines, risk, monitoring, and final review. The course helps beginners, nonprofit staff, community organizers, researchers, and project teams write with greater focus and check whether each section supports the same goal. It offers a practical foundation for preparing grant applications, reviewing proposals, and improving future submissions without promising funding success.
Course outline
The Grant Writing Landscape
This module will cover why grantseeking is necessary, different types of grantmakers, grantseeking process, types of proposals, RFPs, ethical considerations, timelines, and terminology and tools necessary.
Finding and Qualifying the Right Funders
This module covers all the basics of prospect research, reading 990s and RFPs, fit analysis, contacting program officers, developing LOIs, prospect management, and mission statement alignment.
Designing a Fundable Program
This module covers how to assess need in the community, gather evidence, write need statements, develop logic models and theories of change, target populations, and common errors.
Setting SMART Goals and Measuring Success
This module covers how to distinguish goals from objectives, write SMART and outcome objectives, choose indicators, evaluation development, choosing data collection methods, and meeting reporting requirements.
Building the Grant Budget and Narrative
In this module, you will learn about the difference between direct and indirect costs, the differences between personnel and non-personnel lines, cost share, indirect rates, matching the scope to your budget, and writing effective budget justifications.
Crafting a Persuasive Proposal
In this module, you will learn how to create a narrative, write a summary, identify capacity, need, method, staff, sustainability, use data and story, set the tone, and proofread.
Preparing a Compliant, Competitive Submission
In this module, you will learn how to create rubrics, perform self-reviews, create compliance checklists, get attachments, meet deadlines and portals, avoid disqualification, and answer questions from the funding organizations.
Stewarding the Grant and Building Future Success
In this module, you will learn how to interpret the agreement, create a process for tracking, report, communicate with the funder, manage changes, audit yourself, respond to declination, and advance your career.
Get access to the complete curriculum once you enroll in the course
Frequently Asked Questions
What will I learn in this free grant writing course?
Is the Grant and Proposal Writing Course suitable for beginners?
How does the course explain a grant needs statement?
Will I learn to write measurable project outcomes?
Does this grant writing course cover proposal budgets?
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Does the course guarantee that a grant will be approved?
What should I study after grant writing basics?
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