A career in writing is one of the most challenging and creative options for an individual. Writing needs enough skills and technique to produce appropriate written document or material that can express a particular idea, opinion, plan or proposal.
A writer can write in different forms, be it for himself or as a job. Grant writing is one of the most unique forms of writing in the business field. A grant writer responsibilities include researching and writing proposals and reports with the help of a grant coordinator for an organization (private or public), government agency, NGO or any other institution.
Based on the area of specialization, a grant writer may choose to write in different fields like educational grant writing, technical grant writing, financial grant writing, medical grant writing, legal grant writing, etc.
Grants are the monetary aids that an organization receive from an external party or agency to run the organizational functions and operations. Shortage of funds in any company is a matter of concern for the smooth running of the business.
Funds are required at all phases of work and a grant coordinator is responsible for arranging the same according to the organizational needs.
While a grant coordinator should be able to identify, coordinate and implement strategies and plans for fund raising activity, a grant writer works with him/her to write the application for funding to the fund providing parties. This application is referred to as 'grant proposals' or 'grant submissions'. The fund providers may be a government department or any private fund agencies.
If you are looking for a promising career in this field and have good creative writing and analytical skills, you can definitely apply for such a job according to your field of specialization. However, the duties of a grant writer and a grant coordinator should never be confused while seeking a job.
Though both the profiles have some similar work, there are differences between the two profiles in terms of skills, abilities, responsibilities, income and educational qualification.
To help you understand a grant writer's job, some of the important aspects have been discussed in this article. This will certainly guide you to make your career choice.
Grant writers may come from a variety of backgrounds based on the area of specialization or personal choice. A candidate should have atleast a bachelor's degree, preferably in English or communication. Holding a master's degree, of course adds more advantage to the profile. Some employers also look out for candidates with diploma certification courses that are beneficial to grant writers in the sphere of technical writing or special creative writing.
The salary of a grant writer is determined by the nature of employment - part-time, full time or freelance projects. The salary mainly depends on the industry salary standard, type of job and the location (geographic). The individual skill, qualification and achievements are also determining factors while offering a salary to a grant writer. The salary/income may vary as mentioned below:
In order to carry out the grant writer responsibilities efficiently, you need to be a responsible and creative person with good writing skills. Skilled grant writers are in great demand in this diversifying and growing field. Prompted by the increasing demand by organizations to find new potential funders, these organizations are on the lookout for people who will help them find grant funding opportunities and further write effective grant proposals. Thus, if you are aiming to build a bright career as a grant writer in the long-run, you may move ahead without any doubt in your mind.
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Grants Manager Job Description