Grant Writing | Instrumentl

5/10/2023

How to Prepare for a Nonprofit Interview (5 Tips Included)

You scored an interview with a new nonprofit organization. You’re ready to save the world and get paid to do it! Now all you have to do is ace the interview to get the job.

3/3/2023

Take Advantage Of $156,000 In Free Digital Advertising With The Google + Microsoft Ad Grants For Nonprofits w/ Emily Fisher and Regan Dishon

In this workshop, Emily Fisher, Google Ad Grants Area of Practice Manager and Regan Dishon, Director of Revenue at Community Boost will de-mystify the grant opportunities and dive into the practical ways you can leverage this to drive more traffic (+ supporters) to your website.

3/31/2023

How to Unlock Recurring Grants Through Your Volunteer Program w/ Geng Wang

In this workshop, you can learn what are Volunteer Matching Grants, why they are valuable and impactful, how to use your current volunteer program to find Volunteer Grants, growing your nonprofit's volunteer grant program, and more.

1/27/2023

Federal Government Grants: How to Find Them Fast in 2023

Are you feeling overwhelmed or daunted by finding federal grants, keeping track of complicated applications, or determining which grant programs are right for your nonprofit? In this article we’ll go over what federal government grants are, why they’re important, and how to find federal government grants fast.

2/1/2023

Project Budgets: What To Do (and What NOT To Do) w/ Margit Brazda Poirier

In this 60-minute grant writing deep-dive session, Margit Brazda-Poirier shares what to do and what not to do when it comes to project budgets. She explores the best way to present an A+ project budget and more.

11/10/2022

The Best Grant Writing Blogs of 2023

We selected the best grant writing blogs based on the diversity of ideas and voices. We also took into consideration how actionable and comprehensive these blogs are. Discover some of the top learning resources for nonprofits for 2023.

10/25/2022

How to Choose a Grant Writing Consultant: 5 Key Factors to Consider

If you're looking for actionable tips on how to choose a grant writing consultant, you're in the right place. From cost analysis and evaluating their experience to asking the right questions—there's a lot of things you should bear in mind.

10/26/2022

Fundraise Awesomer! A Practical Guide to Staying Sane While Doing Good w/ Patrick Kirby

In this 1-hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll get clarity on how to make the job of fundraising as awesome as it can be and learn a simple and easy-to-understand "5 Day Fundraising Framework" to organize your fundraising life.

9/23/2022

The Best Grant Writing Exercises to Improve Your Grants

Get the best compilation of 15 grant writing practice prompts, worksheets, blogs, and more to take your grant writing skills to the next level.

9/22/2022

What Makes a Good Grant Proposal?

Ever wondered what makes a good grant proposal? Discover the 7 must-have sections a winning grant proposal should include and 3 dreading mistakes to avoid.

12/3/2022

Tips from a Former Grantmaker: Live Proposal Review w/ Shavonn Richardson

In this one hour workshop, Shavonn Richardson, founder and CEO of Thank and Ink Grants, digs into how to set your proposal up for success before you even start writing, how to make your proposals more competitive, and common mistakes to avoid.

9/22/2022

How to Call for Nonprofit Donations

Discover 3 effective ways to call for nonprofit donations with templates to put them into action right away.

9/20/2022

How to Write an Effective Grant Evaluation Plan

Learn how to write an effective grant evaluation plan, including building a logic model, to evaluate the success of a grant-funded project [with examples]

12/8/2022

How to Write an End of Year Fundraising Email for 2023

Discover the role of an end of year fundraising email and master the 5-step process of writing a successful one to relay your gratitude to donors this year.

12/9/2022

7 Steps to Write an Annual Appeal Letter for Nonprofits in 2023

In this blog post, discover what an annual appeal letter is, its importance to your nonprofit, and 7 expert tips to write one effectively.

9/20/2022

Volunteer Grants: What They are and How to Win Them [7 Proven Tactics]

Thinking about applying for a volunteer grant? In this blog post, discover where to find, how to apply, and 7 time-tested strategies to win a volunteer grant.

12/9/2022

How to Write a Fundraising Appeal Letter in 2023

A fundraising appeal letter is crucial to your funding success. Learn how to write a fundraising appeal letter that moves the needle in these 5 proven steps.

9/9/2022

Grant Professional Certification: Fees, FAQ & 5 Study Tips to Crush It

Learn everything you need to know about grant professional certification, including eligibility, fees, and 5 proven study tips to succeed.

9/9/2022

What is an Annual Appeal Letter?

In this blog post, discover what an annual letter is, why it's important, and 5 rules to follow as you write your own.

9/20/2022

The Ultimate Grant Writing Process for Nonprofits

In this blog post, we lay out the proven grant writing process — from finding the right grants for your nonprofit to writing a winning proposal in 7 steps.

10/25/2022

How to Write a Good Grant Proposal: The Ultimate Guide

In this blog post, discover the 9 essential components of a good grant proposal and learn the timeless tips and tricks to make yours stand out (along with 4 extra resources).

9/6/2022

How to Unleash the Power of Volunteer Metrics and Reports in Your Grant Writing

Learn step-by-step how to set up a volunteer data plan and collect key metrics. Get tips to effectively showcase your volunteer program's success in your grant proposals.

9/6/2022

What Does a Nonprofit Executive Director Do?

Discover what a typical day of a nonprofit executive looks like, what their responsibilities are, and importantly, how much they make [with real job descriptions].

10/26/2022

Writing Powerful Performance Indicators w/ Lori Foltz Fabian

In this 1 hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you'll learn how to set your nonprofit up for success with funders by designing accurate and achievable performance indicators.

9/6/2022

How to Write a Thank You to Nonprofit Volunteers

Volunteers can make a massive difference on your nonprofit. This post explores examples of successful thanks to nonprofit volunteers and offers ideas you may be able to use for your own nonprofit.

10/18/2022

Introducing Instrumentl’s Summer 2022 Release

Today, we’re proud to announce four new features to our platform: Calendar View, Salesforce Integration, Improved Application Deadlines, and our Consultant Plan.

10/26/2022

Grant Funder Stewardship is All About Relationships... But with an Eye on DEI w/ Scot Scala

In this 1 hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll learn how to use a hyper-focus on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) to improve the strength and duration of grant-funder relationships.

10/26/2022

How To Effectively Manage Your Grants Department With A Lean Team w/ Sheleia Phillips

In this 1 hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll be able to leverage automation and cloud systems, facilitate cross-departmental collaboration, and create basic workflows and plug-and-play grant templates.

10/26/2022

How to Write a Compelling LOI w/ Arnisha Johnson

In this 1-hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll be able to know what an LOI is and why it is important to the grant writing process, how to obtain the key elements necessary for an LOI, and how to understand the construction of an LOI.

10/26/2022

Data Isn't Just for Science! 5+ Secrets to Writing Evidence-Based Grants w/ Amanda Faye Lipsey

In this 1 hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll be able to find evidence-based data and evidence-based means, how to read and understand the data, and how to summarize evidence-based data and use it to support/justify your grant proposal.

10/26/2022

Make New Friends But Keep the Old: A Case for Consistent Prospecting w/ Amy Mauser

In this 1 hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll be able to build a funnel and know who goes in, how to steward funders, and how to add new prospect.

12/9/2022

How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report: The Ultimate 2023 Guide

In this post, we'll explore the ins and outs of what makes a great nonprofit annual report. We'll also leave you with 5 key things to nail when writing your nonprofit annual report.

12/3/2022

How to Craft Effective Letters of Inquiry w/ Margit Brazda Poirier

In this 60-minute grant writing deep-dive session, Margit Brazda-Poirier shares her 1-page formula for writing LOIs that get attention from funders every time and we dive deep into two registrants' draft LOIs for feedback.

10/26/2022

How to Write a Proposal Narrative w/ Lynn Arsenault

In this 1 hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll be able to know how to write a "boilerplate grant template" to help streamline your grant writing process.

9/6/2022

What is a Case Statement for Nonprofits?

This post explores what nonprofit case statements are, considerations you should keep in mind when writing your own case statement along with examples of successful nonprofit case statements.

9/6/2022

How to Cite a Nonprofit Grant Proposal

This post details why citing sources are so important for grant proposals and then five steps you can take to do so correctly.

7/7/2022

5 Grant Research Mistakes (and What to Do Instead) with Melissa Reams

In this 1 hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll be able to build a funnel and know who goes in, how to steward funders, and how to add new prospects.

10/26/2022

Setting Grant Targets Through Your Prospect Research w/ Rachel Werner

In this 1-hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll be able to examine the criteria for weighing low, medium, and high-level priority prospects and how this can feed into dashboard data and your fundraising plan.

10/26/2022

Find the Right Grants and Learn How to Standout with Funders w/ Meredith Noble

In this 1-hour special workshop hosted by Instrumentl, you’ll learn how to utilize several different decision-making tools to help determine which prospects to pursue and create a replicable system that will help you win the right funders in the future.

10/25/2022

How to Write the Best Nonprofit Mission Statement

This post explains what a nonprofit mission statement is, how to write one in five steps, and outlines four clear examples of strong nonprofit mission statements.

12/9/2022

Successful Grant Budget Examples in 2023

In this post, discover what makes a grant proposal budget successful, common mistakes to avoid, and learn from the 3 best nonprofit grant budget examples to develop your own.

10/25/2022

The Best Grant Writing Software for Nonprofits

Discover the best grant writing software and learn how to choose the right one for you as a nonprofit representative or consultant (or both!).

10/24/2022

Ideas for Grant Proposals: 7 Ways to Come Up with Them

This post explores what makes a great grant proposal, 7 easy ways to come up with grant proposal ideas, and where you can find inspiration for grant proposals.

5/3/2023

The Best Grant Writing Courses in 2023

Wondering whether or not you could benefit from a grant writing course? Check out these grant writing courses we've reviewed for inspiration of places to go to level up your grant writing education.

7/14/2022

5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing an Executive Summary (and How to Fix Them)

Curious about the most common mistakes when it comes to writing executive summaries? Read on in this post as we dig into errs folks make, as well as how to make sure you avoid making the same mistakes!

7/12/2022

15 Components of a Good Grant Proposal

This post explores the common structure of grant proposals along with what is most important for grant proposals to help you level up your grant writing.

7/7/2022

Storytelling for Nonprofits: 45 Powerful Examples & Tips

In this blog post, we will explore exactly what to do to tell your organization’s story, delving into the most comprehensive list of 45 organizational storytelling examples and tips.

10/25/2022

21 Grant Writing Examples for Nonprofits

This post dives into the 21 best grant writing examples to show you how to compose an impactful cover, make your case for support, and weave data into your proposal, among many other actionable tips.

10/25/2022

How Long Do Grants Take to Write?

In this post, we’ll explore the average time to complete a grant, five tips to writing grants faster, how to track and manage grants more efficiently and more.

10/25/2022

Grant Writing for Beginners: The Ultimate Guide

In this post, we’ll dig into what is a grant, what standard grant lifecycles look like, and how to find grant opportunities for your nonprofit.

10/25/2022

Is Grant Writing Hard? The Ultimate Answer

Curious if grant writing is hard? Read this post to learn when grant writing becomes easier, how long it takes to learn grant writing, how to learn grant writing faster, and more.

6/21/2022

How to Write an Impact Narrative for Nonprofits

In this post, we dig into what makes an effective impact narrative, the importance of impact narratives, as well as five steps you can take to write good ones for yourself.

10/23/2022

How to Build a Logic Model for Grants

In this post, we'll explore what are logic models for grants, when you should use them, five simple steps to build your own logic model, and then set you up with tips to help you build your own.

10/22/2022

Letter of Intent Templates for Nonprofits: The Ultimate Collection

This post explores what letters of intent are, gives you a list of letter of intent samples, along with a template you can use for yourself and your nonprofit.

10/24/2022

What is a Grant Proposal: Grant Writing 101

This post explores the common sections of a grant proposal, different types of grant proposals, how to write grant proposals and more.

10/24/2022

19 Tips for Stronger Grant Proposals

In this post, we'll dig into what makes a strong grant proposal, effective tips you can use to plan grant proposals better, and give you techniques you can use to bolster your proposals.

6/21/2022

How to Write the First Draft of a Grant Narrative

This post digs into what is a grant narrative and why are they important, how to write your first draft in five steps, and how long a grant narrative often is.

10/24/2022

Grant Writing Basics, 11 Things You Need to Know

In this article, you'll learn the basics of grant writing, the most common sections of grants, and what to do before and during the grant writing process.

6/21/2022

The Best Grants Database (For Nonprofits and Grant Writers)

This article will teach you what grant databases consist of, how to select one for your organization, and the best options for grant databases that exist today.

10/25/2022

Is Grant Writing a Good Career? Your Answers Here

In this article, you will learn all about grant writer demand, how to actually become a grant writer, and what to expect from a grant writing career including stress, salary, and the best personality types for the job.

10/26/2022

Grow Your Confidence So That You Can Grow Your Mission w/ Katie Appold

In this 1 hour workshop with Katie Appold, of Do More Good, you will learn how to leverage confidence in your approach to your work and your grant strategy.

10/26/2022

Grantwriting: Not Just for Mainstream Nonprofits w/ Allison Shirk

In this one-hour webinar (including time for Q&A), Allison Shirk will teach you how the process of reviewing grant applications is changing so that more organizations are able to compete and how you can stand out and make your grants more successful.

6/21/2022

Is This Grant Worth Pursuing? 7 Signs It Is

In this post, we'll explore whether or not grants are worth all the effort, the seven signs to help you determine if a grant is worth pursuing, and bonus tips for when and when not to pursue a grant.

12/9/2022

Grant Narrative Tips: The Ultimate 2023 List

This article will describe what a grant narrative is, what the keys to an effective grant narrative are, the best tips & tricks for making your narrative stand out, and some additional resources to help you in developing your grant narrative.

10/23/2022

How To Respond to Grant Rejection Letters

In this post, you will learn how to respond to rejection letters by learning how to move on and improve your proposals. We also include several samples of responses to rejections.

6/21/2022

You Found a Grant! Now, What's Next? with Shavonn Richardson

In this 1-hour webinar (with 15 minutes Q&A), Shavonn Richardson, founder of Think and Ink Grant Consulting, will share with you how to take action today and develop a proven reusable strategy for every grant your organization finds.

6/21/2022

Gift Ideas for Grant Writers

In this post we'll explore gift ideas for tackling writer's block, propelling grant proposal planning, furthering grantwriter professional development, stimulating self-care for grant writers, and saying thank you.

10/20/2022

Sample Grant Rejection Letters: Examples & What to Do

This article will explore what a grant rejection letter is, various examples of grant rejection letters, how to understand your rejection letter, and some of the top reasons grant applications are rejected.

10/23/2022

The Best List of Sample Nonprofit Grant Proposals

In this post, you'll learn some examples of effective grant proposals, characteristics of successful grants, and some grant writing tips for success. We'll also leave you with some additional grant writing resources.

10/23/2022

The Best Grant Proposal Outline Template

In this post, we'll dig into what grant proposal templates are, how to use them, and give you specific examples to get a head start on building your grant proposal template library.

10/24/2022

How to Do Effective Grant Prospect Research

In this post, we dig into the ins and outs of effective grant prospect research. We'll explore how to identify funding prospects, how to research your top grant prospects, answer FAQ around grant prospect research and more.

9/6/2022

How to Make a Compelling Case to Corporate Funders

This post explores how to learn about corporate donors, 3 steps you can take to engage with corporate funders, how to build your case for corporate funding, and helpful tips to writing compelling case statements.

8/25/2022

Introducing Instrumentl’s Fall 2021 Release

Today, we’re proud to announce three new features to introduce our Standard Plan. Our Standard Plan will help you find good fit funders even faster with Advanced Funder Insights, Foundation Discovery and Recipient Profiles.

12/9/2022

The Best Grant Research Tools of 2023

Finding and using the best grant research tools is crucial to grantseeking success. This post explores what grant research tools are, 11 of the best resources, and then how to use these tools effectively for your nonprofit (or clients).

12/9/2022

Grant Writing Best Practices: The Ultimate List of 2023 Tips

Knowing grant writing best practices can make or break your application. In this post, we explore best communication practices to follow with funders, best grant writing practices for proposals, what to do when updating or repurposing proposals, and more.

10/22/2022

How to Write a Letter of Inquiry for Grant Funding

In this post, we dig into what is a letter of inquiry to a foundation, how to write a letter of inquiry that stands out in three simple steps, along with some helpful tips for writing effective LOIs to foundations.

10/22/2022

The Ultimate Guide to Grant Proposal Budgets

In this post, we dig into what is a grant budget and why they’re important, five steps to help you prepare for a grant proposal budget, and cover the differences between different types of grant budgets.

12/9/2022

How to Find Funders for Grants: The Ultimate 2023 Guide

Finding funders for grants is hard. In this post, we dig into all the fundamentals you need to know to succeed, including what to look for when finding funders, how to find foundation or corporate grants as well as how to find government grants.

12/9/2022

How to Write Grants for Nonprofits: The Ultimate 2023 Guide

No idea where to start when it comes to writing grants for nonprofits? In this guide, we dig into what the different types of grants are, how to find grants for your nonprofit, and how to write a grant proposal in 7 steps.

12/9/2022

How to Create a Grant Application Pipeline for Tracking [in 2023]

Creating grant application pipelines for tracking can be tedious. In this post, we dig into exactly how to create a grant tracking pipeline, give you a sample grant management template you can use, and tips to managing your grant pipeline.

12/9/2022

How to Write a Cover Letter for Grant Proposals: The Ultimate 2023 Guide

In this post, we dig into answering what are cover letters for grant proposals, what makes a good cover letter vs. a bad one, three examples of cover letters for grant proposals, and more.

10/24/2022

What are Nonprofit Program Evaluation Methods? Grant Writing 101

In this article, we answer the question of what are nonprofit program evaluations, what are the most common evaluation methods, how to decide which evaluation method is best for your nonprofit and more.

12/9/2022

Grant Management Process: What is It & Best Practices [in 2023]

In this post, we answer what is grant management for both grant makers and grant seekers, why having a grant management process is important, how nonprofits manage grants, and common mistakes nonprofits make when managing their grants.

10/24/2022

Is There a Grant Writing Season?

Curious whether or not a grant writing season exists? In this post, we explore when grant writing season is, how to plan for the upcoming grant season, and what tools to help you with managing grant writing season.

10/25/2022

How to Read a Form 990 and Find Good Fit Grant Funders

In this article, we teach you all about Form 990s and how to read them. Learn what Form 990s are used for, how to review the most important line items on Form 990s, and how Instrumentl makes it even easier to interpret funder 990s.

10/22/2022

What is a Budget Narrative? Grant Writing 101

Curious what a budget narrative is? In this post, we explore what budget narratives are, how to write a good narrative, and what a budget narrative should include. We even dig into common strengths and mistakes people make when preparing budget narratives.

10/25/2022

Grant Preparedness: 12 Questions to Ask Before Writing

Are you ready for grants? In this article, one of our partners, Matt Hugg, details twelve questions you should definitely ask your organization before you start writing your next grant. These are key questions to help you make sure your organization has the best shot of winning more funding.

12/9/2022

What is Grant Writing? The Ultimate 2023 Guide

In this article, we dig into what is grant writing? We answer common questions like who typically does grant writing, basics of what to do and what not to do, and more. You'll get insights into what are some helpful grant writing resources and more.

12/9/2022

Should Your Nonprofit Hire a Grant Writing Consultant [in 2023]

In this article, we'll help you answer why your nonprofit should hire a grant writer, pros and cons of hiring a grant writing consultant, and how to find a grant writing service. We'll also go over how much it typically costs to hire a grant writer.

10/22/2022

26 Common Questions Grant Funders Often Ask

In this post, we explore popular questions grant funders ask about nonprofits, projects that need to be funded, budgets, and more. We'll dig into why funders ask these questions and how you should answer these grant application questions.

10/23/2022

What is a Proposal Narrative? Grant Writing 101

In this post, we explore what grant proposal narratives are, how do you write a good grant narrative, what you should include in your narratives, along with other tips and tricks to help you craft effective grant proposal narratives.

10/22/2022

How to Become a Grant Writer: The Ultimate Guide

Wondering how to become a grant writer? In this post, we explore why grant writing makes for a great career, 7 steps to become a grant writer, and answer frequently asked questions on becoming a grant writer.

12/9/2022

The Most Common Types of Nonprofit Grants [in 2023]

This post explores the four types of grants for nonprofits, common types of grants based on funder, as well as common uses for nonprofit grants and how to find grants for your nonprofit.

6/21/2022

How Do Nonprofits Receive Grants? Grant Writing 101

Ever wonder how nonprofits receive grants? This post explores how common grant funding is among nonprofits, what the different types of grant funders are for nonprofits, and how nonprofits receive grants.

10/24/2022

Grant Writing Memes & Jokes: The Best List Grant Writers Can Relate To

Grants can be serious business, but that doesn't mean you can't have some fun. In this post, we share a few grant writing memes and jokes that fellow grant writers and development teams may enjoy to take break in their grant seeking day.

6/23/2022

25 Grant Writing Tips for Nonprofits

In this post, we dig into every essential grant writing tip under the sun. From grant writing tips for beginners, to grant writing tips for finding the best grant matches. This guide will help you tackle all your common challenges when faced with winning more grants.

8/25/2022

Taking the Fear Out of Funder Communications with Rachel Werner

In this 1-hour webinar (with 15 minutes Q&A), Rachel Werner will dig into how to overcome the fear of reaching out to funders and get yourself introduced to new funding prospects.

8/25/2022

3 Ways to STAND OUT and Win the Grant! with Margit Brazda Poirier

In this 1-hour webinar (with 15 minutes Q&A), Margit Brazda Poirier, Owner of Grants4Good, will share with you the three ways to stand out and win the grant. By the end of this workshop, you'll know the #1 strategy every nonprofit must use to get funding, and how your nonprofit can stand out from the competition.

8/25/2022

5 Time-Saving Tips to Boost Your Grants Productivity with Tiffany Nobles

In this 1-hour webinar (with 15 minutes Q&A), Tiffany Nobles, owner of T. Nobles Grant Consulting, LLC, will share with you the 5 time-saving tips she uses in her grants consultancy to improve productivity. Tips will include ways to use Instrumentl to save time on prospecting and sharing info with clients.

10/22/2022

How to Manage Grants: The Ultimate Checklist & More

This post explores must-dos when it comes to grant management, best practices to adopt when tackling grant management and how to manage a grant.