The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need

by Ellen Karsh

From top experts in the field, the definitive guide to grant-writing

Written by two expert authors who have won secured millions of dollars in government and foundation grants, The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need is the classic book on grant seeking, providing a comprehensive, step-by-step guide for government, nonprofit, and individual grant seekers. Drawing on decades of experience in grant writing and professional development, Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox demystify the process of securing grants while offering indispensable advice from funders and recipients.



This updated fifth edition

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, School, Professional Development, Writing, Academic, Adult

448 pages, Paperback

Published November 5, 2019

Reviews

[Katlynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for professionals writing grant proposals to nonprofits, for-profit, and government agencies. The book details aspects of a proposal, funder organizations, grantee organizations, and tips for writing strong applications.

The book stops at receiving an award, though. Folks looking for award or post-award references such as project managment or report writing should look elsewhere.

[claire - clairesbooked · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good information. Nothing really stood out though. A lot didn't apply to me.

[Scott Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many small businesses, non-profits, individual researchers, and larger institutions depend on grants to fund their activities and livelihoods. Whether from private foundations or governmental entities, these funds are given through a competitive process. Through market forces, this process seeks to align funders’ desires with projects that achieve results. This book seeks to demystify this process and provide readers with a “leg up” to write better grant proposals.

Karsh and Fox’s work is primarily geared towards writers of socially oriented grants. Its examples include primarily social causes, not basic research. I work in the sciences, and this book does not include many examples of these kind of projects. However, it’s guiding advice and principles certainly can apply to those type of projects, too. I’m just going to have to read another book geared towards scientific grant-writing, too.

I honestly lack the experience to judge the trustworthiness of this Karsh and Fox’s advice. Like many potential readers, I am more in need of insight than able to judge reliability. Nonetheless, the communication style is clear and expressive. Obviously, this book, now in its fifth edition, has gone through many rounds of editing. Its voice is mature, and its points, well-thought-out.

Of special note, the authors have consulted grant givers extensively in the preparation of this book. As such, this book offers useful, practical tips towards garnering a favorable response. They even include several chapters of “roundtable” advice that explore relevant topics. For decades, Karsh was a grant giver in a prior career, and Fox, a grant writer. Their powerful combination produces much insight. Especially for projects aligned for social impact, this book provides a healthy repository of advice that should be consulted before any proposal words are written.

[Rick Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I grew up in Tamil Nadu, India.
English was not my first language.

Sometime ago, My writing journey started in Cold New England Winters.

My journey started with not able to form a paragraph to formulating writing big grants.
Of course, it took sometime for progress - How?

For me, it was Desire , thirst of wanting to improve.

Recently, I spoke to a colleague.
He holds a PhD in Physics trained under Russian Mathematical Physicist.
His training was like Siberian Winters, rough, hard, strong.
Imagine living in Siberian winters?

I admire of his training.

He mentioned, how valuable is grant writing skills.
I am mostly in awe with Older Scientists, due to their experience, knowledge.

I am thrilled, excited, happy of my progress.

Comments:

1. Make Notes
2. Make Outlines
3. Write as you speak [No Slang] [Think of Word choice]
4. Don't exaggerate
5. Check Grammar [Consult Dictionary]
6. Stick with Active Voice
7. Neutral [No Judgements]
8. Limit Adjectives, if using it, then, specify connecting
9. Prove it [more factual, descriptive]
10. How to prove? [Facts, stats, participants, reports]

This reminded me of Donald E. James's Lyceum in Chennai.
He mentioned, always make an outline, read as much as possible, be clear in your writing.

Ellen says, Keep an outline:

What is the Goal?
Match the Program Description
Consistent & Organized

I'd say, go to page, 336, that is where you can see examples


• Program Title
• Executive Summary
• Description and Background of the Organization
• Problem Statement/Need for the Program
• Program Description
• Goals and Objectives
• Program activities
• Evaluation Plan
• Budget/Budget Narrative


Deus Vult,
Gottfried

[Bryan Schwartz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may not be the only grant-writing book you'll ever need but Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox have written a great introductory text to institutional fundraising, grant-writing, and foundation relations. Though focused somewhat on smaller organizations with relatively easy-to-monitor impact metrics (e.g. meals served), there's a lot here too for development staff with larger budgets and more qualitative metrics. Karsh and Sue Fox have also identified trends in philanthropy are largely true to my experience, compiled writing tips that are both useful and sorely needed, and developed a series of exercises that are worth completing. Above all, it was comforting to know that other organizations struggle with many of the same issues as my own and that my development team isn't the only one that must frequently explain that grant writers are "...the few people in an organization who must look beyond a specific program to consider the good of the entire organization."

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I selected this as a text for a grad level grant-writing course that I taught. It's a good book, readable (some might find it fluffy or a little precious) and thorough. It has been through multiple editions, but even the newest one has some outmoded advice. If you're a long-time grant writer (as I am) you won't find much new here - though everyone has something to teach because we all take our own approach. However, if you are new to grant writing, this book is full of great advice and covers all of the basics. It's probably the only grant-writing book someone new will ever need - but don't imagine that it contains everything a professional grant writer needs to know. Developing skills requires practice, and that won't be found in a book.

I supplemented the book with readings about philanthropy, diversity and equity issues, AI, and others. Those kinds of topics are barely or not touched on here.

[Mekenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read. Fast-paced. Informative. It's a keeper!
As an aspiring English major, this is a book that I would add to my ongoing recommendation list titled "Books Everyone Should Read." It holds an abundance of useful tips and different strategies to tackle Grant Writing. For anyone who works in this industry, I highly recommend this book for your bookshelf. It might be the difference between getting the $5,000 grant to the $50,000 grant.

[Misti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book for a graduate level course. I’m a novice proposal writer. This books broke down all the steps, aspects, details, and incorporated real-life experiences and anecdotes. There were elements of humor and wit along with doses of reality. The booms was a super easy read. Definitely recommend for those needing guidance for the proposal writing process.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very thorough book on the grant-writing process. Will be a constant reference point for such endeavors. A little cheesy at times, but overall informative and up to date with current events and trends in funding resources.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty thorough resource. Not every part was relevant to me, but some parts really were. You can skip what you don't need. There were review questions at the end of each chapter like it might have been expected to be used as a textbook, which was kind of cool.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't say it is the only grant writing book I'll ever read, but it had some good info. There are all the basic suggestions as well as some surprising extras. For some reason, this was a SLOW slog for me. It just felt like a lot of words for the amount of information I took from it.

[Zayne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read 2 years ago when I first watned to learn more about Grant writing and how to get into that business as a possible option for writing. Just re-reading slowly now. It is very well formatted, but it is also extremely boring at times, and extremely informative at others.

[EAM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great book if you're seeking NIH, NSF or similar funding mechanisms. For non-profit and similar orgs, you will probably find more utility from this book.

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gave me a lot more perspective. I will definitely be referring to this a lot when I work on my next grant application.

[Sierra Allred · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for a grant-writing class, and I found it to be very helpful and informative!

[Sarah Rutherford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did I read this for pleasure? No.
Am I glad I read it anyway? Yes.

[Brad]

This book was easy to skim in order to hit the high points. Because I'm at an organization that already practices what this book preaches, not much was new to me.

[Lukas Sarnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

helpful, but primarily written before widespread internet

[Ireland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the assigned textbook for my college Grant Writing class and I found this very helpful. The information was easy to understand and the order of the information was helpful as well.

[Alexa]

Read this for a grant-writing class — a lot of really useful tips and tricks. Definitely recommend for those working in libraries, nonprofits, the public sector, etc 🫶

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read format and very helpful in the process of writing a grant proposal.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good resource.

[Kyle Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info

[Holly Weaver]

Practical advice and helpful tips. Glad this book exists!

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, but not so helpful for individuals seeking grants as it's more oriented towards organizations and/or those seeking governmental grants

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful. Especially the lists for running a kick-off meeting, documenting need, creating budgets, and proving capacity.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information. Felt a bit dated.

[Chloe Timm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately this was interesting, had to read for grant writing class and I might as well get credit.

[John Ledingham · Rating 2 out of 5]

An alright primer. This was a pretty unappealing perspective on the grant scene though, this awful intersection of corporate cynicism and ass kissing bureaucracy. Giving the book away now I read it.

[Anne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for grant writers either writing their first proposal or looking for a refresher on best practices.