Grant Writing For Dummies

by Beverly A. Browning

Are you writing a grant application for the first time? Maybe you’re a veteran fundraiser looking to sharpen your grant writing skills. No matter how experienced you are at writing requests for money, people and organizations are not going to support you just because you’re in need. Grant Writing for Dummies, 2 nd Edition shows you the most effective way to compose a grant proposal and get funding from governments, corporations, foundations, and more! This hands-on, step-by-step guide leads you through researching options, dealing with application forms, handling potential sponsors, and getting the money you need. Revised and up-to-date, this book covers everything you need to know Demystifying the process of grant writing, this all-out guide gives you just the facts with no information withheld. You’ll get savvy tips on organizing your writing, developing your style, personalizing your requests, and how to handle your rejection and move forward. Also included is a complete example of a grant application narrative. With Grant Writing for Dummies, 2 nd Edition, you’ll be able to craft effective proposals and go for the gold!

Genres: Nonfiction, Writing, Business, Reference, Finance, Self Help, Ebooks

340 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2001

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful, generic introduction to grant writing. Covers a very broad swathe so a good intro but not where you'll want to camp out long term. I appreciate some of the general writing advice, though, such as action verb use.
Incidentally, this is only about 50% helpful if your non-profit doesn't look for government grants.

[Carin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh. This book was a slog. But I made it through the whole thing.

I get it, there are an awful lot of different types of nonprofits looking for different types of grants, but I was disappointed. The author mostly went after the low-hanging fruit. Every once in a while she'd acknowledge that an organization might not have had previous grants and therefore can't show success, but her only solution is, if you're new, partner with someone. If you're not, you're screwed. That's not super-helpful. All her examples are things like getting funding for a program to improve childhood literacy or getting a grant for a program to feed hungry families in a neighborhood. That's all well and good but what if you're at a nonprofit that essentially doesn't have fundable programs (trust me, this exists. It's the nonprofit I'm trying to write grants for.) What if what you need is money for general operating expenses? She mentions in passing once that getting GOE money is possible, but that's it. No tips on how to do it. No suggestion on what types of grantees to look for. And she's also assuming that the grantwriter is a full-time professional, who has time to make dozens and dozens of calls before and after the grant, not a volunteer doing this on nights and weekends who just doesn't have that kind of time. I also was unimpressed with her admitted dislike of new technologies like online grant submissions.

I did learn a bit and I will use some of the information, but I felt the author had a supercilious tone and didn't seem to understand what this process is like for the little people. In fact, for underfunded nonprofits with no paid staff and no fundable programs, the message of this book is Just give up. It shouldn't be.

[Tamara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all dummies books, this gave me a good idea of the "rules" of grants and where to start looking for information.

I do wish that they separated this out in to the process of looking for available grants and the process of actually applying for grants. The two processes together are extremely daunting! One thing at a time!

And btw, it is very disconcerting when books reference going to your public library for information when we do not actually have information to give. As a librarian, I have received no training on resources for grants, scholarships, genealogy, etc, and yet people are always told to come to the library to start their search. Am I alone in feeling very unprepared for these types of questions? Am I the only one turning to the dummies series for answers?

[bethany m. planton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great resource/reference manual for any grant professional from the newbie to the seasoned professional. As a grant professional, I highly recommend this book and wish I had read it when I was first starting out.

[Nikki McKinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Told me some stuff I already knew but pointed out stuff I didn't!

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything you could ever possibly want to know about writing a grant is in here with easy, bite-sized tips. There’s a lot of repetition on key points, but I feel like that may have been done for the people who are writing a grant as they are reading along in this book. Still not feeling super confident in my skills, but this book did offer some really great advice for beginners - especially on where to look for funding.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprisingly excellent. I don't have a high opinion of most ...for Dummies books, but this one was so highly recommended I decided to try it out. I'm glad I did. Browning has some clear advice about aspects of grant writing that many other books don't cover. This one I'll purchase and keep as a reference book.

[Joanne Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does exactly what it's supposed to do.

[KRM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably very useful for non-profits but less helpful in academia. I suspect the 2005 version is out of date by now in a lot of ways, but it still had some good tips.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to guide

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only is this book so fleshed out and informative, it’s always incredibly motivating!

[David Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modeled after so many other "Dummies" books. This book is a good starting point for either new grant writers or someone who just wants to refresh their knowledge on the subject.

[D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grateful that I read it. I feel quite (if not fully) more prepared to tackle the beast known as grant writing for the first time for my organization.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doctor Beverly A. Browning published the American-Canadian version of Grant Writing for Dummies in 2022. Browning is a professional grant writer. Browning’s clients are very diverse. I read the 7th edition. The book has an index. Browning’s book, Grant Writing for Dummies, was an excellent introduction to grant writing. Browning's book has twenty-five chapters. The book covers a lot of ground. The book has six sections. Section 1 is an introduction to grant writing. Section 2 is on “researching grant funding opportunities” (Browning 55) Section 3 discusses maximizing the reader’s “chances of winning a grant award” (Browning 121). Section 4 is entitled “Following the funder’s guidelines” (Browning 167). Section 5 is on revising the reader’s application, submitting the application, and following up on the application to receive a grant. Section 6 is on e-grant applications and how a person can pursue grant writing as a career. I agree with the Goodreads reviewer named Amy that Browning’s book is focused on grant writing for grants from the government. I found Doctor Beverly A. Browning’s book Grant Writing for Dummies to be an excellent overview of the field of grant writing in the United States and Canada. I found the review from the Goodreads reviewer named Amy helpful in writing this ‘review.’

[Max Renn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was right there with you all when you said to me "i cant believe you of all people are reading one of those dummies books." All I can say is that the woman at the grant foundation told me this was THE best book to read as an introduction to grant writing and I may be many things but one thing I'm not is fool enough to argue with a specialist when they share the knowledge I asked them for.

I'm tempted to feel the same way about this book. Written clearly and concisely with a friendly tone, I did indeed find most of my questions answered and feel quite confident about what was previously an intimidating and seemingly arcane subject. I cant tell you yet whether Dr. Browning's suggestions actually work but what she says makes a lot of sense unlike many self-teaching books and she provides you with a great deal of actionable intelligence that works just fine for me as a starting point in this endeavor.

Whether this holds true for all "Dummies" titles I dont know, but I dont feel as snarky about them as I once did.

The one complaint I have is that the promised proposal isnt a complete front to back example,most of it is there but i would of liked a visual of all parts of the form, not just the narrative. But overall its a small complaint about a very useful volume.

[Ke · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main audience of this book are American nonprofit organizers, but its content is nevertheless relevant for any kind of expository writing (e.g. personal statements, CVs, job applications, etc.). There are plenty of examples, tips for resources and one of my favorite mnemonic device for better writing is SMART:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time bound

Maybe my only complaint is that the cartoons dividing the sections weren't funny.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate the Dummies series on principle, but this had some useful information. Most of the projects Browning uses as examples are a lot larger in scope than the grant I'm currently working on, but much of the information was transferrable, and I'll be referring back to this book as I work my way through the application.

[christina]

Up until now I have stubbornly refused out of pure loathing for the premise, for the name really i guess, to read any for dummies... books.

But this one does really look like an excellent book on the topic, and I trust shane to be highly discriminating, so here goes...

[Alexandra Chauran · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all the dummies books, this one was straight-forward and light reading. I actually think it almost had too many practical examples. That said, it sets people up with plenty of tools for writing grants. I wish that there was a chapter that was specific for writing grants for individuals.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part 2 of my rhetorical analysis material...

[Robert Fischer]

Recommended to me by someone who works in nonprofits — one of the most singularly useful books they've encountered on the topic.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful.

[Elena Rush · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic!

[Catherine]

In white county library system

[Gordon DeLand · Rating 4 out of 5]

Technical. Helpful. I see why it is a full time job!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some chapters were more helpful than others. Still, not a bad book to have around if you are responsible for writing or overseeing grantwriting in a nonprofit.