How to Become a Freelance Grant Writer with No Experience

Non-profit organizations often turn to grant programs to support their operations or specific projects. (Local governments, educational institutions, and for-profit corporations can be eligible for some grant programs, too.)

Grants are financial awards, usually given on a competitive basis by foundations and government agencies. They aren’t expected to be paid back.

Organizations seeking grant funding need to:

• Research the landscape of grant programs that might align with their needs and for which they are eligible
• Monitor funding cycles and application requirements
• Prepare a grant proposal
• Work through the grantor’s submission procedures

Creating a grant proposal requires a solid writer, and it’s something that smaller organizations often aren’t staffed to take on in-house. Enter you, the freelance grant writer.

Getting involved in grants can be an excellent way to turn your writing skills into extra income. It can be fulfilling, too, if you support the causes and initiatives you’re trying to win funding for.

Grant writing is also a marketable skill for the long term: Once you win that first grant, people will never stop calling you to write the next one.

Pros of grant writing as a side hustle

Grant writers often enjoy the fact that this side hustle is:

• Flexible: This is perhaps the number one pro of working as a freelancer (of any kind). You can make your own schedule. As long as you meet your client’s needs, your research and writing process are largely up to you.
• Remote-friendly: As a grant writer, you can work from essentially anywhere. All you need is a laptop and an internet connection.
• In demand: Nonprofits always need funding, and many small and mid-sized organizations don’t have in-house staff dedicated to this task, or need to outsource it regularly when things get busy.
• Fairly lucrative: Even beginning grant writers can charge $25 per hour. This isn’t a bad rate when you’re breaking into a new industry, and with experience, you can raise it. Experienced grant writers, especially those with proven track records securing large grant awards from federal agencies for scientific and technical projects, can earn upward of $200 per hour for complex projects.
• Fulfilling: In the grant writing business, you’ll often be working on behalf of good causes. That might not always be the case for other types of freelance writing, where you’ll sometimes have to work on projects that you don’t feel invested in on a personal level.

So if you’re someone who enjoys the craft of freelance writing—with all of the research it entails—and you’re passionate about making the world a better place, then grant writing is probably a niche worth exploring.

Cons of grant writing as a side hustle

Some of the downsides of grant writing as a side hustle are that it is:

• Painstaking: With some writing-related side hustles, it’s possible to produce reams of text very quickly (and, in fact, it’s often necessary to do so to earn a decent wage). Grant writing isn’t like that. Each assignment requires meticulous research, and in the beginning, the time commitment required may be steep as you immerse yourself in the funder’s mission, the grant requirements, and your client’s background and value proposition.
• Competitive (initially): As a freelance grant writer, at first you’ll have to go out of your way to find clients and convince them that you are the writer for the job. This takes some initiative and hustle as you work to out-compete people with existing track records. If you’re using freelance work platforms, it won’t be uncommon for you to pitch to clients who are considering a dozen or more other freelancers. (But once you write a successful grant for them, they’ll rely on you for the long haul.)
• Unpredictable: As with any freelance work, grant writing as a side hustle doesn’t necessarily make for a steady and predictable flow of work and income. But it can become more reliable when you are better established and find yourself in more consistent demand from repeat clients. Nonetheless, it’s irregular enough that it would be difficult to rely on for your sole income, unless you are willing to work in a formal grant writing position at an organization.

AI’s future impact on freelance grant writing

As large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT get more sophisticated, they may become more capable of taking on some aspects of grant writing. More to the point, clients may become more comfortable using them, even if human writers still produce better work.

So, as with any kind of freelance writing, there’s some risk that AI will progressively eat away at the market for skilled grant writing—a risk you’ll want to consider before investing time and energy into establishing yourself in the industry.

But for now, a human touch is needed to generate a competitive and differentiated grant proposal—one that successfully persuades the funder that the applicant’s project is compelling and aligned with the grant program’s mission. A real person is also needed to coordinate and assemble any supporting documentation and grapple with the particulars of a given application portal.

As with any freelance writing profession, you’d be well advised to learn how to leverage AI tools to produce your best deliverables. That could include feeding an LLM existing documents about the applicant organization’s history, mission, and past grant proposals and asking it to generate some initial text to get you started.

In contrast to other freelance writers, who often opt to be paid by the word, grant writers are usually paid on an hourly basis, or charge a fixed fee for a particular grant proposal.

Rates vary widely. Novice grant writers often make around $20–$30 per hour, whereas intermediate writers typically earn rates that are closer to $50–$70 per hour.

Experienced, in-demand writers set their prices much higher, at $100–$150 per hour, or even more for complex grant programs supporting highly technical work.

How to set your rates

The rates you can get away with charging largely depend on your experience and reputation. If you can point to a few good wins, you’ll be able to hike your prices more quickly. Keep a clear record of the grant amounts you’ve won for clients so that you can advertise that figure. Building a portfolio that includes multiple grantor agencies and programs can also be a selling point.

Your best bet when it comes to setting your initial rates is to conduct a little competitor research. Register on freelance websites like Upwork and take a look at their roster of freelance grant writers. Home in on ones with experience comparable to your own and see what they charge.

There really aren’t any special qualifications you need to become a freelance grant writer. Full-time, in-house positions may require you to have at least a bachelor’s degree, but generally speaking, freelance gigs don’t have any such requirements.

Instead, you’ll get hired based on your actual skills and your track record. Clear, concise writing and attention to detail are the two most critical skills for this field.

Do you need to get certified to be a grant writer?

You don’t need any professional certifications to be a freelance grant writer, either. Some grant writers do obtain the Grant Professionals Certified (GPC) credential from the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI), but it’s rare for clients to require it. You’ll probably find that most don’t even ask about it.

Grant writing courses

There are plenty of grant writing courses you can take, such as the ones offered by LearnGrantWriting.org. (Note that we haven’t interviewed anyone who’s taken this course and we can’t vouch for its quality, but it’s reportedly fairly popular among novice grant writers.)

Grant writing courses are a fairly common offering at colleges and community colleges, too. You may be able to find affordable in-person courses at a school near you.

But again, taking grant writing courses is optional. We recommend holding off on them (and on getting the GPC certification) until you’ve actually landed and completed a few jobs.

After that, you’ll have a better sense for whether grant writing is actually a side hustle you’re passionate about, and how much value these courses and certifications would add to your work.

If grant writing sounds like something you’d like to try your hand at, follow these steps to find work:

1. Practice grant writing and build your track record

If you’re new to this side hustle, you should test the waters before trying to land paid work. This will give you a chance to round out your skills and create a decent portfolio, which is key to landing writing gigs.

One of the best ways to enter the industry is to get in touch with a small non-profit in your area and volunteer to write a grant on their behalf. (You could even join a board of your local arts organization or community center.)

You can then use that opportunity to review old winning proposals, see how grant program requirements were addressed, and get the hang of how to represent a client’s mission and values.

We recommend starting with smaller nonoprofit clients pursuing grants from foundations. Those tend to be less complex programs (compared to federal grants, for example), and are the best assignments for getting your feet wet.

A note about portfolios

Unlike other types of freelance writing, grant writing doesn’t lend itself very well to building a portfolio that you can host online. Since grant programs are competitive, clients are unlikely to want their proposals splashed on the internet.

But if you have a portfolio with other types of writing samples, they can go a long way to giving clients confidence in your writing skills. Even better if they are samples that were designed for fundraising purposes or to help communicate an organization’s mission and values.

Popular portfolio websites for writers include:

• Authory
• JournoPortfolio

Alternatively, you can create a personal website using a service like WordPress.com and host your portfolio there.

Regardless of what you can present for your portfolio, be sure to clearly advertise your track record—how many dollars you’ve won for clients and what grantor organizations and programs you’ve been successful with. State that you’re happy to provide references. That’s the data a nonprofit executive director is going to look at when considering you for the job.

2. Update your LinkedIn

When you create your portfolio or website, it’s also worth creating or updating your LinkedIn profile. Many of your clients’ first moves will be to look you up on LinkedIn when they receive your pitch.

The more information you can provide about yourself, the more confident your potential clients will feel. Grant writing is a big deal to the nonprofits that rely on it, and when you’re just starting out, you’re a completely unknown quantity. It’s important to do everything you can to make them feel confident about choosing you for the job.

3. Create an account on popular freelancing marketplaces

There are many platforms you can use to find freelance work. The biggest names include:

• Upwork
• Fiverr
• Freelancer.com
• Guru
• Toptal

Create an account on at least three of these sites (on all of them, if you have the time for it). Describe your background and your services and include a prominent link to your portfolio and LinkedIn in each of your profiles.

4. Spend at least 30 minutes per day applying to jobs

Now that you’ve established a strong web presence and built up a portfolio, the only thing left is for you to actually put yourself out there and pitch to potential clients.

All of the freelance marketplaces linked above have search functions. Just type in variations on “grant writing,” “grant funding proposal,” “grant application,” etc., and see what turns up. When you see something that interests you and that you think you’d be qualified to take on, write up a pitch and send it.

You probably won’t strike gold the first time you try this, but keep at it. Again, spend at least half an hour per day looking for work. Consistency is the key when it comes to getting your start as a freelancer.

Other places to find work

Many freelancers begin on websites like Upwork, but some companies post openings for freelance grant writers elsewhere. You should keep tabs on these job boards:

• Indeed
• Glassdoor
• Monster

You can also try cold pitching (i.e., sending unsolicited pitches via email) to organizations that have won past awards from an agency that you’ve had success with. For example, if you’ve written a successful grant to a state’s arts council, look for past press releases on former awardees—they might be in the market for writers for their next projects.

You’ll probably get more traction with smaller organizations—larger ones are more likely to already have a roster of writers that they prefer to work with, or perform that work in-house.

Lastly, consider joining a professional association such as the American Grant Writers’ Association (AGWA). This can help you get established and stay connected. Organizations like AGWA provide their members with resources for improving their skills and finding jobs.

5. Put everything you have into doing a great job

Once you land your first few clients, you’ll want to put a good deal of focus and energy into maintaining those relationships.

It goes without saying that you should always turn in your best work, but make sure you’re also acing the less obvious aspects of maintaining a client-freelancer relationship, such as always responding to your messages promptly (and politely) and doing your best to anticipate their concerns before they have to ask.

If a client likes you and your work, there’s a good chance they’ll keep coming back to you. They may even recommend you to their friends or affiliates, which is exactly what you need to get your grant writing side hustle off the ground.

Ready to begin? Here’s some additional guidance to bear in mind when you sit down to write and submit your first grant:

• Be prepared to help each client validate the eligibility of their project for the grant program in question. Your job as a grant writer isn’t just to put words down on paper—in some respects, you may also be expected to act like a consultant or advisor, as well.
• Pay attention to detail. Proposals can be disqualified on the basis of small errors—a missing supporting document upload, a project budget that doesn’t quite add up, exceeded word limits, or some instruction not followed.
• Get right to the point. This is not the place for flowery language. In grant writing, more than perhaps any other type of writing, brevity and clarity are critical. Address the grant question or criteria immediately and clearly, then expand from there with supporting or explanatory points.
• Keep in mind that reviewers are reviewing your proposal against some kind of criteria sheet. Make it easy for them to find the answers they’re looking for, exactly where they’re looking for them. Organize your proposal narrative to the exact specifications of the grant instructions. If they’re not specified, put thought into arranging your narrative with headers that reflect key review criteria. Make sure your win themes stand out.
• Submit ahead of the deadline. Grant portals are—put bluntly—some of the worst websites on the planet, and you will probably encounter issues you’ll need to resolve. It’s important to budget plenty of time to do so.