Job Responsibilities
Write grants - 20%;
research grants for city and other local organizations - 5%;
review/edit grants for other organizations - 3%;
manage grants - 5%;
manage Community Development Block Grant - 30%;
maintain affordable housing information - 1%;
currently developing affordable housing program for city - 10%;
represent City on local social services team - 2%;
meetings/other duties as assigned - 24%.
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Job Requirements
Must be an excellent writer and a good researcher. Must be able
to use persuasive skills since information is needed from others
overwhom you will have no authority. Must be able to work in
intense spurts since crunch time happens with each grant no
matter how organized you are. Must be able to ask probing
questions, be concise, precise, and persuasive. Must be
organized and able to follow directions exactly. Must be able to
handle disappointment since the success rate on grant writing is
only about 10%.
My background is education. I have experience at all levels of
education, corporate America, not-for-profit, and public
service. I have taken several grant writing courses. There are
also professional grant organizations. Grant writing is
somewhat different if you work for government than for a not-for-
profit. Writing grants is really proposal writing. Just a hint
to improve your outcomes, make friends with the funding source.
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Uppers
Seeing the results of the grant support - For example, children playing at a
park where I secured the funding for development.
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Downers
Trying to get needed information in a timely fashion. Grants
are funded by scores. Highest scores get funded first. Getting
use to not receiving a grant because the funds were expended
before my number came up.
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Lifestyle
Must be able to work alone. Writing is a solitary activity. Meetings are
required. Funders have informational meetings. I meet with those from whom I
need support or information. Federal Government grants have a lot of record
keeping and requirements in general. I occasionally have to defend what I do to
the City Council. They do not understand why each grant is not funded. No
particular dress code. Hours vary by project. I usually work more than a 40
hour week. I do get out to project sites since I have to monitor and document
progress. I work with committees but there is not much social contact. People
do seek me out for information. Pace is not as frantic as corporate America but
politics can be an issue.
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Compensation
Average salary for grant writers in small cities is about
$40,000. As a City employee my benefits are pretty good. I
have medical, dental, vision, and life insurance, and state
retirement. I can participate in a plan similar to a 401K
plan. I also pay into social security so I can expect a pretty
decent retirement. Raises may or may not happen since we are
paid out of public funds. Our City does not have a property tax
so all city income is derived from sales tax dollars. Our city
regularly does surveys to make sure pay is competitive with
similar positions in similar sized towns.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Grant writing is a growing field. As dollars become scare, a
good grant writer is in great demand. Most people don't start
out saying "I want to be a grant writer." A broad base of
experience is particularly helpful in this field.
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