"Money often costs too much."—Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Money money money money. MONEY."— The O'Jays

Money. Love it or hate it, you need it to pay rent, to buy clothes and food...and to support your expensive designer latte habit (or is that just us?). Wouldn't it be awesome if you could get money for free? There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but we're here to tell you there's such a thing as free money.

 

Speaking of Grants, here's one you'll hopefully get acquainted with soon. (Source)

It's true—it's called a grant. A grant is money given by a grantmaker (usually a foundation, trust, government department, or corporation) to a grantee (usually a nonprofit organization, educational institution, business, or even an individual). Grantees pay their grant writers to research and write proposals for these grants either through a set salary or as a percentage of the money earned. Usually, that averages out to about $43,000 a year (source). 

Unlike loans, grants are not paid back. You can even get grants to pay for your college tuition. But before you start yelling, "Show me the money!"—there's a catch (there's always a catch).

Grantmakers aren't just throwing around cold, hard cash like those hype men at sporting events firing t-shirt cannons. Before you can get your grubby little fingers on any of that dough, you must first submit a winning grant proposal. That, friend, is where our aforementioned grant writer comes in.

Grant writers do the grunt work for organizations in need of moolah, including researching, drafting, and submitting proposals. Many are self-employed and work freelance, while others are employed directly by non-profits, corporations, or other entities. 

Grant writing may not be as flashy or high profile as other writing careers, but those with a passion for it can turn it into an art form. In fact, the art of obtaining grants has its own über-technical term: grantsmanship.

Grantsmanship takes time to develop and requires a number of skills. For starters, grant writers usually have a bachelor's degree in a field such as communications, English, or marketing, although any degree that gives experience in writing will do. 

Some colleges and universities even offer courses and certificates in grant writing. A master's degree or PhD isn't usually required and frankly, it isn't likely to increase your bottom line.

 

Like this one. (Source)

As the name suggests, grant writers need to be skilled writers (shout out to Captain Obvious). A grant writer's words need to grab the reader's attention and persuade them to open their wallets. 

If you can't form two coherent sentences or clearly convey an idea through the written word, maybe try your hand in a different field.

Get ready to break out those sleuthing skills, Sherlock. Grant writers need killer research skills to seek out new grants and funding sources. You may even need to do a little detective work on potential grantmakers. 

Not the digging-through-their-trash kind of detective work you see on CSI—you want to find enough information to tailor your grant proposal to their goals and mission statement, not force them to file a restraining order. A lot of this research will be done online, so get ready to be BFFs with Google.

Next, grant writers must be obsessive about following directions. Rule breakers need not apply. While most grants have similar requirements (such as cover letter, project summary, problem or need statement, budget, qualifications, etc.), each grant will have its own specific directions for each section. Ignoring a grantmaker's rules is the fast track to a big fat NO.

Lastly, grant writers need serious tenacity and some very thick skin. There are a lot of organizations vying for the same funds, so most grant applications are denied. If you're likely to find yourself sitting in a puddle of your own tears every time you meet rejection, this may not be your thing.

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