Increase your confidence to secure funding opportunities in this competitive environment. Put yourself and your organization at the head of the curve by becoming a certified grant writing expert.
Nonprofit Management Institute
Grant Development and Proposal Writing Certificates
7 weeks
for each certificate
100% virtual
through Zoom and online assignments
12-15 hours
of coursework per week
Grant Development and Proposal Writing Certificates
New to grants? Start here
Grant Development: State and Foundation Proposals
Securing funding for nonprofit organizations can be extremely competitive. Nonprofits need compelling proposals to receive the grants they need to achieve their missions. Whether you are a student or working professional, you will benefit from instruction by an experienced grant writer with real-world experience as they guide you through the step-by-step processes for a state and foundation proposal.
The overall strategic plan for writing grants will be addressed, including the needs statement, mission, goals, objectives, evaluation, key personnel, outcomes and budgets. During this seven-week certification program, the knowledge specialist will use interactive exercises, lectures, and discussions to demonstrate how to research and write your specific project. This is a fast-paced and intensive course.
The following textbook is required for this certificate program:
Smith, Nancy Burke & Works, E. Gabriel (2012). The Complete Book of Grant Writing: Learn To Write Grants Like A Professional. Sourcebooks, Inc. Naperville, IL. ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-67291
Participants who successfully complete the Grant Development: State and Foundation Proposals certificate will receive a discount of 25% off the full price of the next immediately scheduled Advanced Grant course.
Ready for the next level?
Advanced Grant Development: Federal Proposals
The seven-week Advanced Grant Development: Federal Proposals Certificate is designed to provide the participant with the resources, expert-guided practice, and mentoring to be able to write a competitive federal grant proposal. In addition to working in small groups with an experienced grant writer, participants will also have the added bonus of receiving a personalized proposal review by the knowledge specialist prior to submission for a federal grant, as well as packaging a professional grant submission, grants management, and grants.gov.
Participants enrolling in this certificate must have advanced writing skills and previous experience in writing both state and foundation grant proposals. The following counts as acceptable experience: taking a previous college-level course or professional development course focusing on writing state and foundation grant proposals; having prior experience with a nonprofit organization writing grant proposals for state and foundation grants is also acceptable. This is a fast-paced and intensive course.
The following two textbooks are required for this certificate program:
- Smith, Nancy Burke & Works, E. Gabriel (2012). The Complete Book of Grant Writing: Learn To Write Grants Like A Professional. Sourcebooks, Inc. Naperville, IL. ISBN-13: 978-1-4022-67291
- Kester, Cheryl L., Cassidy, Karen L. (2015). In The Trenches: Writing To Win Federal Grants. Charity Channel Press. Nashville, TN. Printed book: ISBN: 978-1-938077-61-6
Topics
Grant Development: State and Foundation Proposals Certificate
Foundations of Grant Development and Proposal Writing
Explore, discuss and apply fundamental concepts to enhance your knowledge and preparation of and for the rigors of state and foundation grant proposals.
Proposal Exploration
Next, you will build upon the basic knowledge presented in the first two weeks and focus on strategies of presentation style, messaging, cohesiveness and tone. Course topics emphasize writing from the perspective of the funder, use of a grant development team and developing an accurate mid-level budget. Participants will create an intermediate level proposal using a Common Grant Application. Participants can also expect to gain a greater understanding of how funders review, rate, rank and award proposals.
Proposal Application and Grant Management
This section explores state-level and large foundation grant opportunities, and challenges the participant to advance their research, project design, evaluation plan and reporting mechanisms. More advanced budget exercises further advance the skills and knowledge required to develop multi-year budgets and complex in-kind support. Participants can expect to research, evaluate and revise some larger grant proposals using the information provided in the course.
Advanced Grant Development: Federal Proposals
Offering a unique full-cycle grant writing experience, this intensive seven-week certificate is designed to provide you with the resources, expert-guided practice and mentorship to produce a highly competitive federal grant proposal. You will learn how to work with grants.gov, package a final grant submission and manage a federal grant once awarded.
Participants enrolling in this certificate must have advanced writing skills and previous experience in writing both state and foundation grant proposals.
Format and cost
The Grant Development: State and Foundation Proposals Certificate and the Advanced Grant Development: Federal Proposals Certificate are both seven-week courses. You should expect approximately 12-15 hours per week of coursework.
During both certification classes, students will write their own grant proposals. Each week in the courses, students write and develop a portion of the proposal application they are working on. These are fast-paced and intensive courses. Students should have proficient writing skills and are required to keep up with weekly assignments before they can move on to the next section of the grant application.
Participants must begin the class with a pre-identified organization for which they will be writing a proposal. This can be a nonprofit for which they work or a community need for which you want to write a proposal. To be successful in the course, it is essential to be able to:
- Retrieve detailed information from that nonprofit, such as the nonprofit’s mission, programming, budget or 990 forms.
- Have personal knowledge from a previous volunteer or employment situation with a nonprofit or from online research to generate a budget based on the needs of the nonprofit, the project or the community.
- Have proficient language and writing skills.
Certificate costs
State and Foundation Proposals:
- With Early Bird discount: $1,149
- Without discount: $1,197
Federal Proposals:
- With Early Bird discount: $1,199
- Without discount: $1,325
The Early Bird discount ends two weeks before the program's start date. Participants who successfully complete the first Grant Development certificate will receive a discount of 25% off the regular price of the next immediate Advanced Grants program.
Frequently asked questions
Get answers to common questions about our two grant development certificates.
Register
| Title | Program date | Course delivery | Qualifies for certificate(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Development: State and Foundation Proposals Certificate (February 2025) | - | Fully online (with live Zoom sessions) | Grant Development: State and Foundation Proposals Certificate |
| Advanced Grant Development: Federal Proposals Certificate (June 2025) | - | Fully online (with live Zoom sessions) | Advanced Grant Development: Federal Proposals |
Credentialing
The ASU Lodestar Center is a Grant Professionals Certification Institute Accepted Education Provider. Full participation in each program is applicable for 3 points in Category 1 - Education.
Flexible online learning
The ASU Lodestar Center's Nonprofit Management Institute offers courses in an interactive online format with multiple enrollment sessions throughout the year.
Program contact information
If you have questions related to this program, please complete an interest form and a program manager will get in touch with you directly.