11 Best Grant Writing Classes 2024: Reviews and Pricing
The competition for grant money is fierce. With so many nonprofit organizations vying for each pot of funding, it’s essential to have a competitive edge to get the grant you need. One way to bolster your chances of success is by enrolling in one or more grant writing classes.
Do you want to learn how to start writing more effective grant proposals? If yes, then this is the article for you. Grant writing is a skill that can take years to master. On top of mastering grammar and research skills, understanding what funders are looking for in a proposal takes time.
There are many different options available for finding the best online courses for you, but this article will help make your search easier.
11 Best Grant Writing Classes Online
This is a vetted list organized by accredited grant writing classes, institution, pricing, and duration.
1. Grant Writing Certification – Technical Writer HQ
Duration: 20 hours
Price: $199
Technical Writer HQ’s Grant Writing Certification is great for those of you who are looking to become skilled in grant writing and want actionable advice and practical knowledge. The course covers every aspect of writing a winning grant proposal. Moreover, it covers how to build relationships with funders and present your proposal as well.
The best part is the course includes actual instructor feedback on a grant proposal that you create. This way, you can ensure you’re getting the most out of this course. The course also has a number of homeworks to help you write grant proposals with more clarity.
The course is taught by Josh (a certified grant writer with over 10 years of experience). There are also seven quizzes, a certification test, and a capstone project.
For more information and to enroll, check out Grant Writing Certification by Technical Writer HQ.
2. Fundamentals of Grant Writing (University of Georgia)
Duration: 24 hours
Pricing: $159
The Fundamentals of Grant Writing certification course covers every critical concept that a professional grant writer should know. It teaches practical grant writing skills and covers specific aspects, including research, presentations, and networking. Additionally, the class focuses on finding potential funding sources that best suits your organization.
Because the course covers more advanced areas of the grant writing business, it’s also valuable to individuals who already work or have jobs as grant writers.
Fundamentals of Grant Writing has a total of 12 classes by Linda Vallejo (a full-time certified grant writer with more than three decades of experience). You can choose between the two formats available: instructor-led or self-study. The course duration is 24 hours, and the pricing is $159.
You can learn more about this grant writing class here.
3. Grant Writing for Non-profits and Freelance Writers (Udemy)
Duration: 1 hour and 34 minutes
Pricing: $29.99, possible discounts
Udemy is renowned for its endless educational courses across multiple industries and niches. This 1-hour and 34-minute grant writing certificate program is for beginners seeking to enter the grant writing business as freelancers or under nonprofits.
It focuses on enhancing their research and technical writing abilities before applying for government grants. Tim Whitney developed the course as a professional grant writer with several successful multi-million dollar grant proposals under his belt.
He provides students with real-life case studies, strategies for developing successful grant proposals, and the language type and tone to write to different entities. He also highlights the non-technical aspects of a grant writer’s role, including relationship building and thinking like a funder.
This course comes with lots of extra perks. Though retailing at $24.99, Udemy constantly offers discounts on every course on its catalog. Depending on the promotional offer, you can get an offer as low as below $10. You also get lifetime access once you’re enrolled.
You can learn more about this grant writing class here.
4. Professional and Academic Proposal Writing (Thompson Rivers University)
Duration: 30 weeks
Pricing: $760 – $1419
This 30-week grant writing certification offers beginners and intermediate writers an excellent all-around grant writing program.
It’s applicable for numerous entities across the grant writing spectrum, including government, education, art, health, and the nonprofit sector. The program teaches students skills like developing a grant proposal, defining the prime purpose of the fundraising, coming up with efficient budgeting strategies, etc.
This writing course teaches students the procedures and guidelines for writing a successful grant application, including creating introductory sections and letters of intent. Despite having many fundamentals, the course has limited resources on interpersonal skills. This makes the program ideal for rookies who want to learn the basic principles of writing grants.
Despite covering many of the fundamentals, this course has limited resources on interpersonal skills. This makes it ideal if you’re entirely new to the industry and interested in learning the foundational principles of grant writing.
Pricing starts at $695 and reaches up to $1258. This includes the cost of reading material and the shipping cost of delivering your study material to you.
You can learn more about this grant writing class here.
5. Grant Writing Basics for Beginners (Skillshare)
Duration: 50 minutes
Pricing: $165 annual subscription
This course is ideal for beginners with zero experience in grant writing. It consists of 10 lessons, for 50 minutes, which is a perfect length for a starter course. This class provides answers to frequently asked questions and concerns a novice writer may have. Unfortunately, it doesn’t cover in detail how to draft proposals.
Teresa Huff teaches the course as a professional grant writer with 20 years of experience drafting grant proposals. She shares tips on getting started as a grant writer while also sharing some common industry knowledge. Please keep in mind that this only course focuses on grants for nonprofits and schools.
Skillshare’s grant writing certification is free for the first 14 days after signing up for your Skillshare membership. After the free 14-day trial, a monthly subscription fee applies for $19.
You can learn more about this grant writing class here.
6. WVDO Certificate in Grant Writing
Duration: 9 weeks
Pricing: $250 to $2000 (depending on criteria)
This 9-week grant writing certification course teaches practical writing skills to develop effective grant proposal applications. There are no prerequisites here, so people with limited or no experience can enroll. This makes it the real deal for anyone switching to grant writing from any other writing discipline to grant writing.
This course helps you build industry experience writing for nonprofits. Students use ready-made letters and reference materials to draw proposals upon course completion.
Each enrollment section takes a maximum of 15 students. This shows the level of focus and individual attention received by each attendee. To apply for this certification, you’re required to submit an updated resume that shows your writing and communication skills and why you are interested in this certification.
The cost of this certification is $900, although students that cannot afford the full tuition fee can request financial assistance.
You can learn more about this course here.
7. Professional Certificate in Grant Writing (San Diego State University)
Duration: 10 weeks
Pricing: $898
SDSU recognizes the vast number of charity and nonprofit projects requiring grant funding. This has led them to create a grant writing certification. Participants are required to complete
This recognition has led them to create their grant writing certification. The syllabus of the program contains two courses that students are required to complete to obtain this certification:
- Introduction to Grants and Funding Research
- Grant Proposal Development
The first course accommodates beginners and freelance writers. It takes students through the basics of grant writing. The second course is for the more experienced students looking to practice further and develop their skills.
Furthermore, this certification is specific to the nonprofit industry, involving clinics, local schools, environmental organizations, and food banks. It’s not a good fit for individuals looking to develop their portfolios as businesses or research writers. The tuition fee for this course is $449, and it runs for 10 weeks.
You can learn more about this course here.
8. A to Z Grant Writing (University of Colorado, Colorado Springs)
Duration:
- Instructor-led: 6 weeks
- Self-paced: 3 month
Pricing:
- Instructor-led: $135
- Self-paced: $100
The A-to-Z Grant Writing certification course teaches students everything they need to write a grant attracting attention from potential funders, getting them closer to winning grants for projects.
This course isn’t limited to a specific sector in the grant writing space. It works for religious institutions, education, and nonprofit management sectors. Furthermore, it’s an instructed-led course taught by Linda Vallejo.
Aside from teaching students the technical skills involved in grant writing, it also introduces them to essential activities away from the desk. These activities include organization, presentation, collaboration, and confidence. The course lasts for six weeks and costs $135.
You can learn more about this course here.
9. University of South Carolina (USC)
Duration: 11 days
Pricing: $1332
The University of South Carolina provides one of the most elaborate and extensive grant writing certifications. The course prepares professionals for aspects essential to the grant writing field.
The course is primarily a formal training program, which begins with an introductory course to grant writing and a needs-based assessment.
Following the introductory module, there’s program development and evaluation. It concentrates on strategic models and tools necessary for writing a successful grant proposal.
Finally, the last module teaches the grant writing process. All courses are held online with no self-paced version yet. The tuition fee for this program is $1332.
You can learn more about this course here.
10. Advanced Grant Proposal Writing (ed2go)
Duration: 6-12 weeks
Pricing:
- Instructor-led: $135
- Self-paced: $115
As the name suggests, this course is for the more advanced, more experienced writers. It explores the structure and formatting more intricately than other grant writing certifications.
Aside from building the foundation of your grant writing knowledge, the course teaches you how to move forward (grant management) once you secure grant money. Additionally, you learn how to develop non-technical, practical skills.
Advanced Grant Proposal Writing offers teaching formats. The instructor-led option takes between 6–12 weeks to complete; however, you can learn at your own pace with the self-study variant. The course is by Dr. Beverly Browning, a professional grant writer with four decades of experience. You can enroll in this course for $115.
You can learn more about this course here.
11. Arizona State University
Duration: 7 weeks
Pricing: $999 – $1175
Arizona State University provides two grant writing certification programs. One is for beginners-writers, while the other is for mid-level writers. Students are encouraged to enroll in the latter after completing the first program and getting relevant hands-on experience.
Grant Development: State and Foundation Proposals
This course teaches strategic planning and the fundamental elements that students need to know when drafting proposals. This highly interactive course costs $1050 and runs for 7 weeks. Although it’s perfect for individuals new to writing grants, the providers describe the course as “fast-paced and intensive.”
This course isn’t instructor-led. Students engage with the course material actively. Furthermore, ASU offers a mid-level course for more advanced/experienced grant-writers.
Advanced Grant Development: Federal Proposals
This course is for writers with more grant writing experience. It coaches individuals to write compelling federal grant proposals, too.
Students work in smaller focus groups with the knowledge specialist. They also benefit from having their proposals reviewed before submission for federal grants. Since it’s an advanced program, it requires some experience in state and foundations grant writing.
The tuition fee for this certification is $1175. However, if you enroll after taking the preceding beginner course, ASU offers you a 25% discount.
You can learn more about their courses here.
Wrap up
So there you have it! A review of the best grant writing classes available online to help you find the best certification program for your needs. We wish you the very best in your learning journey and career.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about grant writing.
Why should I take a grant writing class?
If you are new to grant writing, whether you need to write grants at your full-time job or if you’re looking to start freelancing, you would benefit from taking a course. If you’re contemplating switching careers to a sector/industry that requires writing grants, such as government or nonprofits, you may want to acquaint yourself with the process of grant writing by picking an online course.
Experienced professional grant writers probably don’t need to enroll in a course; however, continuing education courses or more advanced classes could spark new ideas or give a fresh perspective. You’ll also stay up-to-date with industry trends.
How much do grant writing classes cost?
Online grant writing classes range from $0 to $300. Live-instructor-led courses are usually costlier than self-paced courses. Some providers allow free trials or bar certain features, such as quizzes and graded assignments, for their free versions. A university-sponsored program or a more formal certification can cost thousands of dollars.
What are the best grant writing classes?
We compiled a list above of some of the best grant writing classes. To choose an ideal grant writing class, you need a career map. This helps you choose a course that delivers knowledge and skills best suited to your needs to increase your pay and salary. It’s also essential to pick a certification program that aligns with the professional sector you wish to work in (nonprofits, education, healthcare, etc.).
To identify the best courses, we looked at instructor quality, course material and length, cost, and student feedback. These are among the most important qualities to consider when finding the ideal online grant writing classes.
All courses on the list above have a comprehensive syllabus, are accessible on multiple platforms, have outstanding reputations, and benefit you quickly.
If you are new to grant writing and are looking to break-in, we recommend taking our Grant Writing Certification Course, where you will learn the fundamentals of being a grant writer, how to write proposals that win grants, and how to stand out as a grant writing candidate.
