as a grantwriter this is of course my nightmare
The House is set to vote TODAY on new legislation that could give the Treasury Secretary the unilateral and unprecedented authority to go after nonprofits that the White House disagrees with.
The bill is anti-democratic and must not pass.
The bill is anti-democratic and must not pass.
November 12, 2024 at 11:55 PM
as a grantwriter this is of course my nightmare
as a grantwriter working on digital equity since 2017 - access to technology and affordable internet is broadly considered part of core wraparound services now. you can’t apply for jobs, access gov’t benefits etc without it. ignore online hot takes. people actually doing the work know this
Never take seriously those who ridicule low income people for having a smartphone or laptop.
“If they’re so poor how did they buy an iPhone???”
Because they’re trying to escape poverty, not the 1700s, genius. If you think basic tech access is unnecessary or a luxury, survive a month without it.
“If they’re so poor how did they buy an iPhone???”
Because they’re trying to escape poverty, not the 1700s, genius. If you think basic tech access is unnecessary or a luxury, survive a month without it.
May 24, 2025 at 11:15 PM
as a grantwriter working on digital equity since 2017 - access to technology and affordable internet is broadly considered part of core wraparound services now. you can’t apply for jobs, access gov’t benefits etc without it. ignore online hot takes. people actually doing the work know this
as a grantwriter, the lack of unrestricted funding is a MASSIVE burden on nonprofits. everyone wants to fund a new shiny pilot program that makes them look like innovators. they don’t want to help make your tried and tested programs that have served the community for 50 years more sustainable
The headline I feel like is that all the philanthropic donations from billionaires typically have a shitload of restrictions.
Mackenzie is like “you’re doing work to stop something horrible or to help something good? Cool. Here’s a few hundred million.” and the paper is like “wow… so novel”
Mackenzie is like “you’re doing work to stop something horrible or to help something good? Cool. Here’s a few hundred million.” and the paper is like “wow… so novel”
Mackenzie Scott’s signature philanthropic style is giving unrestricted gifts—a rarity in the industry. trib.al/DjrurgM
December 3, 2025 at 2:53 AM
as a grantwriter, the lack of unrestricted funding is a MASSIVE burden on nonprofits. everyone wants to fund a new shiny pilot program that makes them look like innovators. they don’t want to help make your tried and tested programs that have served the community for 50 years more sustainable
Great gig for disability justice grant writing work
Grantwriter (Contractor) - New Disabled South
Title: Grantwriter (Contractor)Compensation: $55 an hour; 20-25 hours weekly One year contract Location: Virtual with roots in/connections to any of the following states: AL, AR, FL, GA...
apply.workable.com
August 27, 2025 at 7:48 PM
Great gig for disability justice grant writing work
back before Covid vaccines were generally available and I was high risk enough to need one but not to get one, a client whose program staff were eligible because they ran arts workshops in schools cheerfully lied to include me, their remote-work grantwriter, and I’ll never forget how grateful I was
No, you're not ineligible for the vaccine. Let me introduce you to the concept of lying.
August 28, 2025 at 2:38 AM
back before Covid vaccines were generally available and I was high risk enough to need one but not to get one, a client whose program staff were eligible because they ran arts workshops in schools cheerfully lied to include me, their remote-work grantwriter, and I’ll never forget how grateful I was
I’m a nonprofit grantwriter and I mobilized everyone I know on this one. existential threat to the whole sector. I’m so glad that so many voices were heard
November 22, 2024 at 1:22 AM
I’m a nonprofit grantwriter and I mobilized everyone I know on this one. existential threat to the whole sector. I’m so glad that so many voices were heard
I'd go with "Plant trees where there are lots of people but not many trees" and that's why they don't hire me as a grantwriter
December 18, 2024 at 2:43 PM
I'd go with "Plant trees where there are lots of people but not many trees" and that's why they don't hire me as a grantwriter
I’ve talked about this before but to me this is like the work I do as a grantwriter. you have your mission and your programs. they’re set. you stand behind them. you don’t apologize. Donor A might be most excited by one program, Donor B by another, so you pitch them differently. that’s fine!
September 1, 2025 at 12:15 AM
I’ve talked about this before but to me this is like the work I do as a grantwriter. you have your mission and your programs. they’re set. you stand behind them. you don’t apologize. Donor A might be most excited by one program, Donor B by another, so you pitch them differently. that’s fine!
I’ve been a grantwriter for 20 years and I agree with every word of Evan’s thread
“What they are saying with trust-based philanthropy is to offer support beyond a check, and that’s typically not what she is doing” no they literally just want the check please just give them cash and leave them alone
“What they are saying with trust-based philanthropy is to offer support beyond a check, and that’s typically not what she is doing” no they literally just want the check please just give them cash and leave them alone
Ah yes, I see it's the time of year when the Philanthropy Industrial Complex (Big P for short) seeds negative stories about Mackenzie Scott because everything about the way she gives money undercuts their entire model...
fortune.com/article/mack...
fortune.com/article/mack...
MacKenzie Scott's game-changing philanthropy still mystifies nonprofits: 'Her gifts are super generous, but unfortunately, they don’t provide long term sustainability'
"What they are saying with trust-based philanthropy is to offer support beyond a check," Indiana University's Pamela Wiepking says, "and that’s typically not what she is doing.”
fortune.com
December 31, 2024 at 3:21 AM
I’ve been a grantwriter for 20 years and I agree with every word of Evan’s thread
“What they are saying with trust-based philanthropy is to offer support beyond a check, and that’s typically not what she is doing” no they literally just want the check please just give them cash and leave them alone
“What they are saying with trust-based philanthropy is to offer support beyond a check, and that’s typically not what she is doing” no they literally just want the check please just give them cash and leave them alone
this is a mile down the list of what’s wrong in the Mamdani story, but as a grantwriter who constantly has to plug staff demographics into forms which only give you like five ethnicities and require them to add up to 100%, LETTING PEOPLE IDENTIFY THEMSELVES IN THEIR OWN WORDS ELIMINATES THIS PROBLEM
July 4, 2025 at 2:23 AM
this is a mile down the list of what’s wrong in the Mamdani story, but as a grantwriter who constantly has to plug staff demographics into forms which only give you like five ethnicities and require them to add up to 100%, LETTING PEOPLE IDENTIFY THEMSELVES IN THEIR OWN WORDS ELIMINATES THIS PROBLEM
I’m a grantwriter and this is what I do all day! The A Foundation might support X program because it serves rural Oregon counties. Foundation B might support the same program because it’s they like funding access to theatre, while you pitch it to Foundation C as free summer programming for K-12 kids
It is THE test. It should not be that complicated for people to understand that the message is unshakeable civil rights and healthcare justice for all. And you can message around that. Say "while different groups have different concerns, the core message of equality and access for all is the same."
August 16, 2025 at 4:19 AM
I’m a grantwriter and this is what I do all day! The A Foundation might support X program because it serves rural Oregon counties. Foundation B might support the same program because it’s they like funding access to theatre, while you pitch it to Foundation C as free summer programming for K-12 kids
I’m a grantwriter and I recently had a client use ChatGPT to help write a first draft for me to review. We had to spend HOURS fixing it line by line 💀 By the end she was like “oh wow you’re even faster than the AI!!” yeah because I have 20 years of experience with this foundation and it doesn’t!!!
I had a client try to write a whitepaper with chatgpt prompts and then asked me to "edit" it. I said if they wanted an actual whitepaper I would need the hours to actually write it from scratch. There was no "editing" that could save that word vomit (they agreed btw!).
Oh geeze, yes, on the AI thing. Work wants us to use it, and it blows my mind C suite execs actually think it makes writing easier. And my job has nothing to do with writing!
January 30, 2024 at 11:35 PM
I’m a grantwriter and I recently had a client use ChatGPT to help write a first draft for me to review. We had to spend HOURS fixing it line by line 💀 By the end she was like “oh wow you’re even faster than the AI!!” yeah because I have 20 years of experience with this foundation and it doesn’t!!!
I’ve been an arts grantwriter for 20 years so “how do you convince people with money that the arts are important by linking it to whatever the thing is that they DO care about” is kind of my bread and butter
January 10, 2026 at 12:39 AM
I’ve been an arts grantwriter for 20 years so “how do you convince people with money that the arts are important by linking it to whatever the thing is that they DO care about” is kind of my bread and butter
Andre the Grantwriter
Tired: Andre The Giant
Wired: Andre The Gnat
Wired: Andre The Gnat
August 16, 2026 at 9:54 PM
Andre the Grantwriter
the most useless superpower I’ve developed in 20 years as a grantwriter is identifying character count at a glance with almost 100% accuracy
if you’ve got room for 1000 characters and you gave me 1086, I will know it’s wrong just by looking
if you’ve got room for 1000 characters and you gave me 1086, I will know it’s wrong just by looking
February 8, 2024 at 2:35 AM
the most useless superpower I’ve developed in 20 years as a grantwriter is identifying character count at a glance with almost 100% accuracy
if you’ve got room for 1000 characters and you gave me 1086, I will know it’s wrong just by looking
if you’ve got room for 1000 characters and you gave me 1086, I will know it’s wrong just by looking
what’s really taking shape for me is that the threats to nonprofits are so extensive & multifaceted (and intersect with so many other things) that that’s where I feel like my focus is going to be. I can call my senators and say “I’ve been a grantwriter in Oregon for 20 years” & that has real weight
January 30, 2025 at 3:13 AM
what’s really taking shape for me is that the threats to nonprofits are so extensive & multifaceted (and intersect with so many other things) that that’s where I feel like my focus is going to be. I can call my senators and say “I’ve been a grantwriter in Oregon for 20 years” & that has real weight
here’s a key reason why I personally (queer arts grantwriter for 20 years, including many NEA grants) think they shouldn’t: because we cannot rule out watchlists. all the scrupulously detailed financial and banking information you have to give grants.gov to apply belongs to Vought’s OMB now
February 12, 2025 at 3:31 AM
here’s a key reason why I personally (queer arts grantwriter for 20 years, including many NEA grants) think they shouldn’t: because we cannot rule out watchlists. all the scrupulously detailed financial and banking information you have to give grants.gov to apply belongs to Vought’s OMB now
speaking as a grantwriter, the fact that she just identifies organizations who are doing important work and hands them unrestricted funding is one of the most useful things a rich person could possibly do with their funds (besides, obviously, pay taxes). eliminate all the hoops and red tape
September 10, 2026 at 12:38 AM
speaking as a grantwriter, the fact that she just identifies organizations who are doing important work and hands them unrestricted funding is one of the most useful things a rich person could possibly do with their funds (besides, obviously, pay taxes). eliminate all the hoops and red tape
I wish I could convey to you guys how hard I have worked, over a 20-year nonprofit career, to avoid getting suckered into joining a board
everyone wants a grantwriter on their board because they think it means free labor
I get asked all the time and it always smells like a scam lmao
everyone wants a grantwriter on their board because they think it means free labor
I get asked all the time and it always smells like a scam lmao
February 13, 2025 at 4:04 AM
I wish I could convey to you guys how hard I have worked, over a 20-year nonprofit career, to avoid getting suckered into joining a board
everyone wants a grantwriter on their board because they think it means free labor
I get asked all the time and it always smells like a scam lmao
everyone wants a grantwriter on their board because they think it means free labor
I get asked all the time and it always smells like a scam lmao
confused all day about where these 20+ new 8th House subscribers were coming from before I realized this interview had just dropped!! 🥰
Grantwriting in 2025: A Q&A with Grantwriter Claire Willett
A candid conversation on breaking into grantwriting, what funding is like in 2025, and building a whole grantwriting business
www.findfreelanceopportunities.com
September 24, 2025 at 1:31 AM
confused all day about where these 20+ new 8th House subscribers were coming from before I realized this interview had just dropped!! 🥰
ghostwriter is for ghosts what a grantwriter is for grants
June 16, 2025 at 5:42 AM
ghostwriter is for ghosts what a grantwriter is for grants
I'm a professional grantwriter; was working on a narrative today and EVERY TIME I HESITATED, Co-Pilot popped up offering "help" completely disrupting the process. So somehow, it's tracking/assessing flow and key strokes? I don't know it was so fkng infuriating.
December 22, 2025 at 10:58 PM
I'm a professional grantwriter; was working on a narrative today and EVERY TIME I HESITATED, Co-Pilot popped up offering "help" completely disrupting the process. So somehow, it's tracking/assessing flow and key strokes? I don't know it was so fkng infuriating.
I'm restructuring my grantwriter mentorship offerings for next year for 8th House and thinking about shifting my cohort model to a sequential learning process where each month has a theme and maybe a guest speaker (building a project budget, prospect research, etc.) nonprofit folks, thoughts/ideas??
December 5, 2025 at 1:08 AM
I'm restructuring my grantwriter mentorship offerings for next year for 8th House and thinking about shifting my cohort model to a sequential learning process where each month has a theme and maybe a guest speaker (building a project budget, prospect research, etc.) nonprofit folks, thoughts/ideas??
when I first saw the new NEA grants language, I reached out immediately to ArtsWatch, who had already covered the first grant changes and who I felt were the best people to dig deeper into what it meant for Oregon, and to get answers people won’t give you if you’re just calling as a grantwriter
February 22, 2025 at 11:12 PM
when I first saw the new NEA grants language, I reached out immediately to ArtsWatch, who had already covered the first grant changes and who I felt were the best people to dig deeper into what it meant for Oregon, and to get answers people won’t give you if you’re just calling as a grantwriter
how do you think people did that successfully for so many years before AI? lots of us have to write in someone else’s voice! I’ve been a grantwriter for 20 years. every client wants something different. ghostwriters exist. TV writers rooms exist. these are just skills you learn through working at it
April 1, 2026 at 8:59 PM
how do you think people did that successfully for so many years before AI? lots of us have to write in someone else’s voice! I’ve been a grantwriter for 20 years. every client wants something different. ghostwriters exist. TV writers rooms exist. these are just skills you learn through working at it