Grant Writing for Freelance Writers
Get confidence, clarity, and great outcomes for your clients:
Learn freelance grant writing with one of Australia’s best grant writers!
Would you know what to do?
You’ve been working for your awesome new non-profit or small business client for a few months. You’re delivering great copy, and they’re super happy with your work. Then, they tell you about the new project they want you to work on:
“Hey, we’ve decided to apply for a grant! You’re our writer – can you write the grant application for us?”
What do you say?
If you’re like most copywriters, content writers, virtual assistants, technical writers, ghost writers and content strategists, you probably know enough to realise that grant writing is a whole thing – it’s a particular type of writing, with its own structures and conventions, and it needs a particular skillset.
You’ve probably got most of those skills – after all, you ARE a great writer. But how do you actually apply those skills and pull together a winning grant application?
On top of that, how does the grant process even work? What if the client has questions about it that you have no idea how to answer? And how do you even charge for grant writing work?
Most writers reluctantly say “no” at this point. They decline the project. They forgo the income. They miss out on the opportunity to work on something creative, strategic and meaningful.
But there’s a better option!
What if, instead of saying no, you had the skillset to say “YES!!!”
Transform your writing career and make a REAL impact
Grant Writing For Freelance Writers is the self-paced online grant writing course designed specifically for freelance writers.
This course takes you through the ins and outs of grant-world from the freelance perspective. It builds your knowledge, confidence and skills so that you can take on grant writing projects and land great results for your clients.
This course is seriously practical. We’ll cover the context that you need, and then get stuck into the practical strategies that will let you actually work as a successful freelance grant writer – whether you want to do it full time, as an add-on service for your business, or just have the skillset in your back pocket.
We look at real grant guidelines and work through practical examples – by the end of this course, you’ll feel prepared, confident and capable, and ready to take on any grant application!
You'll be able to:
- Confidently write successful grant writing projects with your clients
- Make and follow a clear plan to take you through the project from start to finish
- Stop staring at a blank page and know exactly how to start and how to keep going
- Understand your audience to deliver copy that sparkles
- Know what to charge, how to quote and when to invoice
- Add a lucrative new skill to your freelance business
- Do important, interesting work that makes a real, tangible difference in the world.
Why Grant Writing For Freelance Writers?
Hi, I’m Martina, and I’ll be your guide to the world of freelance grant writing.
I’ve been immersed in grant world since 2012, and I’ve been a freelance grant writer since 2016. In that time, I’ve gone from helping my mum apply for grants for the small rural disability non-profit she led, to winning 6-, 7- and 8-figure grants for national service transformation projects for some of Australia’s leading non-profits.
Grant writing has changed my life. It’s let me do interesting, creative, strategic work that really helps people, getting projects funded that genuinely transform lives.
And it’s let me do that work completely on my own terms – whether that’s living out of a backpack as I made my way through Europe, Asia and South America, road-tripping across the Nullarbor and Outback Queensland, or relaxing from the balcony of my harbour-view apartment in Sydney.
I want to help you have this too. Why?
Because I genuinely think that the freelance model of grant writing is the one that makes sense. I think the world needs more freelance grant writers. And I think you’ve got the skills to be one.
Think about it.
The people who lead the epic non-profits, small businesses and social impact start-ups that change our world are seriously cool people. They’re brilliantly capable, amazing at connecting people, they just somehow get stuff done, and come up with big ideas that make a real difference.
But their skillset doesn’t always include writing.
To win a grant, you need two things: a brilliant idea, and a clear, written explanation of that brilliant idea.
And that means that the change-makers in our world who aren’t great writers are at a disadvantage. It kinda sucks, right? Why should a brilliant idea not get funded, just because the person driving it isn’t that great at writing? They might be brilliant at connecting with disengaged young people, amazing at organising services and strategies, fantastic at getting the right people together – but without being able to write about it, they don’t get funded.
That’s not fair.
But that’s where freelance grant writers come in.
Freelance grant writers take brilliant ideas and explain them so that they fit the criteria for funding. They work with dozens of clients, so they’re always growing and learning – but no one client has to have enough work to sustain them. They’re a shared resource – and one that’s becoming even more important.
The demand for freelance grant writers is growing.
More and more clients are coming to understand this way of working. Government is giving out more and more grants. And the standard and the level of competition is going up and up. There’s never been more need for freelance grant writers.
And I can’t do it alone!!
Honestly, one of my motivations for making this course is selfish. I get too many enquiries! I’ve got too much work! I can’t help all the people who want and need my help with grant writing.
So, I want to train more freelance grant writers.
I want to know that there are capable, skilled people out there who I can pass work to. And I want more clients to be able to find those writers who can help them.
I’ve made this course specifically for content writers, copywriters, virtual assistants and consultants who want to add grant writing to their skillset, because it’s a story I’ve heard too many times – great writers who don’t have the confidence or knowledge to write a grant application, who have to turn down work. I want to help!
What's included?
You get:
52 short, easy to digest video lessons covering the ins and outs of grant writing in DETAIL:
- How the grant process actually works
- How to respond to selection criteria
- Understanding and interpreting the grant guidelines
- The number one mistake made by grant seekers – and how to avoid it
- Tips and tricks that make your writing more persuasive
- How to do a budget
- The client’s role in freelance grant writing
- How to estimate the workload
- How to quote for a project
- What to do about supporting documents
- Submission risk management
- Getting paid
- And more!
5 ‘Check Your Understanding’ quizzes to make sure you’re on top of the key issues
Worksheets, checklists, diagrams, worked examples, email templates and more!
AND a full-hour coaching call with me to discuss ANY PART of your freelance grant writing work, such as:
- Getting into more detail about parts of the course that interest you
- Talking through how the ideas apply to you and your own work
- Getting feedback on your quote emails
- Planning a grant application that you’re currently working on
- Problem-solving a client issue that you’re working through
- Getting me to review and give feedback on your responses to selection criteria
- Any combination of the above
- Anything else you want help with!
You can book the call after you've completed the modules, and within 6 months of purchasing the course. This is designed as an incentive for you to ACTUALLY complete this course, rather than letting it sit forgotten like all those others courses you've purchased!
-
Bite-size videos
-
Document walk-throughs
-
Clear explanations
-
Real examples
-
Every step of the process
Why learn grant writing?
Grant writing is a fantastic skill to have in your freelance arsenal – even if you’re not looking to be a freelance grant writer full-time.
Taking on some grant writing projects amongst your other work is a great way to add variety, stretch your creative and strategic thinking muscles, and work on something a bit different. Not only that, there’s a whole lot of benefits to the projects themselves:
- Grant writing projects are typically larger than other freelance writing projects. That means less admin. What would it be like to replace 10x $500 projects with a single $5000 project? Think of all the non-billable and administration hours you’d save!
- Grant writing projects are collaborative – you need to actively work with the client to do them well. Many freelance writers sometimes feel isolated in their work when it’s just you and your internet research – grant projects give you the collaboration and teamwork that might be missing from your work life.
- Grant writing delivers real, tangible results. Sometimes we’re left wondering if our blog posts, newsletter articles and web copy really make a difference. But when you’ve just won a $300,000 grant for your client? You REALLY feel like you’ve done something super valuable and helpful.
- Grant writing is interesting!! You get to get really stuck into different ideas and what makes a project or an idea really work. It requires creativity and strategic thinking – and no two projects are ever the same.
- Grant writing projects finish on time! Grant applications have hard deadlines – that means you never get caught in endless revisions, not hearing back from the client for weeks at a time. These projects are very important to your clients, and you’ll be at the top of the priority list. That usually means you get paid on time, too!
Let me tell you about the rate
Figuring out what to charge as a freelancer can be really hard. You don't want to charge too much, but you also want to be fairly compensated for your skills.
When I first started, I was under-charging. I didn’t have anyone else guiding me. I didn’t know any other freelance grant writers. I wasn’t even totally sure it was a real job! And I didn’t have anything to base my rate off. I just had to guess.
But you won’t have to!
Included in my course is a whole lesson on how to break down the workload of a freelance grant writing project, examples of rates and different project fee structures, and even template emails with the exact words that I use to explain the value of freelance grant writing and send a quote to a client.
So what does this have to do with the rate?
If you implement what you learn from me, you can confident charge proper rates for your project.
And that means you'll MORE than earn back what you spent on this course with your very first grant writing project.
And yes, the pricing is in AUD - you don't have to check the USD exchange rate, and realise it's actually twice as much as you thought.
Hang on - Australian?
YES.
If you're Australian, this course was written for you. Everything applies exactly to the Australian grant landscape.
If you're not Australian, almost all of the course applies for you. However, the examples that I use are Australian, and there will be some differences in the way grants operate in your country. You definitely can still apply what you learn in this course, and it will definitely still help you work as a freelance grant writer. I've had many happy international students!
What people are saying
“Martina is great at clearly explaining everything you need to know to write great grant applications. The course is very comprehensive and covers all sections of a typical grant application, workflow, communicating with clients, how selection criteria are marked and so much more. If you have been sitting on plans to learn more about grant writing, this course will give you the answers you need!”
— Joyce V.
"This is such an enjoyable course! Martina really shows the whole cycle of grant writing and there are tips galore, transcripts for each of the videos and really helpful worksheets to use when you’re doing the work. The course is super easy to navigate and the lessons are all bitesized so you can do as many as you want without feeling overwhelmed. I’m so pleased to have completed (yes, a course you will complete and not leave in a dusty folder somewhere on your computer!) it and added a whole new, rewarding skillset to my writing services."
— Jillian P
"I would recommend the Grant Writing for Freelancers course to anyone looking to move into freelance grant writing. The modules were really informative and covered the entire process of grant writing. The two one hour coaching sessions with Martina are super valuable and help you take what you learn in the course and implement it into your business. If you’re thinking about grant writing this course is a great place to start."
— Joanne C.
Can I preview the content?
Absolutely!
Here's full contents of the course. I've made some modules available as free previews - click to view!
-
1Welcome
-
2Module 1: All About Grants
-
3Module 2: Working With Clients
-
4Module 3: Planning For Success
-
5Module 4: The Write Stuff
-
6Module 5: Reviewing, Submitting and Getting Paid
-
7Conclusion and next steps
Who should take this course
- Freelance writers who want to add grant writing as a new skillset
- Copywriters, content writers, virtual assistants, journalists, ghost writers, website writers, marketers, and anyone else who writes for clients for a living
- Anyone who has been asked by their client to write a grant application
- New freelancer writers who want to get into grant writing
- People who want detailed, actionable and practical support to actually write a full grant application
Who should NOT take this course
- Managers and leadership staff who aren’t doing the grunt work of grant writing (you need something more strategic)
- People seeking disaster relief grants (you’re seeking a different type of grant)
- People who have just started their first charity and are looking for grant funding to get it off the ground (you need a grant strategy not a grant writer)
- People just looking for a high level overview of grants (this course is DETAILED!)
(If any of these are you, reach out and I’ll point you at a better resource more suited for what you need!)
Standard Terms and Conditions apply. Basically, you get your rights under the Australian Consumer Law. All 1:1 calls must be completed within 6 months of signing up.
Secure online payments using Stripe.
Yes, I accept bank transfer. Please email me to arrange.
If you select the one-time payment, you will be charged today. If you select the payment plan, you authorise Stripe to charge your card 4 monthly payments, starting today.