# Grant writing beginner learning path

A sequenced checklist for a first-time grant writer at a small nonprofit.
Work top to bottom. Do not skip a phase because a later one looks more
interesting; each phase produces facts the next phase consumes.

## Phase 0: Free orientation (about 2 hours, $0)

- [ ] Complete Candid's free Introduction to Proposal Writing (about 1 hour, on demand): https://learning.candid.org/training/introduction-to-proposal-writing/
- [ ] Read Candid's grant proposals knowledge base page: https://learning.candid.org/resources/knowledge-base/grant-proposals/
- [ ] If federal funding is a possibility, skim the Grants.gov learning center: https://www.grants.gov/learn-grants
- [ ] Write one paragraph describing the problem your program addresses, without adjectives

## Phase 1: Organization readiness

- [ ] Confirm tax status: 501(c)(3) determination letter, or a fiscal sponsor agreement
- [ ] Collect the fact base: mission statement, program list, staff count, board list, current annual budget total
- [ ] Name the one program you would seek funding for first
- [ ] Confirm who is authorized to approve claims about the organization

## Phase 2: Funder research and fit

- [ ] List 5 to 10 foundations that fund your issue area and geography
- [ ] For each, record eligibility, typical grant size, and application method
- [ ] Strike every funder where you fail a stated requirement
- [ ] Rank the remainder by fit, not by grant size

## Phase 3: Program design

- [ ] Draft a needs statement: the problem, its scale, its source data
- [ ] Build a simple logic model: resources, activities, outputs, outcomes
- [ ] Choose 2 to 4 honest indicators you could actually measure

## Phase 4: Budget

- [ ] Build the program budget: personnel, non-personnel, and any indirect line
- [ ] Write a budget narrative that explains every line in one or two sentences
- [ ] Check that every activity in the logic model has money behind it, and vice versa

## Phase 5: Narrative and letter of inquiry

- [ ] Draft the core narrative: organization, need, program, outcomes, budget summary, ask
- [ ] Condense it into a letter of inquiry sized to the funder's stated limit
- [ ] Have one person who did not write it read it for unsupported claims

## Phase 6: Assembly and submission

- [ ] Reread the funder's instructions and build a compliance checklist from them
- [ ] Assemble attachments: budget, board list, determination letter, financials
- [ ] Submit before the deadline day, then record what was sent and when

## When to buy a course

Buy a structured course when Phase 0 felt useful but Phases 1 to 6 look
overwhelming to sequence alone, you have 10 or more hours available, and you
can name the organization you would build the proposal for. Evaluate any
course, including ours, with a written checklist before paying.