A manager at the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, an agency we sometimes work for, recently sent me a link to the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI), an organization that offers “credentials” for would-be grant writers. He wanted my reaction to the idea of grant writing credentials, which I gave him immediately: they’re a waste of time. But I decided to take a look at this offer, since I’ve been writing proposals without a license for 35 years.
The GPCI was apparently formed just to offer credentials. The fee is $525 to take an “examination developed through rigorous national standards for professional credentials.” I have no idea what is meant by “rigorous national standards” or who developed them, but a grant writer must have written this sentence because it is definitely proposalese: filled with vague citations to an unnamed authority and using many complex words where a few simple ones would convey the message.
Without going into the equally unintentionally funny “competencies and skills tested,” the best part is that a “writing exercise represents 20% of the examination score.” So, 4/5 of a test to prove one can write is not writing! This confirms grant writers thought up the idea. You pay $525 to pass a test and get a certificate, presumably gilt-edged and suitable for framing. Does this mean anything? My guess is not much to the recipient, but it’s a great deal for the people selling the credential, just like Tom Sawyer getting friends to whitewash a fence. Apparently, the GPCI never heard of such existing credentials as a baccalaureate, a Masters or a Ph.D. in English or Journalism, so they decided to offer a degree of their own, but one with less rigor and no oversight. Let’s see—if they can get 1,000 people to sign up, that’s over $500K. Not a bad business proposition.
I’ve seen various versions of grant writing certifications over the years, along with endless self-help books, training seminars, and the like, but the bad news for those chasing such wills’o’the’wisp is that none will make someone a grant writer. For example, I recently received a notice from The Grantsmanship Center about a local training session, and the note proudly announced that “more than 100,000 people” have attended over the years. If their training was effective, thousands of qualified grant writers should roam the streets, but I don’t often run into them.
Despite the good intentions of some organizations promoting grant writing credentials and training the only way to become good at grant writing is to write proposals—the more the better and the more varied the better. This is true of all kinds of writing. The challenge is that most people who want to be grant writers are not good writers to begin with or cannot write under deadline pressure. A five-day seminar or sitting for an exam is unlikely to solve this problem and make one a grant writer. I’m constantly asked how to become a grant writer and I always give the same response, which is actually on Seliger + Associates’ FAQ Page. A good way to start is to take English composition or Journalism classes at a local college to sharpen your writing skills, find a nonprofit in need of help—not too tough to find—and start writing proposals. After a couple of tries, most people will give up, but a few will persevere and become proficient. It also helps if you can apprentice with a grant writer, which is one reason Jake is a good grant writer—he’s been marinating in grant writing for many years and whatever the “it” is, has soaked in.
If we ever decide to offer a grant writing credential, we would structure the exam like this: The supplicant will be locked in a windowless room with a computer, a glass of water, one meal and a complex federal RFP. The person will have four hours to complete the needs assessment. If it passes muster, they will get a bathroom break, more water and food and another four hours for the goals/objectives section and so on. At the end of the week, the person will either be dead or a grant writer, at which point we either make them a Department of Education Program Officer (if they’re dead) or give them a pat on the head and a Grant Writing Credential to impress their mothers (if they’ve passed).
The whole idea of grant writing credentials reminds me of Professor Marvel in The Wizard of Oz, who awards the Scarecrow a “diploma” to compensate for his lack of a brain. As Dorothy understands, you don’t need a diploma to prove you have a brain and you don’t need a two-bit credential to prove you are a grant writer.
EDIT: Isaac responded to some of the commenters in this post. Jake wrote another post about credentials and certifications. If you aren’t altogether sick of the topic, you can also read this.
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I agree heartily with Mr. Seliger about bogus credentials. Surprising that you are not familiar with the American Association of Grant Professionals (grantprofessionals.org) and its affiliate which has developed the exam.
We are not for profit, but rather a professional association. Right now we are still running on volulnteer manpower from all around the country. The expense for the exam is to pay for the university research group that developed the exam over two years by pulling together numerous panels of subject matter experts, all part of the validation and reliability process. And no, writing is not all there is to grant development any more. The nine competencies, and their numerous defining skills, are posted (go to “Examination” in the menu on the left at http://www.grantcredential.org). They address things like capacity building and grant readiness, among others. All of us working out here know how necessary that is. The major training companies (some of whom had input on SME panels) are aligning their curriculums to cover these skills.
We are too new to be accredited, but are eligible to apply at the end of this year. The “unnamed authority” is the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, an affiliate of NOCA. They accredit certification programs for everything from poison control to nurse practitioners.
http://www.noca.org/Resources/NCCAAccreditation/tabid/82/Default.aspx
The GPC exam was developed by the Institute for Instructional Research and Practice at the University of South Florida in Tampa, the same outfit that certifies public school teachers in Florida. We did not determine that a person requires a college degree to be a good grant writer, but we did determine that one requires experience, just as you insist. We screen applicants to meet minimum qualifications partly to make sure they have a shot at passing the exam, and partly because the GPC credential means the conferee has met certain industry-recognized standards–which obviously you can’t do if you haven’t yet been a practitioner.
The credential is already earning bonuses for some, helping to market their services for others. You may never feel the need. But those of us who have devoted considerable personal investment to this credential regard it as 1) a measure of defense against government regulation and 2) a means to safeguard vulnerable nonprofits who get taken in by the same ilk in the name of grant writing as those who you don’t want to give your money to for a meaningless test.
Best,
Marcia Ford, President
Grant Professional Certification Institute
Grants Director, Polk County FL Public Schools
marcia.ford@polk-fl.net
Perhaps a certificate means little to you, but would you hire an accountant with 35 years of experience who wasn’t also a CPA? How about an experienced lawyer who didn’t also pass the bar? A doctor who wasn’t also board certified? I wouldn’t. There’s more to any certification than the guilt edged diploma. The academic study of any craft necessary to pass its exam is always worth the effort and cost.
I straddle the fence on this one. I have found it useful in the beginning of my grantwriting career to take about 60 hours of coursework from 3 different nationally-known institutions to give me a knowledge base to inform my experience. I recently added a status report to the end of my billing statement that includes two measures: “anticipated return on investment” and “actual return on investment” – the percentage or ratio of my expense to the client and the amount I expect to raise and actually raise. Such measures speak to the bottom-line impact of experience, cost-effectiveness and value-added that certification does not guarantee.
Mr. Seliger is right on target! What exactly would be credentialed? Writing skills? Planning skills? The ability to get people in the organization for which you are writing the grant to think differently?
I’ve been writing grants for years. It’s closer to an art than a science. Trying to put the process into a box, in my view, shows a lack of understanding of the unique skill set that successful grant writers possess. I don’t need or want credentials. The organizations I work for could care less about what my credentials are. The only credential that matters to them is whether I have produced (references) and the likelihood that I will produce for for them.
Thank you Mr. Seliger for saving me a lot of money and wasted time. Me thinks now that a technical writer with 30 years experience writing on everything from acoustics to welding, and a member of the 5W + H society, can easily write good grant proposals!
One of the things I don’t like about this certification is that is geared toward people who became grant writers “on the job.” People like me who don’t have X years of professional experience – but have plenty of experience through graduate grant writing courses and internships – are not eligible.
Personally, I think this is a little outdated on their part. Now that people in their 20s are graduating with MPAs and similar degrees, and many go straight from an undergrad in another field, credentially shouldn’t really be based on tenure.
That said, when I contacted AAGP, they were very nice. I received a two-page email from a board member that was very personal, which suggested they might think of broadening their criteria in the future. I also approached him for some grant writing advice.
I’m over it. I’m a damn good writer, and I find that my MPA sets me apart. I am always sure to say, “I chose to be a grant writer, and I’ve studied it at the graduate level. This sets me apart from other candidates who started out in program development and began writing out of necessity to support their programs.” This usually works out well in interviews. It’s especially good if you can work it in before they ask that pesky “why do you think you’re the best candidate for this job?” question.
That’s just my two cents…
I don’t know if there are similarities between Grant proposal writing and completing applications for supplemental education services for state department’s of education under No Child Left Behind for an online tutoring company, but I did exactly that in 2007 . It seems to me that depending on the exact nature of the grant , and whether the project directors have any hope of winning the grant e.g. anticipated return on investment. Certification would have helped.
Sadly enough, when it comes to pay raises and bonuses, the business world seems to recognize Certifications but not Degrees. I discovered that it was more cost-effective to please my employer with a Certification than by adding another degree, so GPC is a good route for me to be able to do this. And upon earning the GPC Certification, my employer will ‘pay the premium’, whereas if I were to complete another degree, I am not eligible for any type of pay bonus. Since I’m playing by their rules, I’m glad that GPC is available as an option.
Where to start. Puzzled and alarmed I guess. With the emergence of more and more scheisters everyday claiming “free money,” people taking a three-day course and calling themselves grant writers, and people offering workshops that “grant certification” when it’s only a certificate of completion makes me seriously worry about our field.
I don’t understand some of the comments in the blog that minimize the dedicated and challenging work we do. Not everyone can be a good grant developer, and those that believe that it is merely a form of writing do the rest of us who have worked hard at honing our profession a great disservice. Good (qualified) grant developers know that there is more to the grants field than simple “writing.” Program design, evaluation and grant management being only a few on the very short list.
I’m glad AAGP and GPCI have taken the initiative to develop a professional credential, one that was developed using the standards set by the professional certification community, which I understand was an extensive and costly endeavor. The scheisters of the world and the uninformed tarnish our field and prey on the unknowing. A professional certification provides our constituents and beneficiaries, you know those who provide us our purpose and pay, with a way to separate the experienced, ethical grant professionals from the “not-so.” And in the end, it should it not be about them.
[...] consultant with a long list of accomplishments and publications under her belt. After reading the Seliger blog, I was tempted to just avoid the grant writing training route altogether, but there’s [...]
I would have to disagree. However I do see a lot of scams out there to become a certified grant writer I do not find the idea a scam. As a someone in the industry, I only hire other certified grant writers to work with me when overloaded to work. To get a certification you already have to prove your experience to the GPCI, also they have to pass the tests. This way I know they have some verified experience and know how. As a individual has pointed out before: You could hire a accountant without certification and they could be the best you ever had, but you probably would have better luck looking for a certified accountant. I say the same applies for a certified grant writer.
It goes without saying that you can’t you can’t come from 0 take a 3 day workshop and call yourself a grant writer, but I see nothing wrong with having a substantive training program and certification process. The article is contradictory. First it wants everyone to know that grant writing is a challenging profession. And that grant writers usually wear other hats (true of just about any profession btw). Then on the other hand it states that there’s no reason for a standardized credentialing process and all you need is to take some college level writing classes and find someone to train you. Hmmm what would it be like if the other professions had that attitude – oh just go take some college level Anatomy and Physiology and pharmacology classes and find a doctor to train you – no license required – call yourself a doctor? Most professions require an examination and certification process in addition to the college degree. If grant writing is on par with other professions (and I agree that it is) then why shouldn’t the certification process be the same?
@reader 13: Then on the other hand it states that there’s no reason for a standardized credentialing process and all you need is to take some college level writing classes and find someone to train you.
The major issue with credentialing programs is that they don’t offer any real utility: the only real method to determine who can write grants is to give someone a proposal and see if they can write it. The rest is mere commentary.
Consequently, credentials and classes and all the reset aren’t useful in determining who can actually prepare a proposal, because they’re acting as a proxy for the thing instead of the thing itself.
As for the apprenticeship aspect of grant writing, that’s not an overnight process—”just” finding someone to train you could take years. Becoming a good writer certainly takes years.
Many of the above comments are anonymous: if their writers have so much experience in the field, I’d love to see their own websites or those of the organizations they work for.
Greetings Jake,
I am a degreed engineer and have been working as such for 17 years. I am looking to change careers and I love the idea of grant writing as my next profession. I’m a great researcher and love getting into the weeds of documents, laws, etc.
I read your blog about certifications and your lack of confidence in them. I’m glad I read it because that was exactly the route I was going to take.
I have about five years to make this all happen (my contract is up in 2015).
Would your advice to take a journalism course along with some college level grant writing courses and an apprenticeship apply to me?
Any advise would be appreciated.
Jake – just wanted to follow up with y’all that I did indeed take the GPCI exam this past November and did receive news that I am now Grant Professional Certified – and as promised, along with that recognition, I did receive a pay raise as my employer promised…..
Your “ideal” method of making a grantwriter..i.e. alone in a room with a glass of water and occasional bathroom breaks” was for me the most realistic description of how to become a grantwriter that I have ever read. Hope you don’t mind if I plagiarize those words and try to work them into my humble community college level grantwriting workshops.
Oh, and one other response to some of the other comments on this….I believe the grantwriting community will have to agree to disagree on this issue of certification…at least for now. There is definitely a generational variable going on. It seems that you Seligers started doing this work way before there was any talk of certifications…There are many excellent grant professionals who earned their expertise prior to the possibility of any certifications. However, perhaps for the future it is time to talk of moving to a new level.
Mr. Selig,
As a long time grant writer and grant writing instructor, I wholeheartedly agree with your assessment. A certification is only good to the extent it is accepted by others; and none of the certifications being promoted out there are more valuable than a portfolio of written, approved and funded grant proposals.
I also believe certifications will lead to unreasonable expectations on the part of organizations that hire grant writers. There is never any guarantee of funding because of the often subjective manner in which grants are awarded. When a proposal fails, I can imagine the agency saying, “…but you are a certified grant writer. We paid for a certified grant writer. How could this happen? Why didn’t we get the money? You cheated us!”
There is so much misinformation about grants out there already that touting yourself as a “professional” is going to cause some unrealistic expectations and major disappointments.
If I shelled out good hard cash and didn’t get funded, you can bet if I decide to hire another grant writer, my first question won’t be “do you have credentials?” but, “What is your track record?”
Show me the money!
I’ve been writing grants for about a year, at first to help local nonprofits I believe in, because I’m a sucker for a hard-luck story, then to help local nonprofits and make some money as well.
I’ve written about 25 now. Some federal (that was a learning experience), some foundation. Six have been awarded, three not, and the remaining are pending. Here’s what I believe I know about the discipline, based on my very limited experience: it’s no more “art” than anything else.
As an aside, doesn’t it just drive you nuts when project managers, teachers, doctors, computer programmers, architects, doctors, and other professionals claim you can’t evaluate their work because “it’s more art than science,” and that you can’t teach what they do for the same reason? The fact that they cannot articulate what they do, or that they can, but jealously guard their knowledge and won’t, doesn’t mean it’s art. Which, of course, we do teach and evaluate, so it’s a bad comparison anyway.
How many times have I heard, so I can hardly imagine the number of times you have, that it’s not possible to quantify the benefits of the program for which someone wants you to seek funding? When you ask for outcome data, you get anecdotes. “We do wonderful things. We can’t quantify it, but let me give you an example …” So, as one commenter said, there’s a lot of “changing the way they do things” in this job. Organizational design consulting, as well as grant writing.
OK, then, off the soapbox.
There are specific skills required, the same skills I used in the large corporate world as an employee, to pitch ideas and get them funded. Do your research; define the problem in a compelling way; devise a plausible, interesting, and efficient solution; put a good budget together; and find a grant-maker whose mission is aligned to your proposal. Not necessarily in that order, of course. Anticipate every objection / concern of the person evaluating your program, and build the answers into the program and the proposal. And then tie it all up with some marketing gloss — memorable names for your program, a few dashes of cool.
One thing I realize is that personal relationships with grant-makers are critical. In the end, much of the decision will be made based on the grant-maker’s trust in you (to be telling the truth) and the organization you represent (to execute). I don’t have those relationships yet, being new to all of this, but I’ve been around the block a few times and know how things work. So if I keep doing this, I’ll work on that component.
And now, for those of you who have been doing this for many years: is there a “best” professional organization for grant writers / developers?
I’m hearing that there is no generally accepted certification, so I’ll happily skip that, because I have managed to avoid certification my entire life, and would hate to give in now.
Thanks for listening to Saturday morning ravings.
[...] of the people who send us angry e-mails regarding our posts on the uselessness of grant writing credentials, workshops, and the like do so because they teach those workshops and are unhappy when prospective students send links to [...]
[...] you’ve taken a journalism class, you’ve been told that the lead of news articles should be the most important part of the [...]
[...] exam, which consisted of three questions that I had to answer over a four-hour period—a bit like Isaac’s recommended test for would-be grant writers: If we ever decide to offer a grant writing credential, we would structure the exam like this: The [...]
Now I am really confused! I am a retired C.P.M. and I would now like to become a grantwriter for non-profit rescues. Do I merely find a grant writer and work with him/her (if he/she allows?) Or do I try to find a course at a local college? Help!!!
Erika: If you really want to be a grant writer, start by reading all of GWC. It shouldn’t take you longer than an afternoon or so. We talk about how to become a grant writer in a couple places. Start by reading the section of this post that says:
Does anyone have any feelings concerning American Grant Writers Association (AGWA)?
What an awesome, informative and hilariously witty article! Thanks!
[...] skeptics on the subject of grant writing training as such, but this summer I taught a “Technical Writing” course for juniors and seniors [...]
Help! More confused than ever! I am being told that I must become a “grant writer” for my law enforcement agency within a month or so. There is not enough time to apprentice so they want me to learn everything I need to know in a 2 day workshop!!!
Any suggestions?
[...] Susan wants to know: I am being told that I must become a “grant writer” for my law enforcement agency within a month or so. There is not enough time to apprentice so they want me to learn everything I need to know in a 2 day workshop!!! Any suggestions? [...]
I have credentials (it’s called a Bachelor’s Degree,) and soon an MA as well. I got it from the University of New Mexico, where I studied English (with a concentration in Professional Writing) UNM is an actual accredited University.
You should know that it took me six years to get my degree and it involved lots of tears, frustration and eventually a herniated disk in my c-spine. I am sure it wasn’t from all the hours of writing and revising or bending my head up and back from computer to book.
not to mention, I still do not feel like I am an accomplished writer at this point, and I need much more instruction. Granted, I could teach you the format and the process of writing a grant, but I cannot teach you to be a powerfully persuasive writer; that takes years of practice, and is really what a good grant writer possess above all else.
Obviously the writers for the American Grant Writers’ Association are well equipped in this area, as they have convinced many americans to waste their money!
A little certificate from a society or association cannot stand as real credentials. Also, The American Grant Writing Association is not listed under the U.S. Department of Educations database as an accredited institution or Program.
Sincerely,
LJ
P.S.
Please have your editors edit my post as I do not edit my own documents any longer. That’s what editors, and intern editors are for. :)
Thank you,
LJ
The command of English has always been a problem. It is nice to listen to people who by trial and error have master it. Like writing it is by trial and error, few ever can write a few pages correctly. I would these people who write onthe level of a person who write stories for the movie industries. Does that script sit and collect dust or is it being read by actors on a set.
Like any producer you want to see what the person has written before, not what he is going to write for me today. Any one that can read can tell what junk writing is.
My command of writing is at least poor. Thank God and MS Word to try to correct my lack of writing skills as the above shows.
All my life, stumbling is easy to do, easier than putting words down correctly on paper. What I do I give to an person more skill than I could ever be.
My Mother.
[...] In response to the ideas above, “pbreit” replied: “I would think that a nonprofit reasonably considers grant writing a core competence or at least well closer to a core competence than, say, plumbing.” Maybe that’s true. But many nonprofits are good at delivering human services, and less good at writing proposals. Those skills do not necessarily co-occur, and if there’s any overlap between the skill of delivering human services and the skill of writing, it’s pretty slender. Plus, becoming a great writer is a “10,000-hour skill” that takes a lot of deliberate practice to develop. That’s why you have to take so many years of English classes in school (though I realize many of those English classes are bad, but that’s another topic). The average person who decides, “I want to become a competent grant writer” is probably looking at a couple of years of effort. [...]
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