Special Deal: $495 for first participant. Invite your colleagues for $75 each!
Five Weeks. 10 One-Hour Sessions.
Summer Classes: Tuesdays & Thursdays 3pm – 4pm Eastern
July 28 – August 27, 2026
Fall Classes: Tuesdays & Thursdays 4pm – 5pm Eastern
September 22 – October 22, 2026
November 10 – December 15, 2026
ALL SESSIONS ARE RECORDED
Registration: $495 (includes recording of each session. Additional registrants $75)
The Grant Writing Practicum is now a Certificate Program. Take and Pass the Grant Writing Practicum Examination and receive a certificate attesting to your attained knowledge and skill level
70% of grant proposals fail — not because of weak ideas — but because of poorly written narratives or failure to follow guidelines. Organizations with trained grant writers have a 40 – 50% higher success rate in competitive foundation applications.
This five-week practicum will show you how to: tap into the $105 billion awarded annually by U.S. foundations, target emerging funders responding to federal policy shifts, understand government grants, and gain proposal strategies that increase your win rate.
Sessions are one-hour each. Lecture on Tuesdays and Lab on Thursdays.
AGENDA:
LECTURE ONE: Introduction to the Grant Application Process
- Prospect research
- Reviewing the realm of possible prospects (foundations, corporations, state, federal, community, family foundations)
- Structure of Letter of Intent (LOI)
- Overview of the full Grant Proposal, plus
- Tips for what grantors are looking for in a proposal
LAB ONE: Locating Grant Opportunities through Prospect Research
- Creating a personalized prospect list
- Overview of prospect research platforms
- Understanding 990s
- How to identify grant opportunities that align with your organization’s mission
- How to decide which grants to apply for
LECTURE TWO: The Structure of Grants and Beginning the Application Process
- Review of strategies for grant prospect research
- Structure of Letters of Intent (LOIs), Concept notes, and Government grant applications
- The Proposal Basics
- Deep Dive Into Crafting Competitive Organizational and Programmatic Descriptions
- Using Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Prospect Research
LAB TWO: LOIs and RFPs
- Writing Exercises
- Understanding RFPs (Requests for Proposals) and how to approach them
- Structure of Government Grants
- The Proposal Basics
- Watchdog Agencies + Overhead Costs
- Learning how to determine which Requests for Proposal to respond to and which to pass on
LECTURE THREE: How to Write Grant Proposals With Style
- Effective Writing Techniques
- Rules For Writing Proposals with Style
- Building a Framework and Highlights of Key Sections of the Grant Proposal
- Conveying your Organization’s Goals and Objectives: Balancing Quantitative and Qualitative Results
LAB THREE: Proposal Outline and Key Sections
- Writing Exercises
- Begin writing the key sections of your grant proposal
- Creating a detailed outline for your grant proposal
- Trends, Artificial Intelligence and Grant Writing
- The Grant Abstract
- Peer Review
- Government Grants
- The Overhead Costs Dilemma
LECTURE FOUR: Crafting Solid Programmatic and Operational Budgets
- How to Craft Funder Friendly Program Budgets
- Understanding Budget Narratives
- Effectively Structuring Your Organization’s Operational Budget
- Overview of supporting documents: the “Need Statement”, Program models, and More
- Monitoring and Evaluation: Importance of Metrics and Measurable Results
LAB FOUR: Budget Deep Dive: Understanding What Not To Do
- 2026 Grant Writing Trends
- How to Best Use AI to Transform Your Boilerplate Language
- Fine Tuning Your Budgets
- Budget Practice Exercises
- Monitoring + Evaluation
LECTURE FIVE: After You Submit Your Proposal and Beyond
- Impactful Follow-up: The Site Visit
- What To Do If You are Awarded A Grant Or If Your Proposal Is Declined
- How to Strengthen Your Grant Portfolio
- How to Make Your Proposals Stand Out From Other Organizations’ Proposals
- Navigating An Ever-Changing Funding Environment
- Tips For Diversifying Your Funding Streams
- Sustainability: Finding Partners, Fundraising, and Building Coalitions
- Crafting Sections of Grant Proposals Using AI
LAB FIVE: Finishing Your Draft Proposal and Planning Ahead
- AI – the Future of Grant Writing
- Frequent Grant Questions
- Monitoring and Evaluation
- Last Minute Tips
- What Funders Look For In Grant Reporting
- Strategies for Improving Your Chances of Being Awarded A Grant
- Managing Differing Scenarios
- Tips for Securing Government Grants
AI and Grant Writing
Utilizing AI for grant writing can save time and streamline your proposals. Through this practicum, you will be ahead of the curve, walking away with all of the necessary skills and knowledge to transform how you craft grant proposals from 2026 and into the future.
Series Recordings, Group Rates, Transfers and Cancellations
Recordings of all sessions will be available for all registrants the day after each session takes place until the end of the five-week Practicum. Registration Cancellations and/or Transfers are permitted up until the registration link is provided
The Zoom registration link will be emailed to you two days prior to the course commencement
Instructor
Bill Edelstein is a consultant specializing in helping not-for-profits develop diversified revenue streams. He holds Advanced Degrees in Education and Political Science. His professional work is focused on donor relations, grant writing and fundraising. Bill is an adjunct professor at Hunter College of the City University of New York.
Testimonials
“While I possess some writing skills, they pale in comparison to the level of proficiency required for grants and funding applications. Your teachings have provided me with a motivating and creatively stimulating challenge, pushing me to expand my abilities in this specific area. Thank you for your guidance and patience.” – Pablo, Otero County NM
I participated in the P2P webinar which, by the way, was amazing. Thanks for all the information you shared. – Elliot, Adcieo
Thank you Bill!! I enjoyed the presentation, in fact one of the best I have attended in some time. – Wendy, Ferris State University
A great Grant Writing Class 101! – Cheryl, Tulane University
Keep up the great work. Really glad I was able to join today. – Anna, Community Bridges
Thanks so much for an amazing Webinar. So much info there. I’ve already sent my notes to the fundraisers but I am glad they will be getting your recording! – Diana, St. Joseph Center
Thank you for your time and effort teaching this course – I am really enjoying participating with other ‘students’! – Liz, AFTD
GREAT CLASSES! – Karen, Chicago Urban League
I’d like to thank you once again for the great virtual facilitation and training sessions. You were patient, understanding, engaging, and checked in with us on our learning in several ways. I admit that this is a very busy time for me as it is reporting season so I wasn’t able to participate in the homework the way I would have liked. I was so grateful that I felt nothing but understanding from you and was able to learn so much from your sessions! – Clarinda, United Way of Central Minnesota
Thank you Bill. I found the course helpful because you provided a comprehensive overview of all the moving parts with grants management and specific resources to help. – Julia, Wings for Kids