Research/Service Grant Writing

This course teaches grant writing, a technical skill that can advance careers in academia, research, government, nonprofits/NGOs, and activism. Student will gain practical, hands-on-experience with technical writing by first workshopping a personal essay for graduate school fellowship, or job applications. Then, students will write and revise a grant proposal for an organization, with the option of collaborating with a local nonprofit. The course also covers topics like nonprofit fundraising, program evaluation, nonprofit management, equity in grant-making, AI’s role in grant writing, and job seeking in the nonprofit sector. Students will leave with two applied writing samples for their own opportunities after graduation.



After considerable trial and error, Nicole Conti (HARC ’09, first-generation college student) has transformed her liberal arts education into a successful career as a grants and evaluation professional in the robust philanthropic environment in Minnesota. Her goal with this course is to provide current students with the practical and technical skills that she wishes she had upon graduating./