How to Build a Grant Writing Team: Scale Your Funding Efforts.

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Building a grant writing team? Let me tell you, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. If you’re serious about getting those big, ongoing wins for your organization, counting on just one grant writer – no matter how brilliant they are – is a trap. It’s a bottleneck, pure and simple. To really crank up your funding efforts, you need a different game plan: build a tight-knit, high-performing grant writing team.

This isn’t just about handing off tasks. This is about bringing together different skills, sparking new ideas together, and creating a super strong system that consistently brings in the money you need.

I’m going to walk you through how to build a team like this. We’ll go way beyond the usual advice and get into real, practical stuff for finding people, training them, managing them, and – here’s the key – always making things better. We’ll figure out exactly what your team needs, how to set up roles that make sense, how to get everyone working together, and how to measure if you’re actually succeeding.

Why You Need a Team, Not Just One Person

Before we jump into the “how,” let’s talk about the “why.” Because, believe me, relying on just one grant writer has a lot of downsides:

  • You’re Limited on How Much You Can Do: There’s only so much one person can research, write, and submit. The big, important grants usually need a ton of research, a bunch of drafts, and crazy attention to detail. That eats up a lot of time.
  • No One Person Knows Everything: Grant writing is a complex beast. You need research gurus, amazing writers, data whizzes, finance experts, and sometimes, even people who understand specific technical stuff. You won’t find all of that in one person.
  • Burnout is a Real Risk: Imagine the constant pressure of deadlines, getting rejected, and endlessly looking for new opportunities. That can really burn someone out, especially if they’re doing it all alone.
  • You’re Vulnerable: What if your only grant writer leaves? Or gets sick? Your entire funding pipeline just stops. That’s a huge risk.
  • You Get Tunnel Vision: One person’s perspective can mean you miss out on great ideas for proposals or overlook funding opportunities you should have seen.

Building a team fixes all these problems. It turns your funding strategy from something fragile, relying on one person, into a powerful, flexible system.

Phase 1: Planning Your Team – Building a Strong Foundation

Before you even think about hiring, you’ve got to carefully figure out what your team needs to achieve and what resources it’ll take. This groundwork will save you from expensive mistakes down the road and make sure everyone’s pulling in the same direction as your organization’s overall goals.

What’s Your Current Grant Situation & What Do You Want in the Future?

Start by taking stock:

  • Look at What’s Worked and What Hasn’t: Go through your grant history. What grants did you get? Why were you rejected? Are there areas where you’re just not getting funding? This will show you where your team might have gaps and where you need to improve.
  • Be Specific About Your Funding Goals: Don’t just say “we need more money.” How much more? Do you need to double your yearly grant income? Get a massive multi-year grant from a foundation? Fund a totally new program? These financial goals will shape the size and focus of your team.
  • Where Do You Plan to Grow? Are you starting new programs? Trying to reach new groups of people? Expanding to new areas? Every one of these usually means you’ll need specific grant efforts and maybe very specialized knowledge.
  • How Many Grants Are You Juggling? How many grants are you working on right now? What’s the average amount you’re applying for? How often are you submitting? This helps you figure out the workload.

For example: An education non-profit realizes they’ve mostly gotten small, local government grants in the past. But they really want to get multi-million dollar federal grants for a new STEM project. This immediately tells them they need people on the team who know how to handle complex federal applications, compliance, and maybe even statistical analysis for those evaluation plans.

Defining Roles: It’s More Than Just a “Writer”

A strong grant team needs more than just writers. Think about these key roles:

  • Grant Researcher/Prospector: This person finds potential funding opportunities, digs into what funders are looking for, and figures out if they’re a good fit for your organization. They need to be incredibly detail-oriented, good at analyzing things, and always on the lookout for new funding.
  • Lead Grant Writer/Strategist: This individual oversees the whole proposal development. They’re often the ones leading on the big, complicated grants, making sure the story flows, it’s compelling, and it’s positioned just right. They might also manage a bunch of grants.
  • Grant Writer (Generalist/Specialist): These are the people who write the proposals based on research, work with your program staff, and craft those convincing narratives. A specialist might focus on specific areas (like healthcare grants, environmental grants, arts grants) or certain types of funders (corporate foundations, federal agencies).
  • Proposal Editor/Proofreader: They make sure everything is clear, concise, grammatically perfect, and follows the funder’s exact rules. This role is super important for quality control and requires a sharp eye for detail and strong editing skills.
  • Budget Specialist/Financial Liaison: This person works directly with your finance department to create accurate, compliant grant budgets, write up the budget descriptions, and help with financial reporting. They’re the bridge between what your programs need and the financial realities.
  • Data & Impact Specialist: They collect, analyze, and present all the program data, results, and impact numbers that are crucial for strong proposals and reports. They often work closely with your program team.
  • Grant Administrator/Compliance Officer: They handle stuff after you get the award, making sure you’re following funder rules, tracking reporting deadlines, and helping with audits. This role is vital for keeping relationships with funders strong and making sure you can get future grants.

For instance: A small arts organization, where the Executive Director used to do all the grants, now sees they need a dedicated Grant Researcher to find new opportunities and a Grant Writer to draft the applications. The ED will still oversee everything strategically and give the final approval. This is a lean, but effective, starting team structure.

Writing Detailed Job Descriptions

Once you know the roles, write up detailed job descriptions for each. These aren’t just for hiring; they make expectations clear, prevent people from doing the same work, and give you something to measure performance against. Include:

  • Title and Who They Report To: Where does this role fit in your organization?
  • Main Responsibilities: What are the key tasks and duties?
  • Skills & Experience Needed: Specific grant types, software knowledge, education, years of experience.
  • How Success Will Be Measured (KPIs): How will you know if they’re doing well? (e.g., number of proposals submitted, success rate, money secured).
  • How They’ll Work with Others: How will this person interact with other team members and departments?

Phase 2: Finding & Bringing on Talent

With your plan in hand, it’s time to start building your team. This stage needs careful thought about how you’ll hire, what you’ll pay, and how you’ll get them blended in seamlessly.

Where to Find the Best People

  • Professional Groups: Organizations like the Grant Professionals Association (GPA) are amazing resources. Check out their online forums, go to their conferences, and use their job boards.
  • Specialized Job Boards: Don’t just stick to the big general job sites. Look at Chronicle of Philanthropy, Idealist, and boards specific to your sector (like higher education or healthcare job boards).
  • Referrals: Ask around your network. Often, the best candidates come recommended by people you trust.
  • Freelancers/Consultants (Especially Early On): If budget is tight or you’re just testing the waters, think about hiring independent grant writing consultants or agencies. This gives you flexibility and immediate access to expertise without big, long-term commitments.
  • Develop Internal Talent: Look inside your own organization. Do you have program staff with great writing skills or research smarts who could be trained and moved into grant roles?

For example: A large university looking for a federal research grant specialist might specifically target candidates with a Ph.D. in a relevant science field who have also managed grant applications for academic institutions. They’d use university job boards and research-focused professional organizations for their search.

The Interview Process: Beyond the Resume

Resumes tell a story, but interviews show you what people can actually do.

  • Portfolio Review: Make them show you a portfolio of successful grant proposals (make sure confidential info is blacked out, of course). Look at how they tell a story, organize arguments, and present data.
  • Writing Test: Give them a timed writing exercise. Provide a made-up situation or a basic program description and ask them to draft a specific part of a grant proposal (like the needs statement or evaluation plan). This shows you if they can take information and write under pressure.
  • Situational Questions: “Tell me about a time you dealt with a demanding funder.” “How do you handle multiple deadlines?” “Describe a grant you worked on that didn’t get funded, and what you learned from it.”
  • Tech Check: For roles needing specific software or database skills (like Salesforce, Grants.gov), ask questions to see how comfortable and experienced they are.
  • Team Fit: See if their personality and communication style will fit in well with your current team and program staff.

Paying Competitively

Grant writers are highly skilled. If you skimp on pay, you’ll have a shallow talent pool and high turnover. Research what similar roles pay in your area and industry. Think about a bonus structure tied to performance (like a small percentage of secured funds, linked to clear metrics). Make sure your benefits package is also competitive.

Onboarding: Setting Them Up for Success

Onboarding is more than just paperwork; it’s about fully integrating them.

  • Deep Dive into Your Organization: Give them tons of info about your mission, values, strategic plan, programs, and all your impact stories. Set up meetings with key program directors and leaders.
  • Grant Program Immersion: Introduce them to your current grant pipeline, past proposals, who your funders are, and your internal tracking systems.
  • Tools & Systems Training: Thoroughly train them on all the software they’ll use: CRM, grant tracking databases, project management tools, document sharing platforms.
  • Mentorship/Buddy System: Pair new hires with an experienced team member who can guide them through the first few weeks, answer questions, and give them context.
  • Clear Expectations & KPIs: Remind them of their specific roles, responsibilities, and how their performance will be measured.
  • Give Them a Small Project to Start: Assign them a manageable, real project early on to build confidence and let them use their skills.

For example: A new Grant Writer hired for an animal welfare organization is immediately scheduled for meetings with the shelter manager, veterinary team, and adoption coordinators to understand the day-to-day impact. They’re also given access to past successful proposals and trained on the internal grant tracking system within their first week.

Phase 3: Working Together & Being Efficient – Making Success Happen

Just having a bunch of talented people doesn’t automatically mean you have a high-performing team. You have to actively work to foster collaboration, smooth out workflows, and get the most out of everyone.

Clear Communication Channels are Key

Miscommunication is the enemy of any team.

  • Regular Team Meetings: Hold scheduled, structured meetings (weekly or every other week) to talk about what’s in the pipeline, upcoming deadlines, shared challenges, and to celebrate successes.
  • Dedicated Communication Platforms: Use tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Google Chat for quick questions, sharing resources, and informal chats.
  • Standardized Document Sharing: Use platforms like Google Drive, SharePoint, or Dropbox for central document storage, version control, and collaborative editing. Set up clear folder structures.
  • Defined Feedback Loops: Create a system for internal peer review, supervisor feedback, and input from program staff on proposals. This ensures quality and gets everyone’s buy-in.

Making Workflows Smooth & Efficient

Efficiency comes from being clear and consistent.

  • Grant Life Cycle Management: Define a clear, step-by-step process for every stage of a grant, from looking for opportunities to reporting after you get the money.
    • Finding & Vetting Prospects: Who finds new opportunities? How do you figure out if they’re a good fit?
    • Go/No-Go Decisions: What criteria do you use to decide whether to go after a grant? Who makes the final call?
    • Proposal Development Steps: Kick-off meetings, creating an outline, assigning drafts, review cycles, budget creation, final submission. Assign specific people to own each phase.
      Internal Review & Approval: Who reviews the final proposal before it’s submitted?
    • After Submission & Funder Relationships: Tracking, reporting, relationship management.
  • Standardized Templates & Tools:
    • Proposal Templates: Create templates for common sections (needs statements, logic models, evaluation plans) to keep things consistent and save time.
    • Budget Templates: Standardized budget formats to make financial development easier.
    • Grant Calendar/Tracker: A central system (CRM, specialized grant software, or even a really good spreadsheet) to track deadlines, submission status, reporting requirements, and interactions with funders.
    • Boilerplate Library: Keep a collection of reusable content for common organizational descriptions, mission statements, program overviews, and impact metrics. Update this regularly.
  • Project Management Methods: Think about using lean or agile principles for managing your grant pipeline, breaking down big projects into smaller, manageable tasks with clear deadlines.

For example: To make proposal review easier, a team implements a “red-pen” internal review system. Each proposal goes through a sequence: first, a content review by a program expert, then a strategic review by the lead grant writer, and finally, a super careful copy-edit by the team’s dedicated editor. Everyone uses specific color-coded comments in a shared document.

Building a Culture of Learning & Improvement

The world of grants changes constantly. Your team needs to change with it.

  • Professional Development: Encourage and invest in training: webinars on new federal grant programs, workshops on effective storytelling, conferences on fundraising trends.
  • Peer Learning: Organize internal workshops where team members share tips, discuss tricky funder rules, or critique a recent submission (anonymously, if you need to, or using a made-up grant).
  • Post-Mortem Analysis: After every major submission (whether you got it or not), have a “lessons learned” session. What went well? What could be better next time? This debrief is critical for growth.
  • Share Wins and Losses: Celebrate successes openly. Analyze rejections constructively, without blame, focusing on what you can take action on.
  • Access to Resources: Provide subscriptions to relevant publications, databases, and research tools (like Foundation Directory Online, GrantStation).

For example: A team got rejected for a grant because their evaluation plan was weak. In their post-mortem, they realized they had a skill gap. So, they all took an online course on program evaluation and dedicated a weekly meeting to discussing how to include strong evaluation methods in their proposals.

Phase 4: Managing Performance & Optimizing – Measuring and Growing

Building the team is just the start. To keep it performing and proving its worth, you need disciplined measurement, smart adjustments, and proactive problem-solving.

What to Measure (KPIs)

Don’t just look at “money raised.” A full set of KPIs gives you a complete picture of your team’s performance.

  • What You Produce (Output Metrics):
    • Number of proposals submitted (by type, size, funder).
    • Average grant amount applied for.
    • Number of new prospects found.
    • How often you submit on time (percentage submitted on or before deadline).
  • What You Achieve (Outcome Metrics):
    • Grant win rate (total grants won / total grants submitted).
    • Money secured (total committed funds).
    • Return on Investment (ROI) (money secured / cost of the grant team).
    • Funder retention rate (percentage of grants renewed).
  • How Efficient You Are (Efficiency Metrics):
    • Average time spent per proposal (this shows bottlenecks).
    • Internal review cycle time.
    • Accuracy of budget submissions.
  • Quality Metrics:
    • Funder feedback (when you can get it).
    • Internal client satisfaction (how happy program staff are with the grant team’s collaboration).
    • Team member satisfaction and retention.

For example: A grant team focused on efficiency might track their average “proposal development cycle time” from initial research to submission. If it consistently takes too long, they investigate what’s slowing things down and fix it, like scheduling content-gathering meetings with program staff ahead of time.

Regular Performance Reviews & Feedback

Have a clear and consistent review process for individual team members and the team as a whole.

  • Individual Reviews: Annually or twice a year, looking at performance against KPIs, job duties, and professional development goals. Include self-assessments and 360-degree feedback if it makes sense.
  • Team Performance Reviews: Quantify how the whole team is doing against collective goals (like annual funding targets, overall win rate).
  • Ongoing Feedback: Create an environment where constructive feedback is given and received regularly, not just during formal reviews.

Using Technology to Boost Performance

Technology is a helper; it won’t replace human skill.

  • Grant Management Software (GMS): Invest in specific software (like Fluxx, Blackbaud Grantmaking, FoundationSource, Salesforce with NPSP) to manage the entire grant lifecycle. This centralizes data, automates reminders, makes reporting easier, and provides strong analytics.
  • AI-Powered Research Tools: Explore AI tools for initial prospect research or summarizing long funding guidelines. A word of caution: These are aids, not replacements for human judgment.
  • Project Management Software: Tools like Asana, Trello, or Monday.com for assigning tasks, tracking progress, and managing deadlines.
  • Communication & Collaboration Tools: Keep using the platforms we talked about earlier to ensure information flows smoothly.

For instance: A growing non-profit invests in new grant management software. This allows the Lead Grant Writer to instantly pull reports on proposal submission rates by team member, analyze the success rate by funder type, and track the progress of every grant application in real-time. This helps them step in proactively when deadlines are near.

Dealing with Challenges & Adapting to Change

No team works in a bubble. Be ready for:

  • Changes in the Funding Landscape: New funding priorities, changes in application systems, or economic downturns mean your team needs to be flexible and quick to respond. Constant research and monitoring are key.
  • Internal Program Changes: New initiatives, programs ending, or shifts in your organization’s strategy require fast changes in your grant messaging and targeting. Proactive communication between the grant team and program leadership is super important.
  • Team Dynamics: Personalities, conflicts, or someone not performing up to par need to be addressed quickly and professionally through clear communication, mediation, and, if needed, specific training or corrective action.
  • Budget Swings: Be ready to justify your team’s budget by showing their ROI. If resources shrink, find innovative ways to stay efficient (like using AI for early research, or training existing staff to do more).

In Conclusion

Building a successful grant writing team is a smart investment that pays off big time, far beyond just getting grants right away. It creates a strong, resilient system that can navigate the complicated world of philanthropy, make sure you have a steady stream of funding, and ultimately, help your organization achieve its mission more effectively. By planning carefully, hiring intentionally, fostering collaboration, and always making things better, you’ll transform your funding efforts from a solitary struggle into a powerful, coordinated force for impact.