If you are just graduating from college, you have so many choices before you! A big one is your future career. Do you want to devote your profession to making a real difference in the world? Will work in the nonprofit sector suit you?

If you are thinking about it, as I did when I was a recent college graduate many moons ago, you will want to consider many factors:

• What really needs to get done?
• What are you good at?
• What do you enjoy doing?, and
• What will be financially sustainable?

(By the way, these are also good questions to ask yourself if you are considering a career in government service or socially responsible businesses.)

Passion is Not All You Need

Notice that I am suggesting not to just focus on the issue or cause you are passionate about, but also the actual skills you will be bringing to the job. With a newly minted degree, you probably have up-to-date knowledge about your field. And that is so helpful! But you also need to know the answer to the question: “Yes, but what can you DO for us?”

And there is a lot that needs doing! Nonprofit jobs make up about 10% of private sector employment in the U.S. That’s a good chunk – accounting for over 11 million positions.

No matter what specific job you end up in, you’re virtually guaranteed to be involved – directly or indirectly – with fundraising. It’s the lifeblood of the nonprofit sector. One important component of fundraising is grant seeking strategy. It’s a skill you would be wise to pick up because it will help open doors for you.

I recently wrote a blog post describing the Top 12 Traits of a Good Grant Writer, but regardless of your specific job title, knowing how to attract grants can be an important feather in your cap or tool in your toolbox (choose your favorite metaphor).

Now, most of us don’t come to the nonprofit sector because we want to be fundraisers, per se. Instead, we are compelled by an organization’s mission, activities, outcomes, and the like. But don’t overlook fundraising! You will add enormous value to your (current and future) employers if you bring experience and expertise in one or more aspects of revenue generation strategies.

Basically, those of us with fundraising backgrounds are always in demand.

Where to Begin?

What’s that? Your resume is kind of thin in that regard? Not to worry. You can find opportunities everywhere that will help beef it up. Stepping up to take a little initiative with an organization you’re interested in goes a long way.

Are you good at schmoozing? Researching? Storytelling? Running numbers? Are you closely tied to the community you want to serve? How about multi-tasking?

If any of that described you, grant writing just might be up your alley.

You may have been one of the fortunate students who took a grant writing course in school. If you were extremely lucky, your instructor had some recent real-world experience in the field. If so, great!

But odds are that you, like most people in the nonprofit sector, never studied grant writing or grant management. Instead, most people try to learn the needed skills on the job — and that can take many years.

To help address this situation, TechSoup and I teamed up recently to co-create an on-demand course series on Grant Writing and Management. This learning track consists of 5 courses that form a “starter kit” for grant writing.

In the courses, we travel step-by-step along the “Grant Roadmap,” where you will learn to:

• First ensure the organization’s readiness for grant seeking.
• Then plan and draft an entire grant proposal package.
• You will perform a mock review to make sure it is complete.
• You will also learn to research and approach your most likely funders.
• And manage the grant after it is awarded.

Here is the welcome video for the course track:

In all 5 courses, you’ll engage with me through videos, interactive activities, and quizzes. You will also find dozens of samples, templates, checklists, and other resources. And each module comes with its own transcript for easy reference.

Special Discount for Recent Graduates

We are pleased to offer recent graduates a 20% discount on the Grant Writing and Management course track! To get the discount, just enter code: GRANTMGMT20 when you sign up. The discount expires on 6/30/21, but the good news is that the courses themselves have no expiration date — take them whenever you wish.

By the way, the course track makes a great graduation gift for any graduate considering the nonprofit world! [Hint, hint.]

For Best Results…

TIP: Take the time to identify an organization that interests you. Try to contact them to see if they would like to partner with you. To get the most out of the courses, you will need lots of information about the organization and its programs – and some of it will probably NOT appear on their website.

Be sure to let them know that if they work with you, they will get a free grant proposal template out of the deal – quite an incentive!

The Bottom Line

Get some training and experience in fundraising/grant writing and you will boost your marketability in the nonprofit sector, regardless of your primary focus. Hey, maybe you’ll even get a foot in the proverbial door!

P.S.: For more help, thinking through a nonprofit career path, I suggest this great article  from WildApricot.com.