Top grant writer sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to Craft the Perfect Grant Writer Resume Experience Section
Perfecting the experience section: Grant writer resume checklist:
- Be careful with bullet points: use no more than 4-6 per position;
- Mention only positions that are relevant to the job you’re applying for;
- List your experience in chronological or reverse-chronological order;
- Highlight your results by using numbers – e.g. percentage increase/decrease in an important metric that’s followed by - your hard work;
- Use action words whenever possible… but more on that below.
Need examples? We looked through thousands of Grant Writer resumes and gathered some examples of what the ideal experience section looks like. Check them out below!
- Owned over 80 institutional fundraising relationships.
- Oversaw portfolio of over $11 million in annual gifts.
- Retained over 95% of donors year-over-year, added almost $1 million in new donors, grew total giving by over 8%.
- Wrote and secured private and governmental grants in support of community development projects
- Developed & led after school mentoring program for 50 youth in low-income elementary school
- Managed 40 youth volunteers & led efforts in new volunteer recruitment and management
- Helped secure $613,000 from the Bremer Emergency Fund for emergency services—more than 20% of the total awarded—and coordinated short time-frame submission of multiple applications cross-divisionally, resulting in an additional $633,000 secured.
- Strategically networked with another division, obtaining permission to approach an out-of-area foundation, resulting in $115,000 granted.
- Secured $175,000 from one foundation, the largest single non-government grant awarded to the division in ‘09.
- Set new records for private grants to the division, increasing Twin Cities Christmas revenues to $1.1M in 2008 and $1.2M in 2009 over previous record of $435,000.
- Developed and implemented a solicitation plan in ‘10 that halved team mail appeal costs while securing 2x ’09 revenue and 3x ’08 revenue.
- Secured 8 private and governmental grants
- Developed & led after school mentoring program for 40 at-risk youth
- Managed & recruited 20 youth volunteers
- Wrote & successfully applied for several private and governmental grants
- Developed & led after school mentoring program for at-risk youth
- Managed 40 youth volunteers & led efforts in volunteer recruitment
- Wrote & successfully applied for several private & governmental grants
- Developed & led after school mentoring program for at-risk youth
- Managed 40 youth volunteers & led efforts in volunteer recruitment
- I run several educational projects - including logistics, content, fundraising and finances
- Finance management for NGO-s
- Fundraising, especially from EU and other European funds
- Developed a new project plan to secure grant funding of AU$50,000 and above for 400+ social programs
- Strengthened the internal grant identification and application process
- Restructured tracking systems and time management of project deadlines by developing an organisation-tailored submission calendar to facilitate timely and high quality proposal submissions
- Improved partner relationships with internal and external stakeholders and coordinated the preparation of research proposals and feedback reports to sustain on-going revenue streams
- Identified funding opportunities to enhance elder services throughout Florida.
- Wrote large-scale grants, working with staff across the Department to ensure compliance with federal and state laws.
- Served as subject matter expert on digital media initiatives.
- Instituted process improvement initiatives to increase productivity.
- Identified funding opportunities to enhance elder services throughout Florida.
- Wrote large-‐scale grants, including project scope and budgetary documents, working with staff across the Department to ensure compliance with federal and state laws.
- Served as subject matter expert on digital media initiatives.
- Identified and executed process improvement initiatives to increase overall agency productivity and trained staff on new processes and digital platforms.
- Developed a new project plan to secure grant funding of AU$50,000 and above for 400+ social programs
- Strengthened the internal grant identification and application process
- Restructured budget tracking systems and time management of project deadlines by developing an organisation-tailored submission calendar to facilitate timely and high quality proposal submissions
- Improved partner relationships with internal and external stakeholders and coordinated the preparation of research proposals and feedback reports to sustain on-going revenue streams
- Raised approximately $537,000 in grant revenue from private foundations
- Assisted in raising over $4 million in government grants
- Developed filing system to organize and track current and past foundation and donor information
- Converted Indonesian field reports into approachable and compelling content for various audiences from individual donors and corporations, to foundations and governments
- Organized and implemented SurfAid’s highest earning auction at fundraising event
- Created a detailed epidemiological meta-systematic analysis of over 30+ peer-reviewed journals to identify trends in the efficacy of health literacy programs among youth.
- Presented results and provided customer focused support in order to inform the decision making of seniorleadership and the CEO.
- Identified potential sponsors, strengthened and maintained strategic partnerships to drive fundraising, event goals and the awareness of health disparities in communities of high poverty rates by 100%.
- Led writing grants and operational management which secured funding for free admission to 41,000+ students from an entire county.
- Researched and raised more than $500,000 in grant revenue from private foundations
- Contributed to securing over $4 million in government grants
- Established, maintained, and grew partnerships with $250,000 worth of granting foundations
- Managed international communications team of 7 colleagues, never missing a deadline
- Developed filing system to track information for hundreds of current, past and prospective foundations
- Wrote and edited content for more than 21,000 supporters to read in newsletters, electronic direct mail pieces, press releases, blog entries, annual reports, and website updates
- Managed and grew social media following by over 5,000 in one year
- Created content from field reports to effectively articulate SurfAid’s mission to diverse audiences
- Organized and implemented SurfAid’s highest earning auction of over $32,000 at fundraising event
- Successful project applications for European funding programmes (H2020, Interreg, ITEA3, Eurostars, LIFE Grants, Interreg CE & BR, Erasmus+ and others)
- Working with international partners, such as: Medical Booking bvba, Biopolus Kft., Infologic OU and others.
- Cooperated with JEUNE member YES Camp on organising YES! Startup 2018 Chengdu.
PRO TIP
Include quantitative data throughout your Grant Writer resume to impress the hiring manager. Real facts and figures that show off your competency as an audit manager go a long way. Did you reduce the costs of audits? Manage a large team? Boosted efficiency? Show off the real numbers!
Action verbs for your grant writer resume
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Impressing recruiters with a top grant writer resume skills section
Checklist for an impressive grant writer resume skills section:
- List both hard and technical skills that are important for the role;
- Check what the job description says and add some keywords based on that;
- Focus only on relevant skills;
- Try not to list things such as “communication”; rather, highlight your soft skills in other sections of your Grant Writer resume.
Top skills for your grant writer resume
Microsoft Office Suite
Adobe Acrobat
SPSS
SAS
Spanish
Raiser's Edge
Quark Express
Grants
Confluence
Communication
Confidentiality
Decisiveness
Organisation
Empathy and compassion
Negotiation and debate
Diplomacy
Trust and integrity
Conflict resolution
PRO TIP
Avoid getting sidetracked by Applicant tracking software by including a tech skills' section matching the job description and your own qualifications.
Recommended reads:
Grant Writer Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
Checklist for your grant writer resume header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Grant Writer resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
Crafting a strong summary for your grant writer resume
Checklist: The perfect grant writer resume summary section
- Add a couple of keywords from the job description;
- Mention some of your most valuable skills and characteristics;
- Highlight your top achievements (and add numbers!);
- Use no more than 3-5 sentences to guarantee readability and keep - the hiring manager interested.
resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
When writing a resume summary or objective, avoid first-person narrative.
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An impressive education section: grant writer resume
Grant writer resume: Education section checklist
- Highlight your highest education degree;
- Include the degree subject, year of graduation, and institution name;
- Mention some of the awards you’ve received during your studies;
- List your certifications (incl. the body that’s issued them);
- Entry-level positions: Give preference to courses that are relevant to the position.
Top certifications for your grant writer resume
Grant Writing for Nonprofits and Freelance Writers
Learn how to "grantsmith" winning proposals, think like a funder, draft a solid boilerplate, and build relationships.
Basic Grant Proposal Writing for Nonprofits
Crafting Winning Proposals that Get Funded, with Effective Outcomes Statements and Proven Communications Methods
Comprehensive Grant Writing for beginners: 7 simple steps
Go from cash-strapped to funded with the help of a fundraising expert.
Federal Grant Writing 101
Grant Writing Classes on How to Write and Win a Federal Government Grant Award
Grant Writing: How to Write Nonprofit Grants for Beginners
A complete beginners guide to writing and applying for grant funding
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
The right format for your grant writer resume
When it comes to formatting your Grant Writer resume, there are certain things you need to keep in mind. These include your level of expertise, your total years of experience, and the position and company you’re applying for, to name a few.
You can choose between three basic resume formats:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
The reverse-chronological format is just that – all your experience listed in a reverse-chronological way. It’s great for experienced professionals who have been in the industry for many years and have no career gaps.
The functional skills-based resume, on the other hand, focuses on skills, education, and personality traits, rather than experience. This makes it great for graduates, people with less experience, or bigger career gaps. The idea is to show you’re the perfect match without putting too much emphasis on your lack of relevant experience.
If none of these sound suitable, go for a hybrid (or combination) resume. It’s a mix of experience, skills, and personality traits. It’s also considered modern and innovative because of its non-traditional structure and sections. Here, you can add details about what your typical day looks like or what your life philosophy is. In short, the hybrid resume format shows who you are, both as a professional and as an individual.
More tips on perfecting your resume style and layout:
- Choose a traditional 12p font;
- Make sure your resume margins are no bigger than an inch;
- Go for a one-page template. If you have broad experience and can’t fit your resume on one page, choose a two-page resume template
- Save your resume as PDF to avoid formatting issues and unauthorized editing.
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PRO TIP
Test your draft Grant Writer resume by sending it out to peers and mentors in your circles. Ask them to review it as if they are hiring you for a project and implement the feedback afterwards.
More sections worth adding to your grant writer resume
If the industry, company, and position you’re applying for allow for that, you could include other sections in your Grant Writer resume. By doing this, you’ll show the recruiter that you’re a real human and not a robot.
Here are some ideas:
The right kind of creativity for your grant writer resume
Several years ago, everyone preferred keeping a safe distance from creative resumes. Today, adding creativity to your CV is considered cool, innovative, and one of the best ways to stand out.
You can add a creative section that describes your typical day or even go for a colorful creative template. No matter what you choose, make sure to keep the position, company, and industry in mind. Otherwise, you risk looking silly.
What makes a great grant writer resume: key takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
