Learn how funders think, what reviewers look for, and how to write clear, competitive grant proposals that win
Winning grants is not about buzzwords, templates, or guessing what funders want. It’s about understanding how funders think, how proposals are reviewed, and how to communicate your ideas clearly and convincingly.
What you’ll learn
- Identify what funders look for when deciding which proposals to support.
- Avoid frequent grant-writing mistakes that reduce proposal competitiveness.
- Write more focused, persuasive grant proposals that aligns with funder expectations.
- Develop long lasting partnerships with funders and other collaborators.
Course Content
- Understanding the Funding Landscape –> 2 lectures • 13min.
- Making Sense of Funding Calls –> 2 lectures • 12min.
- Writing Strong Proposals – Part 1 –> 2 lectures • 10min.
- Writing Strong Proposals – Part 2 –> 2 lectures • 13min.
- Planning Beyond the Grant –> 2 lectures • 13min.
- Approaching Funders Without a Call –> 2 lectures • 13min.
- Working With Funders and Partners –> 2 lectures • 16min.
- Learning From Outcomes –> 2 lectures • 10min.
Requirements
Winning grants is not about buzzwords, templates, or guessing what funders want. It’s about understanding how funders think, how proposals are reviewed, and how to communicate your ideas clearly and convincingly.
This course is a practical guide to grant writing for NGOs, researchers, and nonprofit professionals who want to improve the quality and competitiveness of their grant proposals. Rather than focusing on where to find funding opportunities, the course focuses on what matters most: how proposals are assessed and what makes funders say yes.
You will learn how funders define value, how reviewers evaluate grant proposals, and how to structure your application so that your ideas are easy to understand, credible, and aligned with funder expectations. The course breaks down common reasons proposals fail and shows you how to avoid them by writing with clarity, logic, and purpose.
Whether you are writing your first grant proposal or trying to improve your success rate, this course will help you develop a grant-writing mindset that is grounded in how real funding decisions are made. The lessons apply across foundations, donors, and research funders, making them relevant for nonprofit organisations, academic researchers, and project teams alike.
By the end of the course, you will have a clearer understanding of what makes a grant proposal competitive and how to write proposals that stand out during the review process.