It’s a new year, which means new goals, updated strategies and fresh professional development opportunities. 

In our conversations with clients, we often hear how challenging it can be finding the right professional development opportunities as they relate to grants for non-profit employees, or recruiting new team members with the exact skill set they are looking for. 

If you’re on the search for sector-specific training in a competitive grant-seeking space, and want content tailored to your specific organisational goals, the Strategic Grants team can equip your team with the skills needed for grants success through our Employee Onboarding and Upskilling professional development program. 

Skills for grants success 

Over a three-month period, one of our Grants Strategists will implement a tailored training plan unique to your organisation. Topics covered can include anything from grant writing to funder relationships to monitoring and evaluation.  

And if you’re recruiting for a non-profit / for-purpose fundraising role? We recommend focusing on recruiting someone with transferable skills who can then work with our team to get upskilled on sector knowledge. 

Our top skills to look for are: 

  1. Exceptional communication skills—written and oral. When it comes to fundraising and grants especially, having an internal resource that can listen, capture key messages, and present those in both proposals and when speaking to internal and external stakeholders, is essential. You need someone who can build and nurture relationships with program leaders and funders. This combination is a winner.   
  1. Strategic thinking. A good fundraiser knows who in the organisation should have the conversation with the right donor for the right project at the right time, and makes it happen.  
  1. Time management and organisational skills. Fundraising activities are generally deadline driven, whether it is submitting grant applications, getting appeals out or running events. We look for people with the ability to manage multiple tasks, work well under pressure and know when to ask for additional support from the team. 

Grants best practice

If you’re still in planning mode and not sure where to start when it comes to grants strategies or professional development, why not check out our Best Practice Tracker? This free, online tool will walk you through our 7 key success factors. By honestly self-scoring your non-profit organisation, you’ll walk away with a clear understanding of areas to improve on.  

Ready to get started on your path to grants success? Get in touch with the Strategic Grants team today!