Project Management: The Foundation of Strong Grant Writing

Deadlines, unfamiliar requirements, and flows of information coming in from different teams as you craft a grant proposal—it can be a lot to handle! 

This is why project management skills are so important for grant writers.  

Those who can effectively manage projects are the ones who drive the greatest results for their organizations or clients. Better organization leads to less rushing and higher quality. As you learn more about the grant landscape, you can confidently prioritize your opportunities and become an efficient grant writing powerhouse. 

However, project management skills are often easily neglected. Even as you master the grant writing process, all the pieces can’t come together to make a winning proposal without a clear plan for actually getting the work done.  

What are the project management skills essential for successful grant writing? We’ll group them into three categories:  

• Project Preparation for Grant Writing 
• Kicking Off a New Grant Project 
• Mastering Grant Writing Project Management Logistics 

While this is by no means an exhaustive list (project management is its own diverse field of expertise), it does include all the tactical strategies we’ve seen make the biggest differences for grant writers.  

Project Preparation for Grant Writing 

The first steps of your grant journey should involve laying out your roadmap. If you’re taking the lead on the proposal, complete these steps on your own. 

1. Read your grant’s guidelines and requirements. Then read them again. These are what will structure your entire proposal, and they detail all the additional information you’ll need to gather. 

2. List out the requirements in an easy-to-digest and shareable checklist or outline. Highlight the resources needed for the grant, and identify who in the organization owns or can share that information. We call this outline the grant’s “narrative skeleton.” 

3. Draft a rough timeline for your grant writing project. You’ll want to submit the grant a day or two before its official deadline (this can not only be a good look but will also give you a cushion should anything get delayed). For now, focus on the pre-award steps you’ll have to tackle. You can flesh out the later phases of an awarded grant’s complete lifecycle later if needed, although for some grants you may need to plan ahead to define your grant management and sustainability or stepdown plans if requested by the funder. 

With a roadmap in hand, communicate it to the team of individuals who’ll help you gather information for the proposal and/or will need to provide official documentation or sign-off. Get a kickoff meeting on the books, and share an agenda and your checklist and timeline in advance. 

Kicking Off a New Grant Project 

When it’s time for the rubber to meet the road, there are a few best practices you can follow that will ensure a smooth start. Review these tips for a successful grant kickoff meeting: 

• Familiarize everyone. Whether you’re in a large organization or perhaps serving as a freelance grant writing lead, understanding each other’s roles will be essential for communicating, getting along well, and ultimately adhering to the grant writing plan. 
• Recap progress and context so far. Get everyone on the same page by reviewing the grant’s context—the funder, the amount, the funding structure, the project you’ll be proposing, etc. 
• Review the requirements. Next, walk through the checklist of grant requirements as a team and answer any immediate questions. 
• Confirm ownership and deadlines. Confirm who will provide what to help you meet all the requirements. Take a look at your grant timeline and decide on reasonable deadlines for providing that information. If the grant requires signed letters of support or official resolutions, be very intentional with defining ownership and deadlines—these supplemental documents can take a while to secure. 
• Revise your timeline as needed. As you determine deadlines, identify any additional action items and get input from teammates. Make any adjustments to your grant timeline as needed. 
• Explain and finalize your meeting cadence. Finally, lay out your plan for how you’ll stay in touch going forward. Decide when you’ll have regular check-in meetings leading up to the submission deadline.  

The kickoff process can make or break your grant writing project. By giving it a smooth, organized start, you can help everyone involved think of it as an exciting priority rather than just another project they need to help with.  

Mastering Grant Writing Project Management Logistics 

Your grant writing project is off to a strong start and following your roadmap. Great!  

Now, what are the logistical considerations to keep in mind that will help ensure it keeps running smoothly and becomes an easily repeatable process for your organization? We’ve got a few tips. 

Use the right tools for the job. Spreadsheets can definitely work to organize all of the information and steps you need for the complete proposal, but be careful. They can easily become more of a hindrance than a help if not well-maintained.  

Dedicated project management tools and collaboration platforms that allow you to configure steps, set deadlines, and send notifications will work better. For nonprofits with larger development departments, grant-specific management software will be your best bet to keep a complex program running hitch-free. Using these kinds of tools will also simplify the process of reporting back on your overall grant seeking performance over time. 

Ensure visibility across the grant team and centralize the relevant resources. The last thing you want is to miss a deadline because a team member wasn’t notified correctly or didn’t have access to a grant resource at the right time.  

A Google Drive-style setup with easily accessible documents and sharing options works well. If you’re using dedicated project management software, you should be able to upload important documents in centralized locations, as well. 

As the logistics of your grant writing process come into place, back it all up with consistent communication. Set a regular meeting cadence and develop agendas in advance. Consider sending weekly update emails, too. A quick rundown of what’s been accomplished and what’s still needed will keep everyone aligned as the project progresses. Whatever combination of in-person discussions and digital messages makes the most sense for your team and timeframe will work, but the key is consistency. 

Project management can be tricky—that’s why businesses and nonprofits hire dedicated staff members just to oversee it. Combine project management with the separate skillset of grant writing, and overseeing a new proposal might feel like a lot to take on. 

While the ideal project management process looks different for every organization, you can develop a system that works seamlessly for your unique team and goals by following best practices and establishing some core guidelines. 

If you’re starting from scratch or just want a refresher, consider online courses on grant writing that go beyond the actual writing to include project management best practices. Best of luck!