Do You Really Need a Grant Writing Certification to Win Grants?
Spoiler: Probably not. Here’s why.
If you’ve ever Googled “how to become a grant writer,” chances are you were quickly met with ads and promises from online courses offering grant writing certifications. For many small nonprofits and grassroots leaders, that raises a big question:
Do I need one of these to be taken seriously? Or to actually win funding?
It’s an understandable concern, especially when you’re juggling all the hats that grassroots nonprofit work demands and trying to secure critical dollars to keep your programs running. The idea of a grant writing certification can feel like a shortcut to legitimacy or a way to show funders or your board that you know what you’re doing.
But here’s the truth:
You don’t need a grant writing certification to write strong, fundable proposals. Many successful grant writers (myself included) are almost entirely self-taught. What matters more than any course certificate is your ability to understand your programs, clearly communicate your impact, and build trust with funders.
In this blog, we’ll unpack what grant writing certifications are, when they might be useful, and why they’re far from essential for you to get funding for your programs. Most importantly, we’ll explore some ways you can become a more confident and strategic grant writer without spending a dime on credentials—especially if you’re part of a small but mighty team doing big work in your community.
What Is a Grant Writing Certification?
Let’s start with the basics. A grant writing certification is typically a short-term course or program that claims to teach you how to write grant proposals and rewards you with a certificate upon completion. These can range from a few hours of self-paced online videos to multi-week programs hosted by universities or professional associations.
Popular examples of grant writing courses and certifications include:
Free options like NonprofitReady’s grant writing classes
Paid courses from platforms like Udemy, Coursera, or Skillshare
Certificate programs from universities or professional development providers
Credentialing programs like the “Certified Grant Writer” offered by the American Grant Writers’ Association
But here’s the catch:
There is no official or universal grant writing certification anywhere in the world. Unlike other professions (think nursing, teaching, accounting, etc), there’s no governing body that licenses or regulates grant writers. That means every certification is essentially a learning program, not a formal qualification.
The good news is, you don’t need a grant writing certification to craft strong grant proposals. Some certification programs teach valuable basics, while others are glorified slide decks with a price tag. The key thing to remember is that a certification might help you learn grant writing, but it’s not a golden ticket to guaranteed funding, and certifications are not required by funders.
What matters more than a certification?
Qualitative and quantitative data
Measuring impact
Telling your organization’s story
When a Grant Writing Certification Might Be Helpful
Before you totally dismiss the idea of certification, I want to be fair: there are reasons you could benefit from one.
If you’re brand new to grant writing and looking for structure, a certification course can give you:
A clear overview of grant writing basics
Step-by-step instructions on how to write a proposal
Sample templates and assignments to practice with
A sense of accountability to actually finish learning
Some people also find that having a certificate boosts their confidence and helps them overcome that infamous Imposter Syndrome. Maybe a structured course just works better for your brain, since not everyone thrives in a self-taught, trial-and-error environment, and that’s okay.
A certification might give you knowledge, but it doesn’t guarantee skill. And it definitely doesn’t guarantee funding.
Plenty of people take certification courses and still struggle to secure grants because they don’t know how to effectively tell their organization’s story or explain their data. Meanwhile, countless grassroots leaders who don’’t have any formal training are writing winning proposals because they know their programs inside and out and are learning what funders care about.
So while a certification can be helpful, it’s far from the only (or even the best) path to becoming a capable, effective grant writer.
Why You Don’t Need a Grant Writing Certification to Write Competitive Grants
Here’s the truth most certification programs won’t tell you: Funders quite literally do not care whether or not you have a grant writing certificate. They won’t look at your credentials, they won’t ask to see your certificates, and they know that a certificate doesn’t mean you know how to write a strong grant proposal to begin with.
What matters to funders is that your grant proposal:
Is clear
Well-aligned with their funding priorities
Shows real potential for impact
The best grant writers learn by doing. I hold grace for the grant writer I was when I first started out, but to be perfectly honest I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how to talk about impact, I didn’t know how to share quantitative and qualitative data, and I didn’t understand what funders were really looking for.
Despite all of that, I’ve managed to procure multimillions in funding because I’ve come to understand that writing a good grant has more to do with strategy and storytelling than it does with theory or formal instruction.
So here’s why I’d argue that certification isn’t essential.
1. Funders Evaluate Your Program, Not Your Credentials
When a foundation reviews your proposal, they’re not looking at your resume. They’re asking:
Does this organization have a clear, sustainable plan?
Do they understand the community they’re serving?
Can they measure the outcomes they’re promising?
None of those answers come from a certificate; rather, from your lived experience, your program design, and your ability to communicate your impact.
2. You Learn More from Writing Real Grants
I can tell you through my own lived experience that there’s no better teacher than the process itself. Drafting a proposal, aligning it with funder priorities, and learning how to improve through feedback—that’s how you sharpen your skills.
A course can show you what a logic model is (full disclosure: I took a grant writing course for me to learn about logic models and how to write them). But writing your own, revising it after funder critique, and testing it out in multiple proposals? That’s how you become good.
3. The Most Valuable Insights Come from Conversations
One thing that made a huge difference in my career as a grant writer was asking for feedback.
When I first started writing grant proposals in 2022, I was not good. About 6 months into my grant writing career, I had a funder return a proposal to me, asking me to modify it to in a few different areas. Once I got past the initial shame and embarassment of being called out for a poorly-crafted proposal, I was able to see the value in critical review.
Two years later, I asked that same funder for a phone call so I could ask him a list of questions I’d compiled about how funders think. Thankfully, he obliged me and took time to talk to me about what non-negotiable elements should be included in a proposal and how to better understand what funders want, not only out of proposals, but out of relationships with the organizations they work with.
In my opinion, you’ll gain far more from:
Talking to a funder about what they look for
Asking a peer to review your proposal
Listening to what reviewers say in a debrief (in my experience, this is rare, but so valuable when offered)
These real-world interactions teach you how to think like a funder, which is something no generic grant writing certification course can replicate.
4. Certifications Don’t Equal Results
A polished certificate certainly feels validating, but what really earns you funding is:
A compelling need statement backed by recent data
A strong narrative of how your program works
A realistic, detailed, transparent budget
Outcomes that align with a funder’s goals
You can learn how to craft each of these without spending hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on a course.
Bottom Line: You don’t need to be certified—you need to be credible. And that credibility comes from clarity, community knowledge, and persistence. Not paperwork.
Real Skills That Matter More Than a Grant Writing Certification
If your goal is to write grant proposals that get noticed and funded, then don’t stress about pursuing a grant writing certification. Focus instead on building the core skills that funders actually look for. These are the capabilities that separate effective grant writers from the rest, and none of them require formal credentials.
Understanding Your Programs Deeply
To write a strong grant proposal, you need to be able to clearly explain:
What your program does
Who it serves and why
What makes it different or effective
How you’ll measure success
If you can’t answer these questions confidently, no amount of certification will help. Funders want clarity and confidence—not jargon or buzzwords.
Program Design and Logic Models
Strong grant proposals aren’t just about good writing, but about strategy. A well-structured program design with logical activities, outputs, and measurable outcomes is the foundation of a strong grant proposal. You should focus on:
Building logic models for each of your programs
Defining clear outcomes
Vetting to ensure your program goals align with funder priorities
Budgeting and Cost Justification
Funders want to see that you understand your costs and can justify them. This includes:
Building a clear, detailed budget
Explaining why each line item matters
Showing how funding will be used responsibly
Writing with Clarity and Purpose
Strong grant writers:
Write clearly and concisely
Avoid unnecessary fluff or jargon
Tailor every proposal ot the funder’s language and priorities
This comes from practice, not certification. You can’t copy and paste the same boilerplates into every application, as every funder is different. I also recommend that you lean on AI tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly if you aren’t a strong writer (and even if you are! These tools can help cut your grant writing time in half and keep your thoughts organized).
Fundraising and Funder Relationships
I would argue that this is one of the hardest parts of nonprofit grantwriting. Knowing how to research funders, build relationships, and align your application with their priorities is often more important than the proposal itself.
If you can’t connect the dots between your mission and theirs, the best-written proposal will still fall flat.
Strategic Thinking
Being a good grant writer means thinking like a strategist, not a creative writer. It’s about:
Understanding what makes your nonprofit fundable
Positioning your work in the larger landscape
Anticipating reviewer questions and addressing them before they’re asked
Grant writing is as much about listening and learning as it is about writing. These are the skills that win grants, and they’re 100% learnable—without paying for a certificate.
How to Learn Grant Writing Without Paying for a Grant Writing Certification
If you’ve read this far, you may be wondering where you’re supposed to start to learn grant writing if you’re not going to pay for a grant writing certification.
The good news is that there are a ton of free (or, at least, very affordable) ways to learn. Whether you’re a nonprofit founder, staff member, or curious volunteer, you can develop grant writing skills on your own terms without breaking the bank.
Use Free, High-Quality Online Resources
There are plenty of organizations and platforms offering free or low-cost training, including:
NonprofitReady.org: Offers self-paced courses and a free certificate
Candid Learning: Free webinars and videos on grant writing and funder research
Youtube Channels: I don’t have any I can recommend here as I haven’t found any to be particularly useful for my brain, but if you search “grant writing for nonprofits,” you will come across workshops, tutorials, and walkthroughs
Podcasts and Blogs: Subscribe to nonprofit fundraising podcasts or blogs that offer real-world insights
These resources are often created by experienced professionals who’ve been in the trenches.
Reverse Engineer Funded Proposals
Want to know what a strong grant looks like? Study real proposals that have been funded. Look at:
Structure and formatting
Language and tone
How the organization decribed its mission, problem, and impact
Ask peer organizations if they’re willing to share successful proposals or redacted versions. You can also find published samples on some funder websites.
Learn from Conversations, Not Just Content
Some of the best grant writing insights come not from textbooks, but from real people.
Talk to funders at info sessions, webinars, or community events. Pay attention to what they emphasize. Don’t be afraid to ask a funder to meet you for coffee or lunch so you can learn more about how they think and what they look for.
Ask for feedback when you’re rejected. In my experience, you won’t get feedback very often, but when you do, it’s absolute gold.
Join nonprofit peer groups on various social media platforms, like LinkedIn or Reddit, or sites like Resilia. Share what you’re working on and don’t be afraid to ask questions.
Partner with other nonprofits on joint proposals. This is a great way to share resources and learn collaboratively, while broadening your impact.
Practice, Practice, Practice. And Keep Practicing.
Just start writing! It’s better to start messy than to not start at all. Every application you write helps you:
Get better at describing your programs
Learn to answer funder questions more effectively
Understand common review criteria
Over time, you’ll build your own library of templates, strategies, and lessons learned.
You don’t need a class to get started. You just need curiosity, commitment, and the courage to keep learning.
