How to Write a Grant

Become a Grant Writing Unicorn

By: Meredith Noble

Narrated by: Meredith Noble

Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Number one best seller for nonprofit fundraising and grants

This book answers all your questions related to grant writing and the questions you want to ask like:

• How do I build a career in grant writing?
• What if the grant I write doesn’t win?
• How do I make time for this?

Here’s what we want you to know: If you can think critically and commit to being the best version of yourself, you will succeed as a grant-writing unicorn.

We often get ahead of ourselves, and fear overruns our hopes and dreams. But did you know that you can get started sooner than you realize? As soon as you close this book, you are ready. Marked with chocolate fingerprints, coffee stains, post-its, and highlights, you will feel confident and inspired to take action.

Freshen that cup of joe or tea my friend. We move quickly around here. You are on your way to becoming a grant-writing unicorn!

Meredith, Alex, and the Entire Team at Learn Grant Writing

"It's obvious that Meredith's methods are tried and tested! Her desire to see her readers succeed in grant writing is evident in the first chapter when she immediately shares the 7 steps to win a grant. Love the passion and relatable content this book brings to the table! Can't wait to try out all the new tips in my own grant writing!” (April Tabor, senior grants management officer, Frontier Nursing University)

“As a special needs mom, I know I can learn anything. But I still struggle with imposter syndrome and overwhelm as a new grant writer. Meredith's witty and wise insights are clear, authentic, and immediately actionable. You will not regret reading this book.” (Abby Gromlich, new grant writer)

“When it comes to raising money for yourself, your cause, or your community, How to Write a Grant by Meredith Noble leads you step by step on how to find the needle you need in today’s multi-billion dollar haystack of available grant funding!” (Carol Tuynman, community volunteer)

“I have agonized over the grant writing process for more than 30 years. How to Write a Grant has provided me with an organized approach and beginner's mind that has empowered me to be productive while maintaining a stress free existence.” (Mike Gardner, Northflow LLC)

"Meredith has woven her decade long experience as a grant writer and grant writing coach into this newly-revised, hands-on resource for those new and not so new to the grant writing field. Whether you're a nonprofit professional who's been selected to write grants for your team or you just launched your own organization, you'll be sure to find tangible help to writing grants that get funded. And with Meredith's fun writing style and amazing sense of humor, you'll be fully engaged from beginning to end." (Hope S. Holman, BCMHC, CTSS, CAC, CPC)

©2021 Meredith Noble (P)2023 Meredith Noble

Informative. Not Dry.

Are you considering becoming a grant writer? This is a great place to start to evaluate that decision. Meredith touches on every aspect of grant writing without getting stuck in the technical weeds. She includes plenty of examples, case studies, and direction to where you can get free templates for common documents you will need to create for your client/employer.

She has such a healthy attitude about self-care. Many grant writers want to save the world but forget that in order to do that, they need to be healthy and have their basic monetary needs met. This woman has learned so much “the hard way” and is helping others learn the quick and easy way. You just have to listen and trust.

Most books on grant writing are technical and dry. Even when Meredith is getting into a technical description of something, she’s somehow still entertaining. I think it’s her enthusiasm that comes through that keeps it interesting.

Since I actually do write grants for a living, I also bought the print edition of this book. I’m sure I will want to use it as a reference in the future.

If you have any interest in exploring grant writing as a career, side hustle, or valuable volunteer get this book.

Not Your Grandmother’s Grant Writing Book!

I am thrilled that I found this book! In addition to the systematic way that Meridith explains the grant application process she also tells stories about her own experience. She gives examples of her out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to grant applications. The explanation of the twisty windy road that lead to the formation of the Grant Writing Collective made it easier for me to apply my own varied work experience to learning how to write grants.

If you are on the fence about becoming a grant writer I highly recommend the audio version of the second edition. This book makes grant writing seem doable and fun.

I’m a Unicorn!

This book was the best out of five! I woke up this morning and I had to finish it. I learned so much and I can hardly wait to get started. Some of these grant writing books can turn you off, and I found this book in time to turn me around. I’m glad I bought this book because I will listen to it again, for motivation and inspiration. I think at least once a year but right now I’m going to listen to it one more time. Thank you!

THE Grant-writing Guide Just Got Better!!

TL;DR - It’s an entertaining and educational audioguide, custom-made for those who want to discover the world of successful grant-writing. The engaging narration is the voice of the author herself, Meredith Noble, a self-taught grant-writing-and-consulting entrepreneurial success who has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for a multitude of organizations across sectors and industries.

Full Deets - When I was just learning to write grants, I got a physical copy of the original version of “How to Write a Grant” which has now been passed around extensively to friends and colleagues. It’s dog-eared and well-worn with copious notes in the margins.

So, I purchased a Kindle edition. I like having an easily portable reference that I can pop up on my phone to share an excerpt with a project partner. That ebook version has more info with additional highlighted notes!

Honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d want to own a third copy of the book. However, I normally retain far more audio than visual. Plus, Meredith herself narrates her own work. So I snagged a copy to listen to while puttering around. I was hoping I might pick up a few tips I missed in the earlier versions.

I’m so glad I did. I’ve already fallen in love with the book (and the teacher) all over again! The information has been updated with heaps of new examples gleaned from Meredith’s experience hosting online courses and webinars. There are dozens of anecdotal stories, shared with permission of course, relayed from the Learn Grant Writing Collective community (led by co-founders Meredith and Alex Lustig along with numerous coaches). These case study examples end up sounding like mini radio stories because Meredith’s style of audio narration is natural, realistic, and imbued with just the right amount of humour and passion to keep the audio version of a book about a technical subject both entertaining and informative. It’s almost like listening to a series of podcasts.

It’s current, factual, practical, AND funny. Who knew grant-writing could actually feel fresh and fun again! 🎉🥳

Phenomenal Resource, Packed With Gems

Outstanding book with so much good information that I'm going to buy the hard copy so that I can pepper it with Post-It notes. It's not just an easy-to-follow book about grant-writing, it's a call-to-action for anyone fighting their fears of writing grants, or simply pursuing a better life for themselves. The last few chapters have a lot of wonderful life philosophy in them, expertly folded in among the descriptions of the grant-writing process. And, maybe it's not the author's intent, but this could be a "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" for newer generations.

I'm closing in on 50, have lived a life, and gone down deep rabbit holes for years working on myself. As a result, I often reflexively roll my eyes when I hear buzzwords like "mindset" when I'm simply looking for technical information. My mindset is in good shape, and I often wonder why authors assume everyone reading their books lacks any kind of substantive mindset of their own. But this one was a bit different, and, I think, entirely justified within the context of how exhausting and overwhelming grant-writing can be.

The writer shows us practical steps to becoming successful at writing grants, instead of just lecturing us. She does this with examples from her own experience, and from those of her students and colleagues. She also includes her failures, analyzing each one with an unflinching eye. It's a bold, unvarnished look at her process from her early days to present, and it's both inspiring and impressive. I appreciated her meaningful approach to sharing herself, to improving herself and her process, and her honesty about fighting past fears. Her authenticity shone through like a spotlight in the dark, and it makes the path to success feel entirely doable.

In addition to the practical "how-to" content, for those just getting started in the workforce, there is a lot of good common-sense advice about work-life balance. For someone like me, who has had a whole career, you'll find encouragement, powerful case studies, action lists, tons of resources and good advice, and a clear-cut path to how to pivot mid-career. The style of the book is straightforward and easy to understand. There is even a major discount code provided for Instrumentl, the best grant-finding database out there.

My only criticism of the book is that the author, though enthusiastic and bubbly, is not a professional narrator. As a result, the book sounds like a long podcast, which is not my expectation when listening to an audiobook. For me, that was distracting to the point where it pulled me away from the material over and over.

There is a reason that professional voiceover artists usually narrate audiobooks. When the author editorializes their own material, by over-emphasizing things or reading in an overly-conversational manner, it pulls listeners out of their own trajectory. As much as I admire this tremendous writer, please get a pro reader to do the next edition. For anyone who isn't bothered by this kind of thing, you may not even notice. Either way, this book is a game-changer, and I recommend it wholly to anyone curious about grant-writing, who needs a clear guide to show them the way.