Professional Writing and Executive Summary Development for Grantmakers

Learn about the importance of compelling writing and advance your voice and skills for the editing process.

Program officers are essential communicators in the philanthropic ecosystem, the interconnected world of funding entities, donors, intermediaries, sector ambassadors, and community-serving institutions. Successfully distilling the history, projects, and impact of grantee partners and conveying it to decision-makers is essential to the grantmaking process.

Strong writing skills are essential, alongside empathy and evaluation, when determining how to share information in a meaningful way. It can be challenging to convey critical observations within a foundation’s grant recommendation template, requiring additional skills to advance essential information. This course pairs well with the Johnson Center signature course, Proposal Analysis, designed to assist program staff in the presentation of programmatic data to best represent community partners.

This four-hour, live online course from The Grantmaking School guides you step-by-step to sharpen your voice and written delivery. Through the process of effectively communicating an accurate, authentic representation of the proposed work — you will practice professional writing and editing while maintaining your own voice.

The knowledge and skills gained through this hands-on experience can be applied to writing throughout the grantmaking cycle, including strategy development, reporting, and knowledge sharing. By the end of this session, you will increase your exposure to grantmaking tools and writing experience to build confidence in your ability to develop, edit, and revise narratives.

This course will cover:

• The role and importance of writing in philanthropy
• Writing for audience/purpose with an authentic voice
• How to effectively present and support an argument from purpose statement to closing paragraph
• Analyzing how people inside and outside of the organization get and share information
• Small group practice of identifying, editing, and giving feedback on various writing samples
• Editing: what to look for and resources to support self-editing
• How to give (and receive) feedback

Join us to build your professional writing skills and better support the grantees and communities you care about.

Individual Rate: $499
Group Rate: $449 per person for groups of 3 or more from the same organization
TGS Alumni: $454 (use promo code TGSALUM45)

Course Instructor

Angela Logan, Ph.D., serves as an associate teaching professor and the St. Andre Bessette Academic Director of the Master of Nonprofit Administration at the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. As academic director, she provides leadership to the team that oversees both formats of the Master of Nonprofit Administration degree. Before joining the College in 2013, Dr. Logan had over 25 years of experience in higher education and philanthropy, with a particular focus on education and diversity. Her research focuses on the intersection of gender, race, and nonprofit and philanthropic leadership. Learn more about Angela.

Who should attend this course?

This course is intended for foundation staff, donors, and others engaged in grantmaking. If you do not fit this profile but are interested in attending, please email emily.brenner@gvsu.edu before registering.

Cancellation & Refund Policy

This course may be subject to cancellation if it does not reach the minimum number of registrants. In the event of a cancellation, you will be notified at least two weeks before the course start date and will be offered a full refund or the option to transfer your registration to another Johnson Center course. Refund requests for any other reason must be made at least two weeks before the start of the course.

Questions about this event or your registration?

Call 616-331-7585 or email emily.brenner@gvsu.edu.