Hello my name is Laura Nolan and I am addicted to writing grants. To me, I can’t understand why someone wouldn‘t enjoy writing them. Writing grants is satisfying, fascinating, and above all fun.

Now I recognize that it is sort of dorky to enjoy writing grants as much as I do, but really people. It is a worthwhile skill, whether or not you are looking to break into the nonprofit sector. And as it turns out, its pretty easy to get grantwriting experience around here. For starters, I have been writing baby grants for about two years before I realized it. Applying for SAS funding as a CLORG, requesting Motley funds… there are countless opportunities to ask for money at Scripps and viola! Instant grantwriting experience.

My baby grantwriting skills all came in handy when I took Professor Simeroth’s Writing for Non-Profits class. If you have the slightest bit of interest in the non-profit world I would highly recommend registering for the class. Last semester I wrote three grants, one of which was denied, one of which just made it to the next round, and one I am still waiting to hear back from. From this class I was also able to secure a wonderful grantwriting internship (more on that later) and now I count grantwriting as one of my favorite hobbies (I’m only slightly kidding here).

This semester I have written eight grants so far, some for the organization I work for, some for on campus projects, and some just for myself. Now the odds are slim when it comes to grantwriting but I figure with every grant I write I get better at it.

Last semester I conducted an informational interview (read: chat) with a Scripps alumnae who serves a director of development at a college. She told me that although in the development there are some really great talkers, she is oftentimes surprised with the quality of their writing. Luckily, as a students of a liberal arts college we get lots of practice with writing and grantwriting I’ve found is a great way to improve.

Although I pride myself on the amount of work I put into my academic essays, nothing matched the attention I paid to the first grant I ever wrote in Professor Simeroth’s class. We scoured through each and every word, tested out sentences and phrases, and made our writing crisp and concise. That sort of microscopic detail, pared with Why is this program so incredible? What makes this so important? is a truly an invaluable way to write. So if there are any people who are looking to add a new hobby let me just say that grantwriting is a good bet.