Professional Writing for Grantmakers

Program officers, and other grantmaking staff, are essential communicators in the philanthropic ecosystem. 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. This course is designed to pair well with the Johnson Center 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 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 writing and editing while maintaining your own voice. 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.

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

Meeting Dates & Times

This workshop will take place over four hours and participants will be expected to attend the entirety of the session. Participants will meet virtually on Thursday, September 25th from 12:30–4:30 p.m.(ET).

Participants will be expected to participate in polls, breakout sessions, and discussions either verbally or via chat.

Content will include:

• 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
• 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

Price

• Individual: $495
• Group registration: $445 per person (3 or more people)

Deadline to Register: Friday, September 19

Instructor

Elizabeth Durham, Ph.D., leads corporate communications, employment branding and workforce development partnerships for DTE Energy. Prior to joining DTE in late 2019, Durham led automotive brand communications for MINI USA and global Tier 1 automotive suppliers based in the Midwest. Durham pursued her passion for communication at Wayne State University, where she earned her Ph.D in 2010 and continued as a faculty member in the Department of Communications through 2016. Today, Durham lends her expertise to Autism related causes, and enjoys spending Saturday mornings at Detroit’s Eastern Market as well as completing scorecards at Tiger’s afternoon baseball games.

Who should attend this course?

This session is ideal for foundation program officers and other grantmaking staff who are engaged in grantmaking. If you do not fit this profile but are interested in attending, please email jcp@gvsu.edu before registering.

Please Note: This course is limited to 30 participants. It will NOT be recorded.

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 prior to the start of the course.

Questions about this event or about your registration?

Please call 616-331-7585 or jcp@gvsu.edu