Free 16-Week Course

The Grant ArchitectStrategic proposal engineering, federal grants, and AI integration.

A self-paced grant-writing course covering 16 weeks of material: the grant-seeking landscape, prospect research, need statements, logic models, SMART objectives, capacity and partnerships, evaluation, budgeting, narrative strategy, federal grant specifics, submission and resubmission, post-award management, career development, AI in grant strategy, and international funding. Video lessons publish on a rolling schedule; supporting notes follow each release.

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176lessons
~88hours total
Videos publish on a rolling schedule
Grant Track
The Grant
Architect
by Angel Reyes

Course outline

176 lessons across 16 modules · ~88 hours total · click any lesson to start

Module 1: The Landscape of Grant Seeking and Ethics

  1. Lesson 1

    The Grant Ecosystem

    30 min
    • Distinguish grants from contracts and gifts using federal definitions.
    • Identify the three primary funder sectors and their core differences.
    • Explain why treating all funders the same wastes time and credibility.
  2. Lesson 2

    The Grant Lifecycle

    30 min
    • Name and sequence the three phases of the grant lifecycle.
    • Describe the deliverables and risks specific to each phase.
    • Identify which mistakes most commonly disqualify organizations from future funding.
  3. Lesson 3

    Government Funders (Federal)

    30 min
    • Describe the compliance-driven culture of federal funders.
    • Distinguish between grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts under federal definitions.
    • Identify the major federal funding agencies and their statutory missions.
  4. Lesson 4

    State and Local Funding

    30 min
    • Define block grants and formula grants and explain how they reach nonprofits.
    • Describe the role of a pass-through entity in federal subrecipient relationships.
    • Identify state and local funding sources that have no federal origin.
  5. Lesson 5

    Private Foundations

    30 min
    • Distinguish the major foundation categories (independent, family, community, operating, corporate).
    • Explain why foundation funding is "fit-driven" more than "need-driven."
    • Locate and read an IRS Form 990-PF for any private foundation.
  6. Lesson 6

    Corporate Philanthropy & CSR

    30 min
    • Identify the three primary corporate giving vehicles (direct giving, corporate foundation, cause marketing).
    • Explain how CSR strategy shapes funding priorities.
    • Quantify the value of recognition assets you can offer a corporate funder.
  7. Lesson 7

    Organizational Readiness - Legal

    30 min
    • Describe the requirements for active 501(c)(3) public charity status.
    • Distinguish between a public charity and a private foundation under section 509.
    • Verify any organization's tax-exempt standing on the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search.
  8. Lesson 8

    System Registration - SAM & UEI

    30 min
    • Explain why SAM.gov registration and a UEI are prerequisites for federal funding.
    • List the documents and information required to complete registration.
    • Build a renewal calendar that prevents lapses.
  9. Lesson 9

    Operational Capacity Audit

    30 min
    • Name the five domains of operational capacity funders evaluate.
    • Apply a structured self-assessment to your own or a client's organization.
    • Decide which gaps to fix before applying versus address in the narrative.
  10. Lesson 10

    Ethics in Grant Writing

    30 min
    • Recite the rule on commission-based compensation and explain why it exists.
    • Identify common conflicts of interest in client and employer engagements.
    • Apply the GPA Code of Ethics to realistic gray-area scenarios.
  11. Lesson 11

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Distinguish generative AI tools from analytical AI tools in grant work.
    • Identify the failure modes that disqualify AI-assisted submissions.
    • Apply the Human-in-the-Loop principle to a realistic drafting workflow.

Module 2: Strategic Research and Prospecting

  1. Lesson 12

    Introduction to Prospect Research

    30 min
    • Explain why prospect research is the highest-leverage activity in the grant cycle.
    • Quantify the cost of the "spray and pray" approach in hours and dollars.
    • Name the four signals that distinguish a real prospect from a pipe dream.
  2. Lesson 13

    Database Mastery - Grants.gov

    30 min
    • Configure Grants.gov saved searches and email alerts for your program areas.
    • Triage a NOFO summary page in under five minutes.
    • Distinguish forecasted, posted, and closed opportunities and use each correctly.
  3. Lesson 14

    Database Mastery - Foundation Directory

    30 min
    • Search Foundation Directory Online (or a free alternative) by subject, geography, and gift size.
    • Read a foundation profile for the three signals that predict a real fit.
    • Cross-reference FDO data with the foundation's actual 990 filings.
  4. Lesson 15

    Keyword Triangulation

    30 min
    • Generate three to five synonym clusters for any program area in fifteen minutes.
    • Run a keyword matrix across at least two databases.
    • Capture and reuse the language that funders themselves use in published priorities.
  5. Lesson 16

    Decoding IRS Form 990 - Part 1

    30 min
    • Locate a foundation's 990-PF on ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer in under three minutes.
    • Read Part I to gauge capacity, revenue, expenses, and net assets.
    • Identify decision-makers from the officers and directors list.
  6. Lesson 17

    Decoding IRS Form 990 - Part 2

    30 min
    • Analyze a Part XV grants paid schedule to find median gift size and recipient pattern.
    • Map a foundation's recent giving by geography and recipient type.
    • Identify anchor grantees and infer discretionary capacity.
  7. Lesson 18

    Dissecting the NOFO / RFP

    30 min
    • Shred a NOFO in three structured passes (eligibility, structure, hidden requirements).
    • Build a compliance matrix that becomes your proposal outline.
    • Identify embedded requirements not listed in the application checklist.
  8. Lesson 19

    Eligibility Checklists

    30 min
    • Build a standardized eligibility checklist that runs in fifteen minutes.
    • Identify threshold requirements (org type, geography, match, registrations, audit).
    • Produce a written go/no-go memo with a one-line rationale.
  9. Lesson 20

    The Pre-Proposal Contact

    30 min
    • Decide when pre-proposal contact is appropriate based on the NOFO or guidelines.
    • Prepare a fifteen-minute call with three to five high-value questions.
    • Conduct the call with professional etiquette and intelligence-gathering discipline.
  10. Lesson 21

    Pipeline Management

    30 min
    • Build a twelve-month grant pipeline in a spreadsheet or CRM.
    • Track prospects through stages (researched, qualified, drafting, submitted, awarded, declined).
    • Forecast probability-adjusted revenue and balance new submissions against renewal reports.
  11. Lesson 22

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Use AI to summarize a 990-PF, extract foundation priorities, and draft a funder profile.
    • Generate keyword synonym clusters and a first-cut NOFO compliance matrix with AI assistance.
    • Identify the three to four common hallucinations that long AI outputs produce in research work.

Module 3: Defining the Problem and the Need

  1. Lesson 23

    Problem Vs. Need

    30 min
    • Distinguish a beneficiary problem from an organizational need in any draft statement.
    • Rewrite "we need" sentences into beneficiary-centered problem framings.
    • Identify the subject of a need statement and judge whether it serves the funder or the applicant.
  2. Lesson 24

    Root Cause Analysis

    30 min
    • Apply the 5 Whys technique to any presenting problem in your community.
    • Document a causal chain that connects symptoms to systemic conditions.
    • Decide when to stop drilling so the chain stays within a fundable scope.
  3. Lesson 25

    Data Hierarchy - National

    30 min
    • Identify the primary federal data sources used in grant need statements.
    • Pull a single defensible national figure with date and methodology recorded.
    • Integrate national data into a need paragraph without padding.
  4. Lesson 26

    Data Hierarchy - Local

    30 min
    • Source local data at the county, ZIP code, or census tract level.
    • Read local figures against state and national benchmarks for context.
    • Build a short local data appendix to support any need statement.
  5. Lesson 27

    Conducting a Gap Analysis

    30 min
    • Map the current service providers in your target community.
    • Identify the specific population, geography, or service type that is underserved.
    • Produce a one-page gap table for any proposal.
  6. Lesson 28

    Literature Review Fundamentals

    30 min
    • Conduct a scan-based literature review appropriate to grant timelines.
    • Identify seminal and recent sources for any intervention model.
    • Use clearinghouses and indexes such as Google Scholar, PubMed, and What Works Clearinghouse.
  7. Lesson 29

    Citation Strategy

    30 min
    • Pair seminal and recent sources within a single supporting paragraph.
    • Match citation depth to the claim being made.
    • Maintain consistent citation formatting across the proposal.
  8. Lesson 30

    Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

    30 min
    • Describe the core principles of Community-Based Participatory Research.
    • Plan a realistic engagement process within a typical proposal timeline.
    • Document community input in ways reviewers recognize as authentic.
  9. Lesson 31

    Qualitative Validation

    30 min
    • Gather, transcribe, and de-identify usable quotes from focus groups or interviews.
    • Pair statistics with human voices to create combined evidence.
    • Apply ethical attribution practices including consent and pseudonyms.
  10. Lesson 32

    The "Hook" Statement

    30 min
    • Draft three candidate hooks for any proposal you write.
    • Apply the "would a tired reviewer keep reading" test.
    • Avoid overpromising drama that triggers reviewer skepticism.
  11. Lesson 33

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Use AI to summarize lengthy community assessments into the findings that matter.
    • Generate first-pass outlines that you will then rewrite in your own voice.
    • Verify every AI-generated statistic against a primary source.

Module 4: The Logic Model and Theory of Change

  1. Lesson 34

    Introduction to Logic Models

    30 min
    • Define the six standard components of a logic model and the order they appear in.
    • Explain why reverse-engineering from impact back to inputs produces stronger design than starting with activities.
    • Recognize the "activity trap" and the warning signs of a weak causal chain.
  2. Lesson 35

    Inputs - The Resources

    30 min
    • Inventory the full set of inputs a program requires, including in-kind and existing contributions.
    • Distinguish grant-funded inputs from inputs already in place.
    • Map each input to the activity it enables in the next column.
  3. Lesson 36

    Activities - The Intervention

    30 min
    • Write activities that specify population, dosage, and delivery method.
    • Map each activity to the inputs that enable it and the outputs it produces.
    • Avoid activity overload by matching the number of activities to the available resources.
  4. Lesson 37

    Outputs - The Widgets

    30 min
    • Write outputs as countable, direct products of specific activities.
    • Distinguish outputs from outcomes and explain the difference to a non-evaluator.
    • Set output targets that are ambitious yet defensible given the inputs and activities.
  5. Lesson 38

    Outcomes - Short Term

    30 min
    • Write short-term outcomes that capture changes in knowledge, attitudes, skills, or self-efficacy.
    • Pair each short-term outcome with a candidate measurement approach.
    • Distinguish short-term outcomes from outputs and from intermediate behavior changes.
  6. Lesson 39

    Outcomes - Intermediate and Long-Term

    30 min
    • Write intermediate outcomes that capture behavior change in participants.
    • Write long-term outcomes that capture condition change in participants or communities.
    • Avoid the outcome leap by adding the missing behavior step between awareness and condition change.
  7. Lesson 40

    Theory of Change (ToC)

    30 min
    • Draft a Theory of Change statement using the if-then-because template.
    • Identify and write the "because" clause that names the underlying mechanism.
    • Connect the Theory of Change to at least one citation or established framework.
  8. Lesson 41

    Assumptions and External Factors

    30 min
    • Distinguish assumptions (conditions inside the program logic) from external factors (forces outside the program's control).
    • Surface assumptions at every layer of the logic model.
    • Pair the highest-risk assumptions and external factors with realistic mitigation plans.
  9. Lesson 42

    Visual Design Tools

    30 min
    • Produce a publication-quality logic model graphic using free or low-cost tools.
    • Apply the standard left-to-right column layout with clear causal arrows.
    • Make small design choices (font, contrast, box shapes) that survive a black-and-white photocopier.
  10. Lesson 43

    Narrative Alignment

    30 min
    • Use the logic model as a table of contents for the project narrative.
    • Run an alignment audit in both directions (diagram to text, and text to diagram).
    • Discipline the narrative structure using the logic model columns.
  11. Lesson 44

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Use AI to expand a thin activities list with evidence-based interventions targeted to specific outcomes.
    • Use AI to stress-test a draft logic model for outcome leaps, vague language, and missing assumptions.
    • Use AI to draft an initial Theory of Change paragraph that a human then refines with citations and mechanism language.

Module 5: Goals, Objectives, and Specific Aims

  1. Lesson 45

    Goals Vs. Objectives

    30 min
    • Distinguish a goal from an objective using the aspiration-versus-measurement test.
    • Classify any program statement at the correct level of the hierarchy.
    • Nest two to four objectives under each goal in a way reviewers can follow.
  2. Lesson 46

    The S.M.A.R.T Framework

    30 min
    • Define each of the five SMART criteria in plain language.
    • Audit any draft objective against the five criteria in under a minute.
    • Rewrite weak objectives to pass all five tests without losing program intent.
  3. Lesson 47

    Writing Workshop - Objectives

    30 min
    • Apply a repeatable transformation pattern to weak objectives.
    • Add population, metric, instrument, and deadline in the correct order.
    • Split bloated objectives that promise too many outcomes at once.
  4. Lesson 48

    The NIH Specific Aims Page

    30 min
    • Reproduce the canonical three-part structure of the Specific Aims page.
    • Draft each paragraph for its intended reviewer reaction.
    • Diagnose why an existing Specific Aims page is underperforming.
  5. Lesson 49

    The Research Hypothesis

    30 min
    • Write a central hypothesis as a falsifiable, declarative prediction.
    • Derive aim-level sub-hypotheses that each aim is designed to test.
    • Stress-test each hypothesis for direction, mechanism, and falsifiability.
  6. Lesson 50

    Process Objectives

    30 min
    • Distinguish process objectives from outcome objectives.
    • Write process objectives that are auditable and achievable.
    • Align process objectives with budget, staffing, and activity plans.
  7. Lesson 51

    Outcome Objectives

    30 min
    • Write outcome objectives with population, construct, magnitude, instrument, and timeline.
    • Defend target magnitudes with baseline data or published benchmarks.
    • Phase outcomes across short-term, intermediate, and long-term timeframes.
  8. Lesson 52

    Milestones and Timelines

    30 min
    • Break each objective into quarterly or semi-annual milestones.
    • Build a milestone table with target dates and responsible parties.
    • Identify critical-path milestones whose slippage threatens the project.
  9. Lesson 53

    Mission Match

    30 min
    • Harvest priority language from the funder's strategic plan and announcement.
    • Weave that language into objectives without distorting the program.
    • Build a crosswalk between your objectives and the funder's stated priorities.
  10. Lesson 54

    The "Fatal Flaw" Review

    30 min
    • Identify the five most common fatal flaws in an objectives section.
    • Run a structured fatal-flaw review on your own drafts in under 30 minutes.
    • Document findings in writing and decide whether to fix, descope, or withdraw.
  11. Lesson 55

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Run a four-step workflow that uses AI to draft SMART objectives.
    • Prime a language model with funder priority language before drafting.
    • Validate AI-suggested targets against baseline data and budget reality.

Module 6: Organizational Capacity and Partnerships

  1. Lesson 56

    The "Organization" Narrative

    30 min
    • Write an organization narrative that could only describe your entity, not a generic peer.
    • Layer founding story, operational track record, and current positioning into a single capacity section.
    • Replace boilerplate language with dates, dollar figures, and named programs.
  2. Lesson 57

    Governance and Leadership

    30 min
    • Describe the elements of a governance paragraph that funders expect to see.
    • Distinguish between governing boards and working boards in your written description.
    • Name the core fiscal oversight policies a strong proposal references.
  3. Lesson 58

    Staffing and Models

    30 min
    • Calculate Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) for each position in a staffing plan.
    • Build a staffing table that names roles, FTEs, supervisors, and deliverables.
    • Distinguish between employees and consultants and justify each choice.
  4. Lesson 59

    Biosketches - NIH / NSF Format

    30 min
    • Name the four standard sections of an NIH biosketch and the parallel NSF sections.
    • Draft a personal statement that ties an investigator's prior work to the proposed project.
    • Select the five contributions or products that carry the most weight for a given proposal.
  5. Lesson 60

    Biosketches - Narrative Format

    30 min
    • Convert a federal-style CV into a narrative biosketch suitable for a foundation proposal.
    • Decide when to include lived experience and community ties.
    • Edit a draft bio that another team member has written.
  6. Lesson 61

    The Management Plan

    30 min
    • Build a Gantt chart that maps deliverables across the full project period.
    • Construct a responsibility matrix using the RACI framework.
    • Describe contingency plans for the most common project risks.
  7. Lesson 62

    Partnership Taxonomy

    30 min
    • Name the five operational categories of external organizations on a grant.
    • Assign each external organization to the correct category and defend the choice.
    • Identify the documentation each category requires.
  8. Lesson 63

    Memoranda of Understanding (MOU)

    30 min
    • Name the standard sections of an enforceable MOU.
    • Quantify partner contributions in a contributions clause.
    • Handle data sharing and confidentiality terms when client information will be exchanged.
  9. Lesson 64

    Letters of Support (LOS)

    30 min
    • Name the elements of a high-impact letter of support.
    • Write a model letter that a busy executive can sign in five minutes.
    • Track ten or more letters across partners and deadlines.
  10. Lesson 65

    Sustainability Models

    30 min
    • Name the four most common sustainability strategies and the conditions under which each is credible.
    • Replace "we will seek more grants" with documented, specific pathways.
    • Support sustainability claims with evidence such as MOUs, fee schedules, or board resolutions.
  11. Lesson 66

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Use prompt patterns to draft capacity narratives, biosketches, and sustainability statements.
    • Generate three funder-tailored versions of a single master mission statement.
    • Apply a verification discipline that catches fabricated credentials before submission.

Module 7: Evaluation Methodologies

  1. Lesson 67

    Evaluation Fundamentals

    30 min
    • Explain why funders increasingly require rigorous evaluation rather than anecdotal reporting.
    • Distinguish evaluation for accountability from evaluation for learning.
    • Name the elements every credible evaluation plan must contain.
  2. Lesson 68

    Formative Evaluation

    30 min
    • Define formative evaluation and its role during program delivery.
    • Draft formative evaluation questions tied to real implementation decisions.
    • Identify short-cycle data sources that staff will actually maintain.
  3. Lesson 69

    Summative Evaluation

    30 min
    • Define summative evaluation and its role at the end of a phase or grant.
    • Translate vague objectives into measurable summative indicators.
    • Identify the baseline, target, and measurement window for each outcome.
  4. Lesson 70

    Quantitative Methods

    30 min
    • Identify the three workhorse quantitative tools used in grant evaluation.
    • Explain why validated instruments produce more credible findings than custom surveys.
    • Distinguish process indicators from outcome indicators.
  5. Lesson 71

    Qualitative Methods

    30 min
    • Identify the core qualitative methods used in grant evaluation.
    • Choose between focus groups and individual interviews based on topic sensitivity.
    • Draft open-ended questions that do not lead the respondent.
  6. Lesson 72

    Mixed Methods Design

    30 min
    • Name the three core mixed methods designs and when each fits.
    • Define triangulation and explain how it strengthens findings.
    • Integrate quantitative and qualitative strands at the analysis stage.
  7. Lesson 73

    The Evaluation Matrix

    30 min
    • Construct an evaluation matrix that aligns objectives, indicators, sources, methods, and timeline.
    • Use the matrix to expose weak objectives and missing data sources.
    • Distinguish rows that need external evaluator capacity from those that fit internal staff.
  8. Lesson 74

    Internal Vs. External Evaluators

    30 min
    • Compare internal, external, and hybrid evaluator models.
    • Recognize when funders effectively require an external evaluator.
    • Draft scope of work language for the chosen model.
  9. Lesson 75

    Budgeting for Evaluation

    30 min
    • Apply the 5 to 10 percent working rule of thumb for evaluation budgets.
    • Build an evaluation budget from the bottom up across all required line items.
    • Identify the line items most commonly forgotten.
  10. Lesson 76

    Dissemination Planning

    30 min
    • Identify the core dissemination channels and the audiences each one serves.
    • Plan dissemination during the proposal stage, not after the evaluation ends.
    • Translate one evaluation into multiple audience-tuned products.
  11. Lesson 77

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Use AI to accelerate drafting of evaluation matrices, survey items, and dissemination plans.
    • Identify the elements of an evaluation plan that still require human validation.
    • Recognize common AI failure modes in evaluation work.

Module 8: Budgeting Fundamentals

  1. Lesson 78

    Introduction to Federal Cost Principles

    30 min
    • Locate 2 CFR Part 200 and identify the subparts that govern federal cost decisions.
    • Name the three tests (allowable, allocable, reasonable) every federal cost must pass.
    • Explain why agency budget templates are not the source of truth for federal cost rules.
  2. Lesson 79

    The "Prudent Person" Test

    30 min
    • Define the prudent person standard as written in 2 CFR 200.
    • Apply the standard to a real cost decision before submission.
    • Document the rationale for a cost at the time of the decision.
  3. Lesson 80

    Allocable and Allowable

    30 min
    • Distinguish allowability (regulation) from allocability (proportional benefit).
    • Identify costs that are unallowable on their face under 2 CFR 200.
    • Apply an allocation methodology to a shared cost.
  4. Lesson 81

    Direct Costs Defined

    30 min
    • Define direct costs under 2 CFR 200 with the specificity test.
    • Classify a draft cost list into direct and indirect columns.
    • Recognize the narrow exception for administrative and clerical salaries as direct costs.
  5. Lesson 82

    Indirect Costs (F & A) Overview

    30 min
    • Define Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs and the categories they cover.
    • Explain why federal regulations created indirect cost rates.
    • Distinguish a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) from the de minimis rate.
  6. Lesson 83

    Calculating F & A Rates

    30 min
    • Identify the rate (NICRA or de minimis) applicable to a given proposal.
    • Build the Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC) base correctly.
    • Apply the exclusions to MTDC before calculating indirect recovery.
  7. Lesson 84

    Personnel Costs

    30 min
    • Distinguish institutional base salary from charged salary.
    • Convert level of effort into a defensible salary calculation.
    • Apply the correct treatment of academic-year versus summer salary.
  8. Lesson 85

    Fringe Benefits

    30 min
    • Identify the components of a fringe rate.
    • Apply the organization's approved fringe rate by employee class.
    • Justify the fringe rate in the budget narrative.
  9. Lesson 86

    Travel Policies

    30 min
    • Apply GSA per diem and federal mileage rates to project travel.
    • Distinguish staff, consultant, and participant support travel.
    • Justify each trip with a purpose tied to the project scope.
  10. Lesson 87

    Equipment Vs. Supplies

    30 min
    • Apply the federal definition of equipment (per-unit cost and useful life).
    • Classify tangible purchases as equipment or supplies.
    • Explain the procurement and property management implications of the classification.
  11. Lesson 88

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Identify budget tasks where AI compresses real effort.
    • Identify budget inputs where AI is unsafe (rates, thresholds, current regulation).
    • Design a Human-in-the-Loop workflow for budget drafting.

Module 9: Advanced Budgeting and Strategy

  1. Lesson 89

    Cost Sharing (Match) Overview

    30 min
    • Distinguish mandatory, voluntary committed, and voluntary uncommitted match.
    • Explain why over-matching exposes an organization to disallowed costs.
    • Identify the documentation an auditor will demand for each match category.
  2. Lesson 90

    Valuation of In-Kind Contributions

    30 min
    • Apply the federal valuation standards in 2 CFR 200.306 to common in-kind categories.
    • Value donated time, space, equipment, and services defensibly.
    • Document each in-kind contribution to survive audit review.
  3. Lesson 91

    Multi-Year Forecasting

    30 min
    • Build budgets that escalate realistically across a multi-year period of performance.
    • Distinguish recurring escalation from program-driven scaling.
    • Sequence one-time costs into the years they actually occur.
  4. Lesson 92

    Inflation and COLA

    30 min
    • Distinguish a cost-of-living adjustment from a merit increase.
    • Anchor each escalation assumption to a citable benchmark or policy.
    • Build an escalation table that a reviewer can audit line by line.
  5. Lesson 93

    Subawards Vs. Contractors

    30 min
    • Apply the 2 CFR 200.331 five-factor test to a partner relationship.
    • Distinguish programmatic risk from performance risk.
    • Explain why misclassification triggers audit findings.
  6. Lesson 94

    Subrecipient Monitoring

    30 min
    • Build the four-part subrecipient monitoring stack required under 2 CFR 200.332.
    • Conduct a pre-award risk assessment that scores partners on capacity and history.
    • Flow down federal terms in the subaward agreement.
  7. Lesson 95

    Program Income

    30 min
    • Define program income under 2 CFR 200.307.
    • Distinguish the additive, deductive, and matching methods of treatment.
    • Set up tracking so program income is captured against the project.
  8. Lesson 96

    Writing The Budget Justification

    30 min
    • Apply the five-element framework to every budget line.
    • Convert thin justifications into defensible ones without padding.
    • Anchor each cost to a benchmark or organizational policy.
  9. Lesson 97

    Mapping To Forms

    30 min
    • Map internal budget lines to SF-424A and RR Budget categories.
    • Apply the federal equipment threshold correctly.
    • Compute indirect on the correct base (Modified Total Direct Cost).
  10. Lesson 98

    Budget Revisions

    30 min
    • Identify the rebudgeting actions that require prior written approval under 2 CFR 200.308.
    • Scale a scope and budget when the award is less than requested.
    • Draft a prior-approval request that pairs a budget table with a narrative justification.
  11. Lesson 99

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Use AI to draft initial budget justification paragraphs from line item data.
    • Convert thin justifications into stronger ones using AI as a co-writer.
    • Generate the reviewer questions a thin justification would invite and answer them in advance.

Module 10: Narrative Strategy and Reviewer Psychology

  1. Lesson 100

    The Psychology of the Reviewer

    30 min
    • Describe the cognitive state of a typical grant reviewer under time pressure.
    • Design a proposal as a two-pass document for skim and deep reading.
    • Predict the early decisions a reviewer makes about a proposal in the first ninety seconds.
  2. Lesson 101

    Persuasive Rhetoric

    30 min
    • Apply ethos, pathos, and logos to grant proposal sections.
    • Replace passive constructions, hedges, and vague language with active, specific alternatives.
    • Identify the line between confident and overclaiming language.
  3. Lesson 102

    "Win Themes"

    30 min
    • Define a win theme and distinguish it from a tagline or value proposition.
    • Draft two to four win themes for a real funding opportunity.
    • Reinforce themes consistently across abstract, narrative, and evaluation sections.
  4. Lesson 103

    Signposting and Formatting

    30 min
    • Write headings as claims rather than labels.
    • Use bold text, bullets, and whitespace deliberately rather than decoratively.
    • Re-architect a wall-of-text page so the skim and the deep read tell the same story.
  5. Lesson 104

    Data Visualization

    30 min
    • Choose the right visual form (table, bar chart, timeline, diagram) for a given communication task.
    • Write captions that state a claim rather than label a topic.
    • Identify visuals that do disproportionate damage when weak or misleading.
  6. Lesson 105

    The Abstract / Executive Summary

    30 min
    • Apply the standard five-part structure (problem, population, intervention, outcomes, capacity) to a 250-word abstract.
    • Draft the abstract last, after the rest of the proposal has stabilized.
    • Mirror your win themes inside the abstract.
  7. Lesson 106

    Appendices Strategy

    30 min
    • Distinguish appendix material that supports the narrative from material that does not.
    • Cross-reference every appendix item from a specific point in the narrative.
    • Avoid appendix uses that read as page-limit gaming.
  8. Lesson 107

    The Red Team Review

    30 min
    • Recruit a red team that approximates the real review panel.
    • Use the funder's actual scoring rubric to drive red team feedback.
    • Time-box the red team read to match the real review.
  9. Lesson 108

    Editing Levels

    30 min
    • Distinguish developmental, line, copy, and proof editing by their guiding question.
    • Sequence the four passes in the correct order, with developmental first and proof last.
    • Assign different passes to different readers when possible.
  10. Lesson 109

    The "Halo" Effect

    30 min
    • Define the halo effect as a documented cognitive bias in proposal review.
    • Engineer the opening page and abstract to anchor reviewers positively.
    • Identify first-page failures that do disproportionate damage.
  11. Lesson 110

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Use AI primarily as an editorial assistant, not a drafting tool.
    • Run a rhetoric audit on a section using AI to flag passive voice and hedges.
    • Simulate a skeptical reviewer using AI to generate the three sharpest panel questions.

Module 11: Federal Grant Specifics

  1. Lesson 111

    The Federal Register & Grants.gov

    30 min
    • Identify the Federal Register and Grants.gov as the authoritative sources for federal opportunities.
    • Set up Grants.gov saved searches and agency alerts to monitor live opportunities.
    • Read a NOFO for eligibility, deadline, and program priorities in under fifteen minutes.
  2. Lesson 112

    Workspace Mechanics

    30 min
    • Distinguish the AOR, E-Biz POC, and application participant roles in Grants.gov Workspace.
    • Stand up a Workspace package, invite collaborators, and lock and unlock forms.
    • Run Workspace validation and interpret validation errors before submission.
  3. Lesson 113

    The SF-424 Cover Sheet

    30 min
    • Complete the SF-424 line by line for a federal application.
    • Reconcile SF-424 fields against SAM.gov registration data.
    • Identify the SF-424 variants (424A, 424B, 424C, 424D) and when each is required.
  4. Lesson 114

    The Assurance and Certifications

    30 min
    • Read the most common federal assurances and certifications and explain each one.
    • Identify the legal exposure created by a false certification.
    • Distinguish program-specific certifications from the standard SF-424B set.
  5. Lesson 115

    Scoring Rubrics Deconstructed

    30 min
    • Extract the scoring rubric and weights from a federal NOFO.
    • Outline a proposal whose structure mirrors the rubric section by section.
    • Write topic sentences that name the criterion being addressed.
  6. Lesson 116

    Significance Criteria

    30 min
    • Define Significance as it appears in NIH, NSF, and NEH review.
    • Distinguish a significance claim from a background paragraph.
    • Write a significance section that passes the so-what test on first reading.
  7. Lesson 117

    Innovative Criteria

    30 min
    • Define Innovation in federal review and distinguish it from novelty for its own sake.
    • Write an innovation claim that names current practice and the proposed departure.
    • Distinguish technical, conceptual, and applied innovation.
  8. Lesson 118

    Approach Criteria

    30 min
    • Write a methods section that names the design and justifies it against alternatives.
    • Build a timeline that respects sequencing and dependencies.
    • Anticipate pitfalls with explicit alternative strategies.
  9. Lesson 119

    Agency Culture - NIH Vs. NSF

    30 min
    • Distinguish NIH culture (health, mechanism, clinical translation) from NSF culture (scientific advancement, broader impacts).
    • Map proposal language and structure to each agency's review framework.
    • Treat NSF Broader Impacts as a scored criterion equal to Intellectual Merit.
  10. Lesson 120

    Agency Culture - NEH & Arts

    30 min
    • Distinguish NEH culture (humanities scholarship, public benefit) from NEA culture (artistic excellence, public engagement).
    • Write humanities and arts proposals in their native voice rather than a science voice.
    • Treat audience and public engagement as design constraints, not afterthoughts.
  11. Lesson 121

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Build an AI-assisted compliance workflow for federal applications.
    • Prompt a model with a NOFO and a draft to produce a structured requirements checklist.
    • Identify the failure modes of AI compliance review (hallucinated citations, agency-specific terminology, certifications).

Module 12: Submission, Review, and Resubmission

  1. Lesson 122

    Final Assembly & QA

    30 min
    • Run a comprehensive pre-submission QA pass against a written checklist.
    • Catch the most common disqualifiers (pagination, fonts, file names, page limits, missing sections, broken cross-references).
    • Assign QA as a named deliverable with an owner and a sign-off.
  2. Lesson 123

    Submission Timing

    30 min
    • Apply the forty-eight-hour rule to any federal or major foundation deadline.
    • Back-plan an internal submission timeline from a NOFO deadline.
    • Identify the validation, registration, and platform risks that justify the buffer.
  3. Lesson 124

    The Peer Review Process

    30 min
    • Describe the journey of an NIH application from assignment through final scoring.
    • Distinguish the roles of the Scientific Review Officer, the program officer, and the panel chair.
    • Explain why two or three assigned reviewers carry disproportionate influence over the outcome.
  4. Lesson 125

    Scoring Systems

    30 min
    • Interpret NIH 1-to-9 impact scores and the five core criterion scores.
    • Explain how individual scores combine into an overall impact score and a percentile.
    • Identify why the Approach criterion disproportionately drives outcomes.
  5. Lesson 126

    The Summary Statement

    30 min
    • Read a summary statement section by section and categorize each critique.
    • Distinguish fixable critiques from fatal ones and contradictory comments from consensus.
    • Use the resume of discussion to infer the live tensions in the panel.
  6. Lesson 127

    Triage and Streamlining

    30 min
    • Explain what "not discussed" (ND) and "streamlined" actually mean at an NIH study section.
    • Read a streamlined summary statement without the resume of discussion.
    • Use program officer feedback to fill in gaps that the streamlined critiques leave open.
  7. Lesson 128

    Resubmission Strategy

    30 min
    • Apply a four-factor framework (score, critiques, soundness, currency) to the revise-versus-restart decision.
    • Recognize NIH-specific A1 resubmission constraints and timelines.
    • Anticipate the political reality of returning to the same study section.
  8. Lesson 129

    Introduction to Resubmission

    30 min
    • Draft a one-page introduction to a resubmission using a four-part structure.
    • Demonstrate responsiveness without sounding defensive.
    • Disagree diplomatically with a specific reviewer concern when warranted.
  9. Lesson 130

    The Site Visit

    30 min
    • Plan a professional site visit from confirmation email to follow-up note.
    • Build an agenda backward from the funder's stated interests.
    • Run a pre-visit rehearsal that surfaces inconsistencies before the visitors do.
  10. Lesson 131

    Handling Rejection

    30 min
    • Apply the twenty-four-hour rule before responding to a rejection.
    • Run a structured team debrief that produces lessons without descending into blame.
    • Recognize the early warning signs of grant-writer burnout.
  11. Lesson 132

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Run an AI red-team pass on a complete proposal draft in under an hour.
    • Prompt a model to score against published review criteria with specific quotes from the text.
    • Recognize and counter the model's default tendency toward politeness.

Module 13: Post-Award Management

  1. Lesson 133

    The Notice of Award (NoA)

    30 min
    • Identify the standard sections of a federal Notice of Award.
    • Distinguish general terms from agency-specific and special terms and conditions.
    • Extract reporting deadlines, prior approval triggers, and closeout obligations from an NoA.
  2. Lesson 134

    Grant Setup

    30 min
    • Establish a restricted fund code and chart-of-accounts mapping before first drawdown.
    • Assign signing authority, approval thresholds, and compliance task ownership.
    • Schedule every reporting deadline and prior approval trigger in a shared calendar.
  3. Lesson 135

    Internal Controls

    30 min
    • Apply the COSO framework to a federal grant environment.
    • Design a segregation-of-duties matrix appropriate for organization size.
    • Specify compensating controls when full segregation is not feasible.
  4. Lesson 136

    Time and Effort Reporting

    30 min
    • Distinguish budgeted, actual, and certified effort and reconcile the three.
    • Implement after-the-fact effort confirmation under 2 CFR 200.430.
    • Allocate effort across multiple awards and cost-shared positions.
  5. Lesson 137

    Procurement Standards

    30 min
    • Route any planned purchase to the correct procurement tier under 2 CFR 200.320.
    • Apply the micro-purchase ($10K) and simplified acquisition ($250K) thresholds.
    • Document a defensible sole-source justification when noncompetitive procurement is necessary.
  6. Lesson 138

    Financial Reporting (FFR)

    30 min
    • Complete each line of the SF-425 Federal Financial Report accurately.
    • Reconcile FFR figures to the general ledger, drawdowns, and bank statements.
    • Calculate federal share of expenditures, program income, and indirect costs correctly.
  7. Lesson 139

    Performance Reporting (PPR)

    30 min
    • Structure a PPR around your approved logic model and target outcomes.
    • Explain variances honestly without triggering unnecessary alarm.
    • Reconcile PPR narratives with FFR financial data.
  8. Lesson 140

    Prior Approval Requests

    30 min
    • Identify the prior approval triggers in 2 CFR 200.308 and agency-specific terms.
    • Distinguish changes that require prior approval from those that do not.
    • Draft a clean written prior approval request to the grants management official.
  9. Lesson 141

    Audit Readiness

    30 min
    • Identify when a Single Audit is required under 2 CFR Part 200 Subpart F.
    • Map the compliance requirements auditors test against your operations.
    • Maintain a grant binder that consolidates evidence in audit-ready form.
  10. Lesson 142

    Grant Closeout

    30 min
    • Complete a federal closeout within the 120-day window under 2 CFR 200.344.
    • Submit final financial, performance, property, and invention reports as required.
    • Disposition equipment and handle residual program income properly.
  11. Lesson 143

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Use AI to draft Performance Progress Report narratives from structured inputs.
    • Apply red-line review techniques to remove unsupported AI-generated claims.
    • Maintain a clean factual chain from source documents to final report text.

Module 14: Advanced Topics and Career Development

  1. Lesson 144

    Career Paths

    30 min
    • Name the five major grant career trajectories and describe what daily work looks like on each.
    • Match your strengths and constraints to two or three plausible paths.
    • Distinguish in-house roles from independent consulting on autonomy, risk, and income structure.
  2. Lesson 145

    The Freelance Business

    30 min
    • Compare hourly, project-based, and retainer pricing and choose the right structure for a given engagement.
    • Set defensible rates based on market, niche, and credentials rather than guesswork.
    • Identify the contract clauses that protect a freelance practice from scope creep and nonpayment.
  3. Lesson 146

    Professional Credentials

    30 min
    • Describe what the GPC and CFRE credentials actually require and what they signal.
    • Decide whether either credential makes sense for your current career stage.
    • Identify the recertification commitment attached to each credential.
  4. Lesson 147

    Continuing Education

    30 min
    • Name the four channels that keep working grant professionals current.
    • Build a personal CE plan with a budget line, a calendar slot, and an annual hour target.
    • Identify the professional associations most relevant to your career path.
  5. Lesson 148

    Advanced Ethics

    30 min
    • Name the categories of ethical pressure that most often surface in grant practice.
    • Cite the GPA Code provisions governing contingent compensation, accurate representation, and conflicts of interest.
    • Build a personal pre-commitment that protects you before the moment of pressure arrives.
  6. Lesson 149

    Capital Campaigns

    30 min
    • Distinguish the quiet phase and the public phase of a capital campaign and explain what each requires from a grant writer.
    • Describe the mechanics specific to capital work (challenge grants, naming opportunities, multi-year pledges, bridge financing).
    • Read a case statement and identify where a foundation grant request fits inside it.
  7. Lesson 150

    Capacity Building Grants

    30 min
    • Explain what capacity building grants fund and how they differ from program grants.
    • Identify funder categories that support capacity work.
    • Frame a capacity request around a specific organizational diagnostic and a future capability.
  8. Lesson 151

    Corporate Sponsorships

    30 min
    • Distinguish corporate foundation grants, direct corporate gifts, sponsorships, cause-marketing partnerships, and in-kind donations.
    • Apply the IRS distinction between qualified sponsorship payments and unrelated business taxable income.
    • Route incoming corporate offers to the right internal owner.
  9. Lesson 152

    Trust-Based Philanthropy

    30 min
    • Name the six commonly cited practices of trust-based philanthropy.
    • Describe how trust-based practice changes letters of inquiry, reporting, and renewal.
    • Identify which of your current funders are moving in this direction.
  10. Lesson 153

    Capstone Synthesis

    30 min
    • Articulate three or four governing principles for your grant practice.
    • Name the specific habits that operationalize each principle.
    • Identify the part of the field you want to be known for.
  11. Lesson 154

    AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Identify the tasks AI is already handling well in grant work and the tasks it does poorly.
    • Audit your own week into AI-leveraged and human-essential tasks.
    • Build a personal disclosure and quality-control policy for AI use.

Module 15: Artificial Intelligence in Grant Strategy

  1. Lesson 155

    The AI Landscape in Grants

    30 min
    • Distinguish generative AI from analytical AI by the task each is built to perform.
    • Map common grant tasks to the appropriate AI category before writing a prompt.
    • Identify the failure modes that arise when the wrong category is used for a task.
  2. Lesson 156

    Ethics of AI - Bias and Hallucination

    30 min
    • Define algorithmic bias and explain how it appears in grant narratives.
    • Define hallucination and recognize its signature patterns in AI output.
    • Apply a verification checklist to every statistic, citation, and funder claim.
  3. Lesson 157

    Prompt Engineering - The Persona

    30 min
    • Write a persona line that anchors role, institutional context, and review posture.
    • Match persona choice to the specific funder, mechanism, and stage of work.
    • Stack personas in sequence to compress a draft-and-review cycle.
  4. Lesson 158

    Prompt Engineering - Context & Constraint

    30 min
    • Build a reusable prompt scaffold with slots for situation, audience, structure, length, and tone.
    • Layer constraints without producing contradictory instructions.
    • Choose constraints that compress editing time rather than expand it.
  5. Lesson 159

    AI Assisted Prospect Research

    30 min
    • Sequence analytical discovery, primary source collection, and generative synthesis correctly.
    • Build a structured funder profile from documents you provided to the model.
    • Verify every funder profile against the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and the funder's website.
  6. Lesson 160

    Accelerating Program Design

    30 min
    • Use AI to surface implementation barriers before they appear in a logic model.
    • Generate alternative program models with different cost and risk profiles.
    • Map unintended consequences and inequities before they become real harms.
  7. Lesson 161

    Drafting Narratives - Iterative Process

    30 min
    • Run the five-step iterative drafting loop on any narrative section.
    • Diagnose which step was skipped when a draft sounds generic or off-strategy.
    • Issue refinement instructions that preserve voice while improving structure.
  8. Lesson 162

    AI For Budgeting

    30 min
    • Use AI for multi-year projections, scenario modeling, narrative drafting, and math verification.
    • Keep allowability, the indirect cost rate, and the cost share treatment in human hands.
    • Write a budget prompt that names the escalator, the fringe rate, and the period of performance.
  9. Lesson 163

    The AI "Red Team"

    30 min
    • Build a three-layer red team protocol: rubric load, persona panel, and synthesis pass.
    • Score a proposal against the funder's actual scoring criteria, not generic heuristics.
    • Identify the weaknesses that appear across multiple reviewer personas.
  10. Lesson 164

    Data Privacy and Policy

    30 min
    • Identify which data categories cannot enter a consumer-tier AI tool.
    • Apply HIPAA, FERPA, and PII handling rules to AI drafting sessions.
    • Draft a one-page organizational AI policy covering approved tools and prohibited inputs.
  11. Lesson 165

    Bonus AI Spotlight

    30 min
    • Integrate persona, constraint, iterative drafting, red teaming, and privacy into one workflow.
    • Specify the tool layer, the prompt layer, and the process layer for your organization.
    • Position your practice for funder disclosure requirements and reviewer detection tooling.

Module 16: Bonus Content

  1. Lesson 166

    Data Privacy and AI

    30 min
    • Identify categories of data (PHI, FERPA-covered records, PII, embargoed research) that must never enter third-party AI tools.
    • Read vendor data retention and model-training policies critically.
    • De-identify case material before drafting and choose enterprise tooling when sensitive context is truly required.
  2. Lesson 167

    Organizational AI Policy Development

    30 min
    • Draft the core sections of an organizational AI policy (scope, permitted uses, prohibited uses, approval, disclosure, QA, documentation, training).
    • Translate vague aspirations into concrete, enforceable rules.
    • Align the AI policy with the organization's existing data classification scheme.
  3. Lesson 168

    AI Detection and Authenticity

    30 min
    • Explain how current AI detectors work and why they produce false positives and false negatives.
    • Identify prose patterns that increase detection risk (low burstiness, hedged voice, recycled phrasing).
    • Use AI for structure and refinement without producing the flat output detectors and reviewers flag.
  4. Lesson 169

    AI For Accessibility

    30 min
    • Use AI to produce plain-language summaries, translations, and accessible document formats.
    • Recognize the limits of machine translation and plain-language conversion for culturally specific content.
    • Make credible, evidence-backed equity claims in proposals based on actual workflow changes.
  5. Lesson 170

    Funder Policies on AI

    30 min
    • Locate and interpret current funder AI policies, including NIH and NSF guidance.
    • Write disclosure language that is honest, specific, and brief.
    • Build AI-policy verification into the standard pre-submission checklist.
  6. Lesson 171

    International Funding Overview

    30 min
    • Distinguish bilateral, multilateral, supranational, and private international funding.
    • Triage eligibility for international opportunities in under ten minutes.
    • Identify when your organization can lead versus when it must partner.
  7. Lesson 172

    European Union Funding

    30 min
    • Describe the three pillars of Horizon Europe and the role of consortia and work packages.
    • Build budgets around personnel months and unit costs rather than US line items.
    • Apply the open access, data management plan, and ethics requirements that EU funders treat as core.
  8. Lesson 173

    UK and Commonwealth Funding

    30 min
    • Identify the eligibility rules for Wellcome Trust, UKRI, FCDO, and Commonwealth Scholarship programs.
    • Translate a US biosketch into a Wellcome-style narrative CV.
    • Recognize the role of Full Economic Costing in UK university budgets.
  9. Lesson 174

    United Nations Funding

    30 min
    • Identify the main UN agencies that fund or contract grant-relevant work (UNDP, UNICEF, WHO).
    • Navigate framework agreements, expressions of interest, and RFPs as entry points.
    • Structure consortia and country-office partnerships that meet UN eligibility expectations.
  10. Lesson 175

    Adapting Skills Globally

    30 min
    • Convert budgets across currencies with documented exchange-rate assumptions.
    • Rebuild US logic models against results-based management frameworks.
    • Adapt proposal voice for European, multilateral, and UK development audiences.
  11. Lesson 176

    Responsible Ethics (Global)

    30 min
    • Apply major frameworks (Declaration of Helsinki, FAIR/CARE, locally-led principles, equitable partnerships) to proposal design.
    • Negotiate authorship, intellectual property, and benefit-sharing at proposal stage rather than after award.
    • Adapt consent processes to community context, including community-level consent.

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