Contemplates the activity of grantwriting and the role of grant writers. Among the key observations are that: (1) most grantsmanship is carried out by staff members who have other primary roles; (2) the term grant writer is misleading and should be replaced by proposal writer, in view of the fact that a proposal is written in order to receive a grant; (3) a good proposal involves not just good writing but good planning, and the heart of the proposal should be the responsibility of program staff; (4) when it comes to foundation and corporate funding, organizational credibility and personal contacts may be more important than the writing; (5) grantsmanship should not be viewed as one more fundraising specialty, such as planned giving or direct mail; and (6) the grants process actually provides an opportunity to articulate an organization’s ideas, experiences, goals, and objectives, assess the needs of clients, and develop programs that have good potential for resolving the problems that have been identified. If grantsmanship is defined as an activity that combines planning, management, and fund development, then the person who coordinates the many aspects of grant development takes a key role in the organization.
