Certified Grant Writer®
Certified Grant Writer® Professional Credential
In 2011 American Grant Writers Association was awarded the use of the term "Certified Grant Writer" by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
The term “Certified Grant Writer®” may only be used by the person who earns the Certified Grant Writer® professional credential after passing American Grant Writer's Certified Grant Writer® Exam.
No other organizantion in the U.S. may legally award the Certified Grant Writer® credential.
American Grant Writers association
Certified Grant Writer® Series
The Certified Grant Writer® Series includes the following:
- Annual Membership in AGWA
- Program Development and Proposal Writing Online course
- CGW Exam Review online course
- CGW Online Exam
Price: $999.00 per person On Sale $799.00 per person
The Series can be purchased online at the bottom of this page.
Once we receive your purchase on the next business day the student will receive a Welcome e-mail from their online instructor that will include:
- Annual AGWA Membership Certificate (electronic)
- Section 1 of PDPW Course Material and assignment
Program Development and Proposal Writing online course
This comprehensive online course teaches students the finer points of grant writing enabling proposals and applications to be more competitive. Students will complete the following:
- design a program/project,
- learn how to research grant opportunities,
- gather statistics and write the Problem Statement,
- complete pre-writing exercises for the Project Narrative and Letter of Inquiry,
- prepare Budgets and Budget Narrative for Foundation Grants and Non-Construction Government Grants
- Code of Ethics and Professional Standards
The emphasis of the course is on program / project support and general operating grants. Construction grants, research grants, scholarships and fellowships are outside the scope of this course.
All work is individual study and self-paced. Students who learn by reading and are detail-oriented are well-suited for this course.
Students receive Course Materials and Assignments as an e-mail attachment from the online instructor. If a student has any questions about the section's reading material, or the section assignment, then he/she may e-mail the instructor with questions. Instructors are not available for phone support.
Most students spend at least 50 hours over 4-6 weeks to complete the 6 course assignments. Students are strongly encouraged to thoroughly read the section material before beginning to work on a section assignment. The writing assignments may need to be rewritten one or more times in order to meet the "competency-based standard". Budget assignments may need to be resubmitted until the budget is correct. If a student needs to resubmit writing assignments and budget assignments multiple times, then the student will spend more than 6 weeks to complete the assignments. Therefore, we strongly recommend students begin working on assignments shortly after purchasing the CGW® Series.
Students have 90 days to complete all of the online assignments. The 90 days begins on the date of purchase. A 90-day extension is available when a student needs additional time (for any and all reasons). An extension may be purchased up to one year after the original purchase. A student may purchase two extensions, if needed.
Students receive course materials and assignments one section at a time. One section must be completed before the student will receive the next section's course materials and assignments.
For the online course, the student will need the following:
- A computer (with any operating system) that has internet access. Software needed is MS Word, Excel, and Adobe Reader. Students must use a computer, not a phone, when submitting assignments.
- Student's E-mail Account: Students may use any e-mail provider. Note that the student's e-mail account must be capable of accepting 8mg attachments
PDPW Course Syllabus
- Section 1: Grantseeking and Exempt Organizations
- Section 2: Program Development, Researching Grant Opportunities from U.S. Grantmakers, and Online Resources for Grantseekers
- Section 3: Proposal Writing for Foundation and Corporate Grants (2 assignments)
- Section 4: Preparing Government Grant Applications for Non-Construction Projects
- Section 5: Professional Standards and Code of Ethics
- Section 6: Part I: Preparing the Budget for a Foundation Grant and Budget Narrative
- Section 6: Part II: Preparing the Federal Non-Construction Budget for a Project Grant and Budget Narrative
Prerequisites:
- No prior grant writing experience is needed.
- No prior budgeting experience is needed.
- The student who learns from reading is well suited for this course.
A Certificate of Completion documenting contact hours is awarded after the successful completion of all assignme
Certified Grant Writer® Review
Once the student has completed the PDPW online course, the online instructor will send Instructions and Study Suggestions. Practice questions for the Certified Grant Writer® Exam will be provided and questions may be repeated until the student feels confident.
Most students spend 1 to 2 weeks on the Practice Exam and studying Course Materials and notes.
Certified Grant Writer® Exam
Important features of the CGW Exam:
- Exams can be scheduled on any day and are taken online.
- The online CGW Exam takes about 5 hours to complete. All 5 sections of the exam must be taken on the same date.
- Students may retest in the Sections that did not receive a passing score. The maximum attempts to pass the each Exam Section is 3 attempts.
- If a student does not complete all of the 5 sections, then the sections not attempted on that day will receive a grade of "0" and this will count toward the three maximum attempts to pass the exam.
- If a student does not take the exam on the scheduled date, then this "no show" will count as one of the three maximum attempts to pass the CGW Exam.
- Passing the exam: All sections must earn 80% to pass, except the Ethics section must earn 90% to pass.
- The minimum age to take the CGW Exam is 21 by the date of the exam.
- Only current members of AGWA my sit for the Certified Grant Writer exam.
- The Certified Grant Writer® credential is valid for a period of 5 years and is renewable.
- Upon the second renewal of the CGW, the credential is permanent
- CGWs are expected to maitain an active Membership in American Grant Writers Association througout the validity of the CGW credential.
When taking the exam you will need the following:
- Laptop computer with Word Software and internet capability
- Calculator
5 Sections of the Certified Grant Writer® Exam:
- Program Development and Proposal Writing
- Researching
- Professional Ethics
- Budgets
- Writing Sample
Recommendations:
- A Bachelor's Degree is strongly recommended.
- A strong command of written and verbal English is strongly recommended.
- A working knowledge of (APA Style) grammar, punctuation, and references are recommended.
- A working knowledge of Word, Excel, and Adobe Reader are recommended
If Sections of the CGW Exam not passed on the first attempt, then the student may retest two more times. There is a fee for retesting.
CELEBRATE!
You've officially earned the Certified Grant Writer® Professional Credential!
The Certified Grant Writer® certificate will be sent by U.S. mail. It wil be valid for 5 years and may be renewed,.
You are now entitled to use Certified Grant Writer® after your name and in your communications.
Remember to keep your AGWA membership active during the 5 year period.
When ready to make your purchase
- If paying by debit or credit card, click on "Pay Now" at the bottom of this page. Then select Debit/Credit card. Provide the card informartion.
- If paying by check click on "Pay Now" at the bottom of this page. Then select ACH Bank Transfer. Provide the bank account information.
- Note: If the student is not the name on the payment (check, credit or debit card) then send AGWA the student name and student e-mail to CustomerService@americangrantwriters.org
Cancellation and Refund Policy
A student may cancel an online course at any time. If AGWA receives your written cancellation request by e-mail within 7 days of purchase, then 90% of the course price will be refunded.
