Resume template · Updated October 2026
Grant writer and grant proposal writer resume template
Short answer
Leslie suits a grant writer or grant proposal writer: experience prints right after the summary, so funded totals, funder types and award sizes are read before skills, under a single blue accent. The fictional sample writes about 30 proposals a year for an 11-clinic community health center, with a federal award, foundation grants and a short list of funded proposals, after three years as a development associate at a literacy nonprofit.
Download the grant writer sample
Joanna is a fictional grant writer. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Leslie suits a grant writer resume
Leslie prints work experience straight after the summary and ahead of skills, so a development director sees what you have won, from whom and how often before any list of tools. Its centred blue header and short blue underlines add one touch of colour, enough polish for a writing job without pulling attention from the text.
Second choice: Meridian. Meridian prints skills above experience and uses no colour; choose it when a posting stresses federal submission systems or prospect research tools you want read first.
What goes in each section, in Leslie's order
Leslie prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. The funders you write for (federal, state, foundation, corporate), the sector, and the total you helped secure over a named period. "$4.6M across 21 awards in two fiscal years" says more than any line about your writing style.
- Work Experience. Proposals a year, funded count and dollars, your largest award, and which parts you own: narrative, budget justification, evaluation plan, reports. Credit shared work honestly, since most proposals also have a program lead and a finance partner.
- Skills. Proposal components on the first row, research and submission systems on Tools (Grants.gov, Foundation Directory, Instrumentl, your CRM). Leslie prints them after experience, so keep the list to what a reviewer would check.
- Education. Degree, field and year. A writing-heavy degree helps at the start; after a few funded cycles the awards carry more weight.
- Certifications. GPC, if you hold it. GPCI says candidates need 120 of 170 eligibility points across education, professional experience, continuing education and community involvement, and that the credential is not meant for entry-level grant professionals.
- Selected funded proposals. A "Selected funded proposals" list of three to five lines: funder type, purpose and amount. Leave a funder's name out if it is private or prefers not to be named.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Joanna Prentiss
Grant Writer, Health and Human Services, GPC
Portland, OR | joanna.prentiss@example.com | (503) 555-0146 | linkedin.com/in/sample-joanna-prentiss
Grant writer with seven years in health and human services, writing federal, state, county and foundation proposals. Helped secure about $4.6M across 21 funded awards in the last two fiscal years for an 11-clinic community health center, including a three-year federal grant. Grant Professional Certified (GPC).
Experience
Grant Writer, Rose Hollow Community Health Center, Portland, OR (09/2020 to Present)
- Write and manage about 30 proposals and 40 reports a year to foundations, the county and federal agencies.
- Helped secure about $4.6M across 21 funded awards in two fiscal years, including a three-year $1.2M federal grant for a school-based mobile dental program.
- Built the grants calendar and a shared library of boilerplate, budgets and letters of support, cutting first drafts of renewals from about two weeks to four days.
- Write budget justifications with finance and evaluation plans with program staff for every application.
Development Associate, Fernwood Adult Literacy Project, Portland, OR (04/2017 to 08/2020)
- Wrote foundation and corporate proposals and reports for an adult literacy nonprofit with a $2.3M budget.
- Researched new funders in Foundation Directory, adding 14 prospects who went on to make a first grant.
- Drafted the annual report and the donor impact stories used in year-end appeals.
Selected funded proposals
- Federal grant, three years: mobile dental services for rural schools, $1.2M
- Regional health foundation: behavioral health care in two primary care clinics, $350K
- County contract renewal: prenatal outreach program, $280K a year
Education
BA, English, Cascade Gorge University (05/2016)
Certifications
- Grant Professional Certified (GPC), Grant Professionals Certification Institute (2025)
Skills
Federal and foundation proposals, Budget justifications, Logic models and evaluation plans, Grant reporting and compliance, Prospect research, Grants.gov, Foundation Directory, Instrumentl, Salesforce, Interviewing program staff, Managing many deadlines
How to make the sample yours
Quote a funded rate only if you can back it
Funded proposals divided by submitted proposals, over a named period. If the sample is small or mixes renewals with new requests, give the dollar total instead.
Split new money from renewals
Renewals show stewardship; new awards show you can open doors. A hiring manager wants to know which is which.
Be precise about federal work
Say which parts of a federal application you prepared (narrative, budget justification, forms, registrations) rather than writing "federal grants experience".
Freelance? Group your clients
Use one entry such as "Grant Writing Consultant" with dates, then bullets by client type with totals, instead of a separate job for every client.
Prepare a writing sample
Many grant postings ask for one. Redact a narrative section of two to five pages you wrote alone and mention in your cover letter that it is available.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- grant writing
- grant proposals
- federal grants
- foundation relations
- budget justification
- logic model
- evaluation plan
- grant reporting
- prospect research
- Grants.gov
- Foundation Directory
- post-award compliance
- letters of inquiry
- case for support
- GPC
Mistakes to avoid
- Claiming the full value of a multi-partner award when you wrote one section.
- Counting proposals submitted without saying how many were funded.
- Naming private funders or quoting confidential reviewer comments.
- Putting "GPC" after your name before you have passed the exam.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 6 of 6 | 7 of 7 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 6 of 6 | 7 of 7 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 6 of 6 | 7 of 7 |
Frequently asked questions
Is a grant proposal writer resume different from a grant writer resume?
Mostly in the title. Some postings use "proposal writer" for roles that only draft narratives, while grant writer or grants manager roles also cover research, budgets and reporting. Describe what you actually do and use the posting's title in your headline.
How do I show results without a large funded total?
Give the number of funded proposals, your largest single award and how many renewals you kept. A $40K award for a small organization can matter as much as a large institution's million.
Is the GPC worth listing?
Yes, if you hold it. GPCI aims it at experienced grant professionals rather than beginners, so it tells a reader you have several funded cycles behind you. If you are not yet eligible, leave it off and show grant writing training in a line under education.
Should a grant writer include a portfolio link?
Only to redacted samples you have permission to share. Otherwise, offer samples on request.
How do I move into grant writing from teaching or journalism?
Lead with writing to deadlines, research and any application you wrote as a volunteer or for a school. One funded proposal, even a small one, is the strongest proof you can bring.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Leslie PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 6 section headings and all 7 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI): Eligibility (GPC candidates must qualify for 120 of 170 points across education, professional experience, continuing education and community involvement; the credential is not considered appropriate for entry-level grant professionals)
More in resume templates by job title.