Written especially for professionals in nonprofit organizations, this is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to finding funds for programs and writing effective grant proposals. The author bases her work on 10 years of experience in successful funding and teaching in the nonprofit sector. She takes the reader through every phase of the funding and grant writing process. Notable for its comprehensive coverage and practical hands-on orientation to the subject, the book is also distinguished by its coverage of the specific areas of program planning and evaluation, topics usually ignored in other works on grant writing.

Following an overview of the basic funding strategies, Gilpatrick moves to a sequential discussion of the various aspects of the grant writing process. Of particular help are detailed case examples showing the application of the manual's principles in real situations. The author follows five project ideas, taken from a broad range of nonprofit organizations, from the initial idea to the final proposal. She presents strategies on finding funding sources and writing proposals and includes a set of cumulative writing steps that build toward the final application for funding. In addition, the guide provides, for the first time, a coherent, underlying intellectual/theoretical structure for the funding and grant writing process, making this an ideal text for students in public administration programs as well as an indispensable resource for practicing professionals in nonprofit organizations.