State Grant Maker Directories in 2017: The Southwest

Directories are great tools for finding new funding sources. As of late 2017, nonprofits, school districts, and other grant seekers in the United States of America can find state and local foundation directories for 32 of the 50 states. The states that do not have current or recently published state-specific, statewide directories of grant makers are: Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Hawaii (HI), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Nevada (NV), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Rhode Island (RI), South Dakota (SD), Utah (UT), Texas (TX), and West Virginia (WV). Washington, DC (DC) also has none.

 

 

Available directories vary greatly in their quality, coverage, and content. Some are available in multiple formats; most, in one only. Since 2012, the number of state-specific directories has fallen by about 25%. In late 2017, out of 55 identified directories, five are PDF files, 10 are compact disks (CDs), 17 are print compilations, and 22 are online databases.

 

This post covers the Southwestern states of Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Colorado (CO), Hawaii (HI), Nevada (NV), New Mexico (NM), Oklahoma (OK), Texas (TX), and Utah (UT). Later posts in the series for 2017 will cover other regions in the United States of America.

 

State	Directory	Format
AZ	Yes	Online, Print
CA	No	None
CO	Yes	Online
HI	No	None
NV	No	None
NM	Yes	Online
OK	Yes	Print, CD
TX	Yes	Online
UT	No	None

 

The Southwestern States:

ARIZONA

Arizona Guide to Grants Online. Phoenix, AZ: Arizona Alliance of Nonprofits, 2017. This subscription-based, online, searchable database profiles more than 2,300 corporations and foundations making grants in Arizona.

Guide to Arizona Grantmakers. Phoenix, AZ: Arizona Alliance of Nonprofits, 2017. This print directory profiles almost 800 corporations and foundations either located in Arizona or giving in Arizona.

 

CALIFORNIA

California has no current or recently published state directory of grant makers. Northern California Grantmakers has ceased publication of its Guide to California Foundations; it refers researchers to the Foundation Center.

 

COLORADO

Colorado Grants Guide. Denver, CO: Community Resource Center, 2017. This subscription-based, online database profiles more than 750 local foundations, corporations, government agencies, and other entities that make grants to nonprofit organizations in Colorado.

 

HAWAII

Hawaii has no state directory of grant makers.

 

NEVADA

Nevada has no state directory of grant makers.

 

NEW MEXICO

New Mexico Grantmakers Directory. Albuquerque, NM: Center for Nonprofit Excellence, 2017.  This free and searchable database, which is available online, profiles 420 foundations and corporations that are either located in New Mexico or giving in New Mexico.

 

OKLAHOMA

The Oklahoma Foundation Databook and CD. 6^th Ed. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2016. This print and CD-based directory lists more than 1,426 foundations either located in Oklahoma or giving in Oklahoma, and includes profiles of the 300 largest foundations.

 

TEXAS

Texas has no state directory of grant makers. The Nonprofit Resource Center of Texas no longer publishes its Directory of Texas Foundations.

Texas Directory of Grantmakers Online. Fort Worth, TX: Funding Information Center, 2017.  This subscription-based, online directory profiles the philanthropic activity of more than 230 grant makers in Collin, Dallas, Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise counties in Texas.

 

UTAH

Utah has no state directory of grant makers. Henry Dean Publishing no longer publishes the Philanthropic Foundations of Utah Directory, which profiled more than 500 foundations located in Utah and making grants in Utah.

 

The last post in this series for 2017 will cover Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands.

 

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State Grant Maker Directories in 2017: The Northwest

Directories are great tools for finding new funding sources. As of late 2017, nonprofits, school districts, and other grant seekers in the United States of America can find state and local foundation directories for 32 of the 50 states. The states that do not have current or recently published state-specific, statewide directories of grant makers are: Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Hawaii (HI), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Nevada (NV), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Rhode Island (RI), South Dakota (SD), Utah (UT), Texas (TX), and West Virginia (WV). Washington, DC (DC) also has none.

 

 

Available directories vary greatly in their quality, coverage, and content. Some are available in multiple formats; most, in one only. Since 2012, the number of state-specific directories has fallen by about 25%. In late 2017, out of 55 identified directories, five are PDF files, 10 are compact disks (CDs), 17 are print compilations, and 22 are online databases.

 

This post covers the Northwestern States of Alaska (AK), Idaho (ID), Montana (MT), Oregon (OR), Washington (WA), and Wyoming (WY). Later posts in the series for 2017 will cover other regions in the United States of America.

 

State	Directory	Format
AK	Yes	Online
ID	Yes	Online
MT	Yes	Online
OR	Yes	Online, Print, CD
WA	Yes	PDF, Online, Print, CD
WY	Yes	Online

 

The Northwestern States:

ALASKA

Alaska Funding Guide. Anchorage, AK: The Foraker Group, 2017. This subscription-based, online database profiles more than 200 foundations and corporations either located in Alaska or giving in Alaska.

Trends in Northwest Giving 2017. 6^th ed. Seattle, WA: Philanthropy Northwest, 2017. This biennial online directory profiles 245 foundations and corporations that are members of Philanthropy Northwest and make grants in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

 

IDAHO

Trends in Northwest Giving 2017. 6^th ed. Seattle, WA: Philanthropy Northwest, 2017. This biennial online directory profiles 245 foundations and corporations that are members of Philanthropy Northwest and make grants in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

 

MONTANA 

Trends in Northwest Giving 2017. 6^th ed. Seattle, WA: Philanthropy Northwest, 2017. This biennial online directory profiles 245 foundations and corporations that are members of Philanthropy Northwest and make grants in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

 

OREGON

Trends in Northwest Giving 2017. 6^th ed. Seattle, WA: Philanthropy Northwest, 2017. This biennial online directory profiles 245 foundations and corporations that are members of Philanthropy Northwest and make grants in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

The Oregon Foundation Databook and CD. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2017. This print and CD-based directory lists more than 1,145 foundations either located in Oregon or giving in Oregon, and includes profiles of the 280 largest foundations.

 

WASHINGTON

Charitable Trust Directory Washington State. Olympia, WA: Office of the Secretary of State, 2017. This free PDF file, which is available online, profiles more than 100 grant-making charitable organizations registered with the Secretary of State in Washington State.

Trends in Northwest Giving 2017. 6^th ed. Seattle, WA: Philanthropy Northwest, 2017. This biennial online directory profiles 245 foundations and corporations that are members of Philanthropy Northwest and make grants in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

The Washington Foundation Databook and CD. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2014. This print and CD-based directory lists more than 2,000 foundations either located in Washington or giving in Washington, and includes profiles of more than 450 of the largest foundations.

 

WYOMING

Trends in Northwest Giving 2017. 6^th ed. Seattle, WA: Philanthropy Northwest, 2017. This biennial online directory profiles 245 foundations and corporations that are members of Philanthropy Northwest and make grants in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.

 

The next post in this series for 2017 will cover the Southwestern States.

 

 

State Grant Maker Directories in 2017: The Great Plains

Directories are great tools for finding new funding sources. As of late 2017, nonprofits, school districts, and other grant seekers in the United States of America can find state and local foundation directories for 32 of the 50 states. The states that do not have current or recently published state-specific, statewide directories of grant makers are: Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Hawaii (HI), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Nevada (NV), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Rhode Island (RI), South Dakota (SD), Utah (UT), Texas (TX), and West Virginia (WV). Washington, DC (DC) also has none.

 

 

Available directories vary greatly in their quality, coverage, and content. Some are available in multiple formats; most, in one only. Since 2012, the number of state-specific directories has fallen by about 25%. In late 2017, online databases, out of 55 identified directories, five are PDF files, 10 are compact disks (CDs), 17 are print compilations, and 22 are

 

This post covers the Great Plains States of Iowa (IA), Kansas (KS), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MO), Nebraska (NE), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), and Wisconsin (WI). Later posts in the series for 2017 will cover other regions in the United States of America.

 

State	Directory	Format
IA	Outdated	Print, CD
KS	Outdated	Print, CD
MN	Yes	Print, Online
MO	No	None
NE	Yes	PDF, Print, CD
ND	No	None
SD	No	None
WI	Yes	Print, Online

 

The Great Plains States:

IOWA

The Iowa Foundation Databook and CD. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2010. This print and CD-based directory profiles more than 1,270 foundations in Iowa and provides in-depth descriptions of the largest grant makers. The obsolete 2010 edition is the most current available.

 

KANSAS

The Kansas Foundation Databook and CD. 1^st Ed. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2008. This print and CD-based directory profiles more than 500 foundations in Kansas and provides in-depth descriptions of the largest grant makers. The obsolete 2008 edition is the most current available.

 

MINNESOTA

2017 Minnesota Grants Directory. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, 2016. This print directory profiles more than 100 community foundations, corporate giving programs, and private foundations giving in Minnesota.

Minnesota Grantmakers Online Deluxe. Minneapolis, MN: Regents of the University of Minnesota, 2017. This restricted-access online database profiles more than 1,400 foundations and corporations making grants in Minnesota.

 

MISSOURI

Missouri has no state directory of grant makers.

 

NEBRASKA

Foundation Resource Directory: A Guide to Grants for Nebraska Children, Youth, Families, and Communities. Lincoln, NE: Nebraska Department of Economic Development, 2014. This free PDF file, which is available online, profiles more than 140 foundations and corporations either located in Nebraska or giving in Nebraska.

The Nebraska Foundation Databook and CD. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2012. This print and CD-based directory lists more than 930 foundations either located in Nebraska or giving in Nebraska, and includes profiles of the 230 largest foundations. The 2012 edition is the most current available.

 

NORTH DAKOTA

North Dakota has no state directory of grant makers.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota has no state directory of grant makers.

 

WISCONSIN

Foundations in Wisconsin. 36^th Ed. Milwaukee, WI: Marquette University Funding Information Center, 2017. This print and subscription-based, online directory profiles more than 1,225 foundations in Wisconsin.

 

The next post in this series for 2017 will cover the Northwestern States.

 

State Grant Maker Directories in 2017: The Midwest

Directories are great tools for finding new funding sources. As of late 2017, nonprofits, school districts, and other grant seekers in the United States of America can find state and local foundation directories for 32 of the 50 states. The states that do not have current or recently published state-specific, statewide directories of grant makers are: Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Hawaii (HI), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Nevada (NV), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Rhode Island (RI), South Dakota (SD), Utah (UT), Texas (TX), and West Virginia (WV). Washington, DC (DC) also has none.

 

 

Available directories vary greatly in their quality, coverage, and content. Some are available in multiple formats; most, in one only. Since 2012, the number of state-specific directories has fallen by about 25%. In late 2017, out of 55 identified directories, five are PDF files, 10 are compact disks (CDs), 17 are print compilations, and 22 are online databases.

 

This post covers the Midwestern States of Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Kentucky (KY), Michigan (MI), and Ohio (OH). Later posts in the series for 2017 will cover other regions in the United States of America.

 

State	Directory	Format
IL	Yes	Print, Online
IN	Yes	Print, Online
KY	Yes	Print, CD
MI	Yes	Online
OH	Yes	Print

 

The Midwestern States:

ILLINOIS

Directory of Funding in Illinois. 11^th Ed. Chicago, IL: Donors Forum of Chicago, 2012. This print directory profiles more than 5,500 foundations and corporations giving in Illinois. The 2012 edition is the most current available.

Member Directory. Chicago, IL: Forefront, 2017. This searchable online directory profiles more than 175 foundations, corporations, and other funders that make grants in Illinois.

 

INDIANA

Directory of Indiana Grantmakers. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana Philanthropy Alliance, 2016. This subscription-based, online directory, which is also available in print format, profiles more than 1,000 foundations, trusts, and scholarship programs that make grants in Indiana.

 

KENTUCKY

The Kentucky Foundation Databook and CD. 5^th Ed. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2013. This print and CD-based directory profiles more than 400 foundations in Kentucky and provides in-depth descriptions of the largest grant makers. The 2013 edition is the most current available.

 

MICHIGAN

Michigan Foundation Directory. 18^th Ed. Grand Haven, MI: Council of Michigan Foundations, 2017. This online directory profiles more than 1,500 foundations that make grants in Michigan.

 

OHIO

2016-2017 Cincinnati Area Foundation Directory. 13^th ed. Cincinnati, OH: MR & Company, 2016. This print directory profiles more than 115 foundations and charitable trusts located in the four Ohio counties and three Kentucky counties that comprise the Metropolitan Cincinnati area.

 

The next post in this series for 2017 will cover the Great Plains States.

 

 

State Grant Maker Directories in 2017: The Southeast

Directories are great tools for finding new funding sources. As of late 2017, nonprofits, school districts, and other grant seekers in the United States of America can find state and local foundation directories for 32 of the 50 states. The states that do not have current or recently published state-specific, statewide directories of grant makers are: Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Hawaii (HI), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Nevada (NV), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Rhode Island (RI), South Dakota (SD), Utah (UT), Texas (TX), and West Virginia (WV). Washington, DC (DC) also has none.

 

 

 

Available directories vary greatly in their quality, coverage, and content. Some are available in multiple formats; most, in one only. Since 2012, the number of state-specific directories has fallen by about 25%. In late 2017, out of 55 identified directories, five are PDF files, 10 are compact disks (CDs), 17 are print compilations, and 22 are online databases.

 

This post covers the Southeastern States of Alabama (AL), Arkansas (AR), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Louisiana (LA), Mississippi (MS), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), Tennessee (TN), and Virginia (VA). Later posts in the series for 2017 will cover other regions in the United States of America.

 

State	Directory	Format
AL	Yes	CD
AR	No	None
FL	No	None
GA	No	None
LA	Yes	Print, CD
MS	No	None
NC	No	None
SC	Yes	PDF
TN	Yes	Print, CD
VA	Yes	Online

 

The Southeastern States:

ALABAMA

Guide to Alabama Grantmakers. Birmingham, AL: Alabama Giving, 2016. This CD directory for Alabama profiles more than 1,000 funders and describes more than 6,000 recent grants.

 

ARKANSAS

Arkansas has no state directory of grant makers. The University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension, no longer publishes Funding Sources, which was a free PDF file, available online; that had listed more than 160 foundations and public charities that made grants in Arkansas.

 

FLORIDA

Florida has no state directory of grant makers. Florida Funding Publications no longer publishes The Complete Guide to Florida Foundations, which profiled more than 5,000 corporations and foundations that made grants in Florida.

 

GEORGIA

Georgia has no state directory of grant makers.

 

LOUISIANA

The Louisiana Foundation Databook and CD. 4th Ed. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2012. This print and CD-based directory profiles more than 1,100 foundations in Louisiana, and provides detailed descriptions of the largest grant makers. The 2012 edition is the most recent available.

 

MISSISSIPPI

Mississippi has no state directory of grant makers.

 

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina has no state directory of grant makers.

 

SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina Founation Directory. Mullin, Dawn, ed. 10th Ed. Columbia, SC: South Carolina State Library, 2014. This free PDF file is available online; it profiles more than 180 foundations and public charities that make grants in South Carolina. A new edition is due later in 2017.

 

TENNESSEE

The Tennessee Foundation Databook and CD. 4th Ed. Portland, OR: C&D Publishing, 2013. This print and CD directory lists 1,191 foundations located in Tennessee or giving in Tennessee, and includes profiles of the largest foundations. The 2013 edition is the most recent available.

 

VIRGINIA

Directory of Virginia Foundations. Richmond, VA: The Grants Connection, 2017.  This subscription-based, online database profiles more than 1,000 private, corporate, and community foundations located in Virginia, as well as other foundations giving in Virginia.

 

The next post in this series for 2017 will cover the Midwestern States.

 

State Grant Maker Directories in 2017: Mid-Atlantic

Directories are great tools for finding new funding sources. As of late 2017, nonprofits, school districts, and other grant seekers in the United States of America can find state and local foundation directories for 32 of the 50 states. The states that do not have current or recently published state-specific, statewide directories of grant makers are: Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Hawaii (HI), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Nevada (NV), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Rhode Island (RI), South Dakota (SD), Texas (TX), Utah (UT), and West Virginia (WV). Washington, DC (DC) also has none.

 

 

Available directories vary greatly in their quality, coverage, and content. Some are available in multiple formats; most, in one only. Since 2012, the number of state-specific directories has fallen by about 25%. In late 2017, out of 55 identified directories, five are PDF files, 10 are compact disks (CDs), 17 are print compilations, and 22 are online databases.

 

This post covers the Mid-Atlantic States of Delaware (DE), Maryland (MD), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), Pennsylvania (PA), and West Virginia (WV), plus Washington, DC. Later posts in the series for 2017 will cover other regions in the United States of America.

 

State	Directory	Format
DE	No	None
DC	No	None
MD	Yes	Online
NJ	No	None
NY	No	None
PA	Yes	Online, PDF
WV	No	None

 

The Mid-Atlantic States:

DELAWARE

Delaware has no state directory of grant makers. The Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement no longer publishes the Directory of Grantmakers Funding Programs in Delaware as a free PDF file, available online.

 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Washington, DC has no directory of grant makers. The Foundation Center no longer publishes the Guide to Greater Washington DC Grantmakers on CD-ROM, a CD-based directory of profiles of 2,500 foundations, corporate giving programs, and public charities giving in the Washington, DC area.

 

In addition, Jankowski Associates, Inc. no longer publishes the print directory, Washington Region’s Leading 500 Foundations, which profiled 1,000 foundations in the Washington, DC region.

 

MARYLAND

Foundation Grants. Baltimore, MD: Maryland State Governor’s Office, 2017. This free database, available online, provides information about grant opportunities offered by corporations and foundations making grants in Maryland. Other links provide information about state and federal grant opportunities.

 

Jankowski Associates, Inc. no longer publishes the print directory, Maryland’s Leading 500 Foundations, which profiled 1,000 foundations in Maryland.

 

NEW JERSEY

New Jersey has no state directory of grant makers. The Council of New Jersey Grantmakers provides a link to the Foundation Center’s Online Directory.

 

NEW YORK

New York has no state directory of grant makers.

 

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania Foundations Online. West Chester, PA: Pennsylvania Foundations Online, 2017. This subscription-based and searchable online database profiles more than 2,300 foundations that make grants in Pennsylvania. It has replaced the Directory of Pennsylvania Foundations after its 7^th edition as a PDF file available online.

 

Pennsylvania Grant and Resource Directory, 2016-17. Harrisburg, PA: Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus, 2016. This PDF file, available online, profiles state and federal agencies and programs that make grants in Pennsylvania.

 

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia has no state directory of grant makers.

 

The next post in this series for 2017 will cover the Southeastern States.

State Grant Maker Directories in 2017: New England

Directories are great tools for finding new funding sources. As of late 2017, nonprofits, school districts, and other grant seekers in the United States of America can find state and local foundation directories for 32 of the 50 states. The states that do not have current or recently published state-specific, statewide directories of grant makers are: Arkansas (AR), California (CA), Delaware (DE), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Hawaii (HI), Mississippi (MS), Missouri (MO), Nevada (NV), New Jersey (NJ), New York (NY), North Carolina (NC), North Dakota (ND), Rhode Island (RI), South Dakota (SD), Texas (TX), Utah (UT), and West Virginia (WV). Washington, DC (DC) also has none.

 

 

Available directories vary greatly in their quality, coverage, and content. Some are available in multiple formats; most, in one only. Since 2012, the number of state-specific directories has fallen by about 25%. In late 2017, out of 55 identified directories, five are PDF files, 10 are compact disks (CDs), 17 are print compilations, and 22 are online databases.

 

This post covers the New England States of Connecticut (CT), Maine (ME), Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), Rhode Island (RI,) and Vermont (VT). It is the first post in the series for 2017. Later posts will cover other regions in the United States of America.

 

State	Directory	Format
CT	Yes	Online
ME	Yes	Online, Print
MA	Yes	Online
NH	Yes	PDF
RI	No	None
VT	Yes	Online, Print

 

The New England States:

CONNECTICUT

Directory of Community Foundations Serving Connecticut. Hartford, CT: Connecticut Council for Philanthropy, 2017. This free online directory provides extensive contact information for 21 community foundations giving in Connecticut.

 

The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy no longer publishes a subscription-based, online database, which had been called Connecticut Grantmakers Online.

 

MAINE

Directory of Maine Grantmakers. 10^th Ed. Portland, ME: Maine Philanthropy Center, 2015. This print and subscription-based online directory profiles more than 400 foundations and corporations either located in Maine or giving in Maine. It also includes a substantial addendum (2016).

 

MASSACHUSETTS

Grant Makers Directory. Boston, MA: Associated Grant Makers, 2017. This online database describes more than 1,900 grant makers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

 

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Directory of Charitable Funds in New Hampshire. Concord, NH: New Hampshire Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General, 2016. This free PDF file, available online, lists more than 400 grant-making organizations registered with the New Hampshire Office of the Attorney General and having assets of more than $25,000. A notice at CPG Fundraising indicates that it no longer publishes The Directory of New Hampshire Foundations.

 

RHODE ISLAND

Rhode Island has no state directory of grant makers.

 

VERMONT

Vermont Directory of Foundations Online. Middlebury VT and New York, NY: The Vermont Community Foundation and the Foundation Center, 2017.  This free print and online directory profiles 334 grant-making foundations located in Vermont and 287 other foundations located elsewhere but giving in Vermont.

 

The next post in this series for 2017 will cover the Mid-Atlantic States.

 

Grant Writing as a Career: Median Salaries in 51 Cities in 2017

This post explores what Grants/Proposal Writers are paid as compensation in terms of median salaries in major cities in all 50 states and in the nation’s capital. It presents data for late 2017. Other posts for late 2017 will explore hourly rates and flat fees, retainer fees, review and revision fees, and other aspects of the compensation of writers of grant proposals. All data will be for the United States of America.

 

Median Salaries for Grants/Proposal Writers

What Grants/Proposal Writers earn reflects many factors. Among them are years of experience, level of educational attainment, geographic location, and the nature of the employer.

 

As of late 2017, Salary.com has reported that the national median annual salary for “Grants/Proposal Writers” was $66,521. The middle 20 cities selected for exploration here earned medians from $64,991 to $70,779; the bottom 10 selected cities earned medians of $63,062 or less; and the top 10 selected cities earned medians of $74,704 or more. These base salaries represented about 71% of total compensation; the other 29% of total compensation were fringe benefits and bonuses.

 

 

Calculated on a full 52-week year, the same national median annual salary works out to $1,279.25 per week, and the range for the cities’ medians is $1,055.38 to $1,536.38 per week. Calculated over a 2,080-hour work-year, the same national median annual salary works out to $31.98 per hour, and the range for the cities becomes from $26.38 per hour to $38.41 per hour.

 

Median Salaries By Selected Cities

As of late 2017, “median annual salaries” in 51 selected cities searched on Salary.com ranged from $54,880 in Pierre, SD to $79,892 in New York City, NY. Most of the medians for these cities fell in the range of $62,000 to $68,000.

 

Median Annual Salaries — 2017 Data Comparisons
	Salary.com Data	As % of 2017 National Median
USA	$66,521	100.0%
New England States
Hartford CT	$71,710	107.8%
Portland, ME	$67,187	101.0%
Boston, MA	$75,701	113.8%
Manchester, NH	$70,247	105.6%
Providence, RI	$70,466	105.9%
Burlington, VT	$65,657	98.7%
Mid-Atlantic States
Dover, DE	$70,779	106.4%
Washington, DC	$73,373	110.3%
Baltimore, MD	$68,251	102.6%
Newark, NJ	$75,967	114.2%
New York, NY	$79,892	120.1%
Philadelphia, PA	$71,577	107.6%
Charleston, WV	$60,668	91.2%
Midwestern States
Chicago, IL	$70,513	106.0%
Indianapolis, IN	$64,991	97.7%
Louisville, KY	$63,062	94.8%
Detroit, MI	$68,517	103.0%
Columbus, OH	$65,590	98.6%
Great Plains States
Des Moines, IA	$64,260	96.6%
Kansas City, KS	$65,457	98.4%
Minneapolis, MN	$70,978	106.7%
St. Louis, MO	$65,391	98.3%
Lincoln, NE	$62,530	94.0%
Bismarck, ND	$62,064	93.3%
Pierre, SD	$54,880	82.5%
Milwaukee, WI	$66,189	99.5%
Northwestern States
Anchorage, AK	$75,568	113.6%
Boise, ID	$63,129	94.9%
Great Falls, MT	$57,674	86.7%
Portland, OR	$69,847	105.0%
Seattle, WA	$72,774	109.4%
Casper, WY	$61,865	93.0%
Southeastern States
Birmingham, AL	$63,129	94.9%
Little Rock, AR	$61,532	92.5%
Jacksonville, FL	$63,861	96.0%
Atlanta, GA	$65,524	98.5%
New Orleans, LA	$66,056	99.3%
Jackson, MS	$59,204	89.0%
Charlotte, NC	$65,191	98.0%
Charleston, SC	$62,796	94.4%
Nashville, TN	$61,665	92.7%
Richmond, VA	$66,721	100.3%
Southwestern States
Phoenix, AZ	$65,923	99.1%
Los Angeles, CA	$74,704	112.3%
Denver, CO	$67,253	101.1%
Honolulu, HI	$69,382	104.3%
Las Vegas, NV	$69,315	104.2%
Albuquerque, NM	$62,131	93.4%
Okla. City, OK	$63,195	95.0%
Houston, TX	$67,320	101.2%
Salt Lake City, UT	$63,062	94.8%

 

It may be worth noting that median annual salaries in late 2017 were no more uniform within most states than they were across the country. Out of the 51 selected cities presented in the table, 28 cities were below the national median and another city was only $200 above the national median.

 

 

Professional Associations for Grant Writers in 2017

Throughout the 2010s, American grant writers have continued their efforts to distinguish, elevate, standardize, and formalize the training and professional status of their peers. Among the organizations at the forefront of such efforts are the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the American Grant Writers’ Association, and the Grant Professionals Association. This post is revised to reflect late 2017.

 

Association of Fundraising Professionals

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) was founded in 1960. Regular individual professional membership is $250 per year, plus separate chapter dues of $25 to $120 per year. AFP offers several other types of membership as well. Grant writers count among AFP members, but AFP is by no means only for grant writers. The website is https://www.afpnet.org/.

 

AFP offers a code of ethics and nine other research and practice tools, as well as 24 professional development benefits and opportunities, and an extensive bookstore. It offers discussion groups, a membership directory, a consultant directory, a career center, and other networking resources. AFP offers a three-day annual conference (plus a two-day preconference) and many members-only publications and other resources. It also offers continuous education-related services such as 26 webinars, an online knowledge center, and the Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive (ACFRE) programs, which are its credentialing exams.

 

American Grant Writers’ Association

The American Grant Writers’ Association (AGWA) was founded in 2002. AGWA individual membership is $119 for one year, $200 for two years, or $275 for three years. Business memberships are available for $179 for one year, $340 for two years, or $475 for three years. The website is http://www.agwa.us/.

 

AGWA advances professionalization through professional standards and a code of ethics and access to professional liability insurance (E&O). It offers networking resources such as a three-day annual grant conference, a listing in a networking membership roster for certified grant writer consultants, and a members-only portal. In addition, AGWA offers continuous education-related services such as five online courses, a four-day grant researching and proposal writing workshop, a members-only newsletter, and the Certified Grant Writer® (CGW) Exam, which is its credentialing exam. It features employment-related services such as information about how to hire a grant writer and making members’ résumés available to prospective employers.

 

Grant Professionals Association

The Grant Professionals Association (GPA), formerly American Association of Grant Professionals (AAGP), was founded in 1998. GPA regular individual professional membership is $209/year, plus chapter dues of $25 to $50 per year; other types of membership are available. Its website is http://grantprofessionals.org/.

 

GPA offers a Consultant Mentoring Program and publishes both an online newsletter and a peer-reviewed journal with limited public access to its contents. Its networking resources include a three-day annual conference, an extensive bookstore, and access to 70 webinars. The GPA advances professionalization through a Grant Professional Certification (GPC) program conducted through the Grant Professionals Certification Institute™ (GPCI). Its employment-related services include a Job Center with a searchable job postings database and a consultants listing for firms seeking to retain a grant-writing consultant.

 

Observations

The professionalization of grant writing continues apace. It reflects an effort to establish it as an enterprise distinct from fundraising. All three leading professional associations that encompass grant writing have their own conferences, exams, credentials, codes of ethics, and literature about effective practices.

 

Overview of Professional Associations for Grant Writers
	AFP	AGWA	GPA
Founded	1960	2002	1998
Membership Fee	$250	$119	$209
Members	30,000	1,000	2,500
Conference	3-day	3-day	3-day
Credentials	CFRE/ACFRE	CGW	GPC

 

The costs of individual professional memberships vary by 150%. The scope and quality of resources available to members vary widely as well. The fee structures and the extent of resources appear to reflect the size and longevity of the three associations and the narrowness or breadth of their missions.

 

Note

Discussion of the existence of the AFP, the AGWA, and the GPA is intended for informational purposes only. Endorsement or sanction of any of the associations is neither intended nor implied.

 

Grant Consultants’ Funding Success Rates in 2017

This new post explores grant writing consultants’ success rates (also called ‘win rates’ or ‘hit rates’ or ‘funding rates’) for proposals for grant funding, as publicized on their websites in late 2017. It revisits the topic of an earlier post. The post is part of an occasional series about metrics for effectiveness in grant seeking.

 

Benchmarks for Comparison

 

Grant writing consultants who post their success rates online seem to be peculiarly high achievers. As benchmarks for comparisons with their own (much higher) rates, several grant consultants’ websites cite average success rates for all grant seekers of only 8.5%, 10%, 17%, 20%, 30%, or 50%. When they don’t cite a specific average rate, other grant writing consultants’ websites cite benchmark success rates that fall within narrow ranges such as 5-20%, 20-30%, or 25-50%. Whether stated as definite ratios or as ranges, the benchmark rates stated on the websites are always much lower than the consultants’ declared rates.

 

Metric: Rates Within or Across Programs

 

Most grant writing consultants are specialists. Few are generalists. Some websites provide the source of consultants’ grant awards as a context or basis for calculating their success rates. Thus, the rates may reflect only foundation grants or only government grants in general or only grants from one specific federal grant-making agency or even only grants from one specific federal grant program. Many other grant consultants are not so specific about the types of grant makers that are the sources of their grant awards and the basis of their success rates.

 

A small but noteworthy fraction of the consultants’ websites provides more detail in the form of lists of grants that the consultants have won. Such lists often present the grant-makers, the grant programs, the years awarded, and the amounts awarded. At times, the lists go back nearly two decades.

 

Metric: Rates Over Time

 

Some grant writing consultants calculate and present single-year win rates. Typically, such rates are for the most recent calendar year or even the most recent 12 months. This shorter-term metric implies that although past years’ rates may have been lower, the more recent few years’ rates are higher and future years’ rates are likely to be at least as high. Other consultants calculate and present rates over a career lasting two decades or longer. This longer-term metric implies that although there may have been dips from year to year in the past, overall funding rates over the long haul have been high and are likely to remain high for well into the future. Both metrics use past performance to encourage potential clients to forecast future funding results and to retain the consultants’ services based on that happy forecast.

 

Ranking Grant Writers Along a Spectrum

 

Some grant writing consultants rank all grant writers’ success rates in bands along a spectrum. One such consultant offers only two thresholds in its spectrum for ranking grant writers – 30% funded as ‘Good’, 50% funded as ‘Great’. The bands along this simple spectrum use intervals of three different sizes.

 

A different grant writing consultant’s website offers more bands in its spectrum – 0-29% funded as ‘Failure’, 30-49% funded as ‘Barely Performing’, 50-74% funded as ‘Satisfactory’, 75-90% funded as ‘Good’, and 91-100% funded as ‘Guru’. The bands along this five-interval spectrum use intervals of five different sizes. The threshold for being ranked as a ‘good’ grant writer is 2½ times as high as in the three-interval spectrum.

 

The table displays grant writing consultants’ success rates found in a search of websites in October 2017. It then applies the rankings used in the two spectra (identified here as Spectrum A and Spectrum B). In the table, the median success rate is >80%. The range is 33% to 100%. Most success rates (20 of the 25) are so exact that they do not seem to be mere estimates. The remaining rates (five of the 25) are less exact (as indicated by the > sign) and thus do appear to be only estimates.

 

Consultant/Firm	Rate	Spectrum A Ranking	Spectrum B Ranking
Consultant/Firm 1	>33%	Good	Barely Performing
Consultant/Firm 2	45%	Good	Satisfactory
Consultant/Firm 3	60%	Great	Satisfactory
Consultant/Firm 4	65%	Great	Satisfactory
Consultant/Firm 5	65%	Great	Satisfactory
Consultant/Firm 6	70%	Great	Satisfactory
Consultant/Firm 7	75.7%	Great	Satisfactory
Consultant/Firm 8	76.5%	Great	Satisfactory
Consultant/Firm 9	80%	Great	Good
Consultant/Firm 10	80%	Great	Good
Consultant/Firm 11	80%	Great	Good
Consultant/Firm 12	>80%	Great	Good
Consultant/Firm 13	>80%	Great	Good
Consultant/Firm 14	85%	Great	Good
Consultant/Firm 15	85%	Great	Good
Consultant/Firm 16	>85%	Great	Good
Consultant/Firm 17	90%	Great	Guru
Consultant/Firm 18	92%	Great	Guru
Consultant/Firm 19	93%	Great	Guru
Consultant/Firm 20	94%	Great	Guru
Consultant/Firm 21	>95%	Great	Guru
Consultant/Firm 22	96%	Great	Guru
Consultant/Firm 23	97%	Great	Guru
Consultant/Firm 24	100%	Great	Guru
Consultant/Firm 25	100%	Great	Guru

 

If one applies the three-interval spectrum to the grant writing success rates found on websites, then 23 out of 25 (or 92%) of the consultants/firms that post their success rates have Great rates. By contrast, if one applies the five-interval spectrum, then just nine out of 25 (or 36%) of the same consultants/firms that post their success rates online would have Guru rates and eight others would have merely Good rates. It appears that every grant ‘guru’ is a ‘great’ grant consultant/firm, but not every ‘great’ grant consultant/firm is a grant ‘guru’.