Katherine F.H. Heart, GPC, M.Ed. offers in-person and virtual grant career and business workshops and coaching sessions for early career and seasoned grant professionals along with GPA Chapters, university classes, and public libraries. Use the Contact form to request information about Katherine’s award-winning book, Grantepreneur: Getting Started in a Grant Career and Business (Red Engine Press, 2016).
Course Description: Grant professionals may be employed at many types of organizations or work as independent contractors, freelancers, and business owners providing a variety of services including grant research, writing, planning, management, evaluation and others that lead to funding for vital community programs and projects. Meaningful “gig” work, part-time jobs, and self-employment options are available for grant proposal writers. If you have good writing and computer technology skills, grant proposal writing as a job, gig or business offers flexibility, independence, and financial opportunity. No prior knowledge is necessary to understand the information about the “World of Grants” and the learning curve and steps to get hired in this career path and business.
Specific Topics:
The "World of Grants" and Tour of Organizations and Resources for Grant Seeking
Finding Your Cause (Self-Assessment)
Making Meaning & Money - Becoming Successful in the Grant Profession
The Grant Career Action Plan - 10 Steps to Get Hired (and Re-Hired)
Grant Job vs Gig vs Starting a Grant Business
Grantepreneur Strategies for Success including Pennsylvania fundraising laws, professional ethical standards, salaries and hourly rates, and basic home office equipment and software
Participants in this course receive a Certificate of Attendance. The course was approved as an Accepted Education Program for GPCI-certified individuals and candidates for the GPC certification by the Grant Professionals Certification Institute in 2022. The specific GPCI Competencies/Skills and GPA Approved Learning Objectives are provided upon request.
While Katherine has learned a great deal from her predecessors in the grants field, the Grantepreneur approach differs from the high-priced profit-driven business model followed by many others. She started her business in mid-career and built a sustainable mission-driven community-oriented grant business. Her book and presentations offer entrepreneurial skill-building for aspiring and experienced grant pros to create a practice that makes an impact and benefits our communities, causes, and career/business. Katherine's "grantepreneur" approach enabled her to bootstrap and sustain a successful grant business that resulted in $25M+ in grant dollars to improve the quality of life in Western PA over the past 21 years.
Katherine developed a full grants curriculum and presented this course for Community College of Allegheny County in 2009-2011, and Grant Career and Business Workshops for Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh-Nonprofit Resource Center from 2011-2019. She has also presented grant career and business workshops for the Grant Professionals Association Annual Conference, GPA Chapters, universities, AmeriCorps, Coro Fellows, and the Grants Cafe.
“Katherine was an invaluable resource in helping me to get started as a freelance consultant for small nonprofits. As a fairly seasoned fundraiser, yet new to the consulting arena, I had very specific questions in launching my business. Katherine offered advice on areas I had not even considered and gave me tangible step-by-step homework to get started. My career and business have taken me to my dream job. Katherine has a wealth of information for those new and seasoned in this field. I highly recommend engaging Katherine as your grant career and business coach."
~ Jeanette Lahm, Executive Director at Laurelville, A Retreat Center in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania
See more success storiesfrom training and coaching participants and initiate requests for assistance on the Contact page.
The GPA Approved Trainer designation is based on an application containing grant course descriptions, learning objectives, competencies/skills list, and positive references of teaching skills from participants. Renewal of the application is required every three years.
The GPC is the only grant credential recognized by a nationally-accredited body and confirms mastery of the knowledge and practice of grantsmanship through formal validated testing. The GPC has become an industry standard attesting to qualifications and experience better than any college degree or grant training certificate. On May 31, 2019, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) granted accreditation to the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI) and the GPC credential for demonstrating compliance with the NCCA Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs.
The GPC credentialing process involves independent verification of awarded grants, years of grants experience, and references prior to taking the multiple choice and written exam. Maintaining the credential requires upholding ethical standards and accumulating over 100 CEUs by providing grant services and participating in professional development and volunteer service. Renewal is required every 3 years. Verify Katherine FH Heart, GPC at www.grantcredential.org.
In 2022, Katherine FH Heart, GPC, M.Ed. provided grant training courses that were approved by the GPCI Accepted Education Program. Participants may apply for GPCI Education Points towards acquiring or maintaining the GPC (Grant Professional Certified) credential. Learn more at http://www.grantcredential.org/.
